Ortonville- Last year, 16,000 meals were sent to the impoverished nation of Haiti through the efforts of local residents and Hillside Bible Church in the village.
This year, Hillside Pastor Kevin Shorkey plans to send at least 52,000 meals to the Caribbean nation and is asking local residents to provide ‘Hope for Haiti? and ‘Put Your Hands to the Worship.? Funds have already been raised for the food, but meals need to be assembled and a workday is planned for 9:30 a.m.-noon, Nov. 24, at the Brandon Middle School, 609 S. Ortonville Road.
‘We want volunteers from the community, it doesn’t cost you anything,? said Shorkey. ‘People in our community are hard-working and we will get together and team up and it should be fun.?
The congregation of Hillside does the project through the non-profit organization ‘Kids Around the World.? The church has raised $13,000 this year for the project. At a cost of just 25 cents per meal, they were able to exceed their original goal of 40,000 meals, which will consist of rice and beans, soy, and other nutrient-rich items.
Shorkey plans to have 20 assembly lines at the middle school gym, each line with 18 people who put each food item in bags and then box the meals for shipment to Haiti, which has been devastated in recent years by disasters including a 2010 earthquake which killed an estimated 230,000 people, a subsequent cholera outbreak, and flooding from hurricanes.
‘Jesus said, ‘If you have done something for the least of these, you’ve done it for me,?? Shorkey said. ‘This project honors Christ and we want to do that.?
For more information, call Hillside Bible Church at 248-627-2513.