Local Spotlight: Canton Goodfellows

---

---

How It Works

Every year around September, families have the opportunity to apply for assistance, and then the submitted forms are screened based on that year’s Michigan Dept. of Health & Human Services (MDHHS) Emergency Relief family income guidelines.

The children and families are then sponsored by community members who help purchase toys and clothing. Canton Goodfellows then uses the money raised through fundraisers and donations to purchase any other products that haven’t seen supplied by sponsors, which includes food and gift cards.

Once December comes around, volunteers come in to help sort, prepare, and organize the gift pick up for the parents. Since they don’t wrap the gifts themselves, they also provide the families with holiday wrapping paper and tape.

How To Help

There are a few ways you can help out each year. One of the biggest is by sponsoring a family yourself. Even if you can’t afford everything of their list, as much as you can goes a long way. You’ll have the opportunity to decide just how much you can fit in your budget, and you’ll just need to make sure you reach out by October.

Once you’re assigned a family, you’ll receive a wish list containing the children’s sizes, ages, genders, and interests, as well as gift guidelines. Typically, they try and provide each child with around four gifts.

You can also volunteer by coming in to help out with gift organization and distribution, or by simply donating directly. Each year they throw a number of fundraising events to raise money as well.

To stay up to date on the latest happenings and find out more, be sure to follow the Canton Goodfellows over on their Facebook page!