Over the years, Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly has developed special connections with the seniors in the region. The organization has also grown strong relationships with many college students, including brothers of Lambda Chi Alpha, who help cut wood for seniors’ homes and drive around the area to pick up food donations.
When I first started with Little Brothers 25 years ago in Ripley, we had a tiny little closet that held some basic food, so if an elderly friend needed it, we were able to provide it on a very small scale. Over the years, we’ve seen the need increase, and we’ve gotten some wonderful volunteers who have taken the lead. And so it has grown to now, we are delivering 70 to 90 personalized bags each month to our forever friends. – Carol Korpela, Executive Director, Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly
The donation event is the largest supplier for the pantry. On a month-to-month basis, the food pantry disperses 1,000 pounds of food to seniors around the region. Last year’s food drive collected around 5,000 pounds for the LBFE food pantry.
It’s always a fun experience. Generally, we’ll divide into teams and you’ll be with that team all day long. And we make it a lot of fun. We have a lot of fun with it. We go as far south as South Range. We go as far north as the Calumet and Laurium area. We also hit Houghton and Hancock’s surrounding communities. We also go down to Chassell. And it’s always a great time for all the brothers just to get together and to give back to the local community. And we’re very proud to be a part of the Houghton community. We have a lot of fun here and we’re always very proud to help give back. – Mason Mariuzza, Philanthropy Chairman, Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity at Michigan Technological University
As the area prepares for the food drive, some residents may receive a life bag. Little Brother executive director Carol Coppola says that if a home does not have a specific lbfe bag, individuals can use any paper bag. As long as it is marked for the food drive.
I just like to tell people that when you’re thinking about what you could donate to Little Brothers, think about what you need in your pantry. This is something that, um, cold cereal, hot cereal, uh, canned meat, like maybe, um, maybe like a canned ham, maybe tuna’s popular, peanut butter and jelly are very popular. All of those staples are very popular, pasta, and instant rice. But also, I would like people to think about… you know, this is a single person, maybe a couple. They don’t need large cans. They’re looking for your average-size can, your average-size boxes, and things that are simple to use, and simple to prepare. – Carol Korpela, Executive Director, Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly
Lambda Chi alpha brothers will begin to pick up donation bags from the curb in the morning on Saturday. Anyone who does not have their donation picked up by 3 pm should contact life’s Hancock office at 906 482 6944. So the organization can send out a pickup team. Those interested in learning more about the little brother’s friends of the elderly food drive on Saturday can find more details here.
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