With the holidays right around the corner, the Clarkston Lighthouse is once again counting on the community to come through with donations.
This year, for Thanksgiving, the Lighthouse will be providing dinner for 345 families and 125 seniors. Each will receive a box with everything needed to make a holiday dinner so they can prepare it in the comforts of their own home.
“We had to cap the number this year,” Lighthouse Supervisor Connie Stapleton said. “Last year got out of hand.”
Stapleton said the food donations are slowly coming into their facility.
“We have a couple of big food drives from the middle schools which are coming in shortly, so hopefully there will be a big flood of food coming in,” Stapleton said. “We also have some churches who we are counting on.”
They are hoping to get a lot of food in over the next few weeks because it needs to last through two holidays. According to Stapleton, they do not receive many donations during the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“After Thanksgiving a lot of people forget,” Stapleton said.
The Lighthouse asks there be no glass containers or perishable foods and that all food be current. Among the specific food items needed are: canned sweet potatoes, stuffing mix, canned vegetables, pie crust mix, canned soups, noodles, rice, canned fruit and evaporated milk.
With Christmas in mind, the Lighthouse is also looking for toys and clothes for presents. They are requesting clothing of all sizes for newborns to teenagers.
“What we really need is clothes for the teenagers. A lot of people like to buy things for the little kids but forget the older kids need something also. We can never have enough stuff,” Emergency Services Coordinator Lisa Mujica said.
They said items like hooded sweatshirts, sweatpants, along with hats and gloves really come in handy. You can also donate gift certificates.
The Lighthouse was forced to downsize this past year and lost two of their employees. However, Stapleton said the remaining group has picked up the slack and they also rely heavily on their volunteers.
“We are very fortunate that we have a lot of volunteers. They are dedicated volunteers and a key reason we get to help so much,” Stapleton said.
The Lighthouse accepts donations Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Individuals can call the Lighthouse at (248) 620-6116 if different arrangements need to be made. The Lighthouse will also be accepting donations on Sunday, November 23 from noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, December 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday, December 14 from noon to 3 p.m.
The Clarkston News will once again be taking donations for the Clarkston Lighthouse. The final drop off for Thanksgiving is November 20. Interested individuals can bring their food items to 5 South Main Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.