The East Lansing Rotary Club and the Kroger Company have teamed-up to provide turkey dinners on Thanksgiving Day for the homeless families served by East Lansing-based Haven House. Founded in 1983, Haven House provides emergency housing and support services for one-parent and two-parent families with children. The shelter helps families who are homeless prepare for permanent housing by developing and promoting self-sufficiency, stability, and financial responsibility.
The Rotary Club is providing three dinners and Kroger is donating two dinners to this effort aimed at making the Thanksgiving Day holiday a little brighter for the 30 family members currently receiving assistance from Haven House. Each turkey dinner includes: a 10-12 lb. turkey, 3 lb. potatoes, 2 lb. stuffing, 1 lb. gravy, 1 lb. cranberry relish and a pumpkin or apple pie.
A certificate for the dinners was presented to Haven House Director Angie Mayeaux by East Lansing Rotary Club President Kevin Gray and Lake Lansing Road Kroger Store Manager Xavier Williams at the Club’s November 23, 2009 meeting. “This project is just one of the many efforts that our Club members have undertaken to serve the community,” said Gray. “We’re pleased to partner with the Rotary Club and be a part of this effort,” added Kroger’s Williams.
In addition to the turkey dinners, the E.L. Rotary Club also donated seven “exit baskets” filled with cleaning supplies to Haven House. Haven House provides an “exit basket” to each family that leaves their program to go into housing on their own. Each “exit basket” contains 35 different household items, including: a laundry basket, sponges, tub/tile cleaner, disinfectant spray, toilet bowl cleaner, toilet bowl brush & holder, dish soap, laundry soap, bar soap, dryer sheets/fabric softener, 2 buckets, mop, broom, dust pan, furniture polish, window cleaner, floor cleaner, pan scrubbers, paper towels, toilet paper, kitchen cleaner, bleach, Pine Sol cleaner, shampoo, deodorants for men & women, a hairbrush and comb, room deodorizer, band-aids, first aid cream, pot holders, comet, baking soda, trash bags, a small trash can, and toothpaste.
“We’re really appreciative the efforts of Rotary and Kroger to provide a wonderful dinner on Thanksgiving Day for our families. And, the “Exit Baskets” donated by the Rotary Club will be a big boost in helping seven families get settled into their own housing,” commented Haven House Executive Director Angie Mayeaux.
The Rotary Club of East Lansing has a long record of community service dating back to its formation in 1961. The Club currently has nearly 100 members and has supported a broad spectrum of community projects, like the Playground in the Park at Patriarche Park, the East Lansing Softball fields and Aquatic Center and the renovation of Haven House.
The Kroger Co. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio (NYSE:KR) is one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers, with fiscal 2008 sales of $76.0 billion. Kroger operates five supermarkets in the Lansing area.