Class of 2020 donates party funds to Goodfellows
When the Anchor Bay High School Class of 2020 looks back on the strange roller coaster ride COVIDcreated out of their senior year, they will have one special memory they can call upon with pride: Instead of having a good party, they donated to a good cause.
Paula Paulina, a parent of an Anchor Bay High School Class of 2020 senior, created a video for the class. Parents and students were asked to submit one photo of the graduate as a child younger than age 5 and a current senior photo.
The cost per video was $ 5. Paulina said about $900 was raised through the DVD sales.
Originally, sales of the video were planned to be used to benefit an all-night party for the senior class, specifically for raffle prizes during the event, Paulina said. Due to COVID-19 and related restrictions, however, the party scheduled for May 21 was canceled.
Over the summer, parents and teachers discussed how best to use the funds in a way that would commemorate the Class of 2020. A decision was not reached, however, and Paulina maintained the funding.
“I started brainstorming with my son, who graduated in 2020. I suggested something along the lines of charity. He said, ‘ How about some toy donations,’ which I thought was a great idea,” Paulina said.
Paulina was aware that the New Baltimore Goodfellows organization was hosting a new toy drive, with donations accepted at several local drop-off locations from Nov. 1 to Dec. 11. She cleared the idea of donating the money earned through the videos to toys for children in need with
teachers and administrators at Anchor Bay High School and suggested the idea to students via a Class of 2020 Facebook page.
Students and parents embraced the idea.
Paulina also contacted Denise Tinnette, a New Baltimore Goodfellows board member, in early December to let her know about the planned donations. Tinnette said she was surprised, but pleased.
“It was awesome that they would think of us,” Tinnette said.
The donations were particularly welcome due to the increase in the number of families with children that applied for assistance this year, reaching 53 families with 132 total children, Tinnette said.
Paulina’s husband Mike donated money to make the funds an even $1,000. Paulina’s son Ben organized
about 10 of his classmates to participate in using the funds to purchase toys. Toys were purchased Dec. 5 at the Lenox Township Meijer store. Tinnette said students were given an idea of the age ranges of children they would be shopping for, with particular emphasis on youth ages 10 to 13.
“We also had them pick out toys for teenagers. Sometimes these kids get shorthanded with donations, the older kids in the family can be sometimes left out,” Tinnette said.
Paulina said students selected toys for youth of many age ranges, with many items geared toward middle or high school youth, such as makeup kits, footballs and basketballs, or board games and puzzles.
On Dec. 9, students donated items at the New Baltimore Civic Club building,
located at Main and Blackwell streets.
The New Baltimore Goodfellows’ “No Child Without a Christmas” program has been in existence for more than 75 years. The program provides holiday gifts to children up through age 15.
This year, the Goodfellows began accepting applications for the program in September. Applications were due Dec. 11.
A key fundraiser for No Child Without a Christmas and other Goodfellows causes is the group’s “Razzberry” newspaper sales. The Goodfellows sell ads for the “Razzberry” newspapers each year and offer copies of the paper to local citizens in exchange for donations. Goodfellows volunteers sold the 2020 “Razzberry” newspapers Dec. 4 and 5 around New Baltimore.
New toys were accepted for drop off at Aitken and Ormond Insurance and Risk Management in Chesterfield Township, Michigan Marine Sport Center in New Baltimore, and The Town Pump Bar in New Baltimore. Tinnette verified that another source the Goodfellows use for obtaining new toys for local children in need during the holiday season is Toys for Tots, operated by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.
Tinnette said Goodfellows volunteers processed and packed toys on Dec. 18, with delivery on Dec. 19. Between 15 and 20 volunteers picked up the completed toys bags for families at the New Baltimore Civic Club and delivered them.