Residents step up to feed hungry
In baseball and softball parlance, charitable causes are right in Bob Cannon’s wheelhouse.
Last week’s response to Clinton Township’s participation in a Toys For Tots campaign and a drivethru food collection exceeded expectations.
At one point, during the Toys For Tots challenge with Mount Clemens, toy donations filled an entire meeting room at township Fire Station Four. Combined, Township fire and police departments collected more than 1,000 toys. The final tally was compara
ble to the amount collected in Mount Clemens, but actual numbers are not available.
“The bottom line is that children who might not receive a Christmas gift, will get one, and that is what matters most,” said Clinton Township Supervisor Bob Cannon. “I’ve been encouraged during this past week. Driving around, it appears to me that there are more Christmas light displays on homes, and I’ve seen a greater response to the charities that help people in need.”
Cannon has been dug in on both sides of the charitable work’s home plate.
He grew up in St. Clair Shores and his young parents had two young boys, Bob and his brother, Chris, before they were 23 years old. His dad worked in a factory and simultaneously went to college to become an accountant. Even though that goal was eventually reached, he discovered he didn’t really
relish working in the financial sector.
There was no car, so he would take a bus to work and then to the Detroit College of Law when his pursuit for higher education turned to a law degree.
There wasn’t much money in the household, and it did not take a CPA to come to that conclusion.
“As kids, we did not know we were poor. We just knew there was a lot of love in the house,” said Cannon.
“Christmas was a huge deal. We had very loving grandparents. Looking back, especially since I started working with the Goodfellows, I think I recognize that some of our gifts came from charities. We would always get things like pajamas, underwear, socks and other necessities.”
Clean clothes and sturdy shoes are necessities. Schwinn bikes and Silly Putty are not. A warm winter coat is needed. A Daisy BB gun isn’t.
What sort of wrapping paper goes best with love? Do you drape tinsel on affection?
All last week, residents
dropped off food donations at the township Civic Center. Last Friday, Parks and Recreation Department staff loaded two dozen recycling bins, filled with food, into a van for delivery to the Macomb Food Program where it will be distributed to those in need.
Cannon is grateful for the tremendous response to the Toys For Tots contest and the township’s drive-thru food drive.
“Despite all the gloom with the pandemic, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. No matter what, some things can’t dampen the Christmas spirit,” he said.
“Mount Clemens threw out the challenge to us. Our residents responded with a lot of toys. We are still getting toys,” Cannon said. “The food drive was something my wife, Cheryl, thought of. Food pantries are hurting. There was nothing happening out of Washington D.C. to help the needy, so we launched the food drive.”
Christmas and charitable work. Both are in Cannon’s wheelhouse.