**Originally posted on: Macomb Daily

Lighthouse Food Bank, in Roseville, MI, received a $50,000 grant Thursday that will help a nonprofit group expand its mission to feed more than 3,000 people and families a year.

The grant for Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries came from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation during a meeting at the group’s new food bank known as the Lighthouse Food Bank in Roseville.

“As an organization, we are committed to helping those in need — especially children,” Dr. Chad Audi, president and CEO of Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries said in a news release.

“This is one of the many reasons why we decided to expand our services into Macomb County. Here, there is such a high need for children to receive good, nutritious food. Our goal is to make sure not one child goes hungry, while helping to alleviate the stress a parent has when having to decide to feed their family or pay the rent.”

The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries was founded in 1909 and has more than 10 residential facilities in Detroit and Highland Park. It acquired the Lighthouse Food Bank in June, 2014. Since then, the group has worked to expand services to aid local families.

The Lighthouse Food Bank is located at 28571 Gratiot Ave. and provides emergency food and food boxes to more than 2,500 families a year. Thursday’s additional funding will help the facility reach more than 3,000 families a year.

According to Feeding America, 14.4 percent of Macomb County families — or about 130,000 people — were considered food insecure in 2013. In Macomb County, about 12.5 percent of the population is at or below the line of poverty, with nearly 45 percent of children qualifying for free or reduced lunch, according to the release.

Robert Aquilina, store manager for the Sterling Heights Walmart on Van Dyke Avenue, said the company and its foundation are committed to giving back to the communities through its State Giving program.

“In addition to the thousands of community service hours our associates perform and the in-kind donations that are spread throughout the communities we serve, the State Giving grants allow us to aid nonprofit organizations as they fulfill their mission and provide support to Michigan communities,” Aquilina said in the release.

One of the most instructive and inspiring things to witness in any community is kids investing their time and energy in helping fellow kids who are less privileged. That is exactly what Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM, https://drmm.org) wants to bring about at Ford Field Park, 22051 Cherry Hill Street Dearborn this Saturday August 29 from 11am to 1pm.

The 106-year-old nonprofit is giving kids of Dearborn Track Club (DTC) the opportunity to become agents of hope and help by receiving and distributing new backpacks and other school supplies directly to 100 indigent school children in Dearborn. Somewhat like its big neighbor Detroit where DRMM also gave away hundreds of school supplies this year, Dearborn is a city beset by high poverty rate.

“Sometimes, people think only Detroit has high rate of poverty but census figures show us that many families are in dire straits in cities like Roseville where DRMM provides a food and clothing distribution service, and Dearborn which has 25.7% of its population below poverty level,” said Chad Audi, DRMM president.

Dr. Audi added that by distributing the school supplies through DTC kids, his organization is achieving three objectives in Dearborn: (1) protecting and promoting the dignity of the indigents since the items would be delivered at their doorsteps; (2) ensuring the items only go to Dearborn kids in need, and (3) inculcating the timeless virtue of giving in the young volunteers.

It could be recalled that on December 6 2014, DRMM also distributed big food boxes and turkey to 50 indigent Dearborn families through DTC kids.

As schools get ready to reopen, about 550 metro Detroit school kids will receive new backpacks filled with school supplies from Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM), a nonprofit that has been empowering the poor and the homeless in the area since 1909. The school items would be given to needy kids at the following metro Detroit venues and dates:

Saturday August 22 2015

New St. Paul Tabernacle COGIC
15340 Southfield Rd, Detroit, MI 48223
Time: 10:30am – 1pm

Wednesday August 26 2015

Lighthouse Outreach Center (a DRMM facility)
28571 Gratiot Ave, Roseville, MI 48066
Time: 11am – 1pm

Friday August 28, 2015

DRMM, 138 Stimson Street Detroit MI 48201
Time: 2pm – 4pm

Saturday August 29 2015

Dearborn Track Club
Ford Field, 22051 Cherry Hill St, Dearborn, MI 48124
Time: 11am-1pm

DRMM president and CEO, Dr. Chad Audi, described its back-to-school giveaways as “an important annual tradition that puts smiles on the faces of school boys and girls and their parents, and lets them know people here in metro Detroit really care.”

He stressed the need to lighten the burdens of low-income parents and guardians who value the education and future of their kids, adding that “helping neighbors in need is always a noble thing to do especially when done in a way that promotes their dignity.”