Old Newsboys
Dear Editor,
Challenging times for volunteers and donors.
The annual Old Newsboys paper sale was conducted Dec. 11. For the last 10 years Goodrich has had a crew of volunteers that work the corner of M-15 and Hegal Road to collect donations for this charity.
In a “normal” year there would be about 20 volunteers taking their turn throughout the day to be face-to-face with passersby who stop to donate. With the pandemic it was necessary to change all of that. Most of the volunteers on this crew are 50, 60 and 70 years of age, and the pandemic is a real concern. Likewise, as most people drive in their car without their mask on, it’s difficult to expect a passerby to stop, roll down their window and make a face to face donation to a stranger. That is why this year’s Old Newsboys paper sale in Goodrich was “not normal”. Drive-through donation stations were set up in three locations to give people the opportunity to donate without the face to face hand-off of money. Starting at 7:30 a.m. and working through to 5 p.m. the result looked bleak with a small pile of donations made into the donation barrels.
But the community came through in an amazing way! The donations made were significant; 20-dollar bills, and 100-dollar checks and more totaling over $5,300 for this great charitable program. As always, every nickel and dime and dollar is an appreciated donation and it adds up to a significant impact for children in need, but $100  at a time is very nice!
Old Newsboy’s, whose motto is Let No Child Be Forgotten, provides a gift box to children in need that includes a sweat suit, socks and underwear, warm hat and gloves, toothbrush and toothpaste and an age appropriate gift. The cost of these gift boxes ranges from $21 to $31 per box depending on age group and are given to approximately 6,000 children each year at Christmas.
The Goodrich crew sends a heartfelt Thank You to everyone who drove out of their way this year to donate and make this year a very special year. Mark Trowbridge