On this episode of Behind the Mitten, we says thanks to those who work hard to give back and to make Michigan just a little bit better for us all. We meet with four different non-profit organizations from around the state to hear about good things happening in the mitten.
We start off with an organization that does some incredible work in the Traverse City region, The Father Fred Foundation. Candice Hamel, the executive director of the program joins us to tell us about the work they've been doing this past year. "The Father Fred Foundation offers help, hope, and compassion to anyone in our community with essential needs," and has been serving since 1989. The numbers speak for themselves: over 1500 pairs of new school shoes distributed, 15,000 bags of clothing and household goods handed out, close to half a million dollars in financial assistance provided, and almost one million dollars in food aid given. This was just in one year! Founded by Father Edwin “Fred” Frederick, a Catholic. priest who served the residents of the Traverse City State Hospital as its Catholic chaplain for thirty years. When the hospital closed in 1989, Fr. Fred's concern for the residents and their future inspired him to create the foundation, which now helps the entire Traverse City Community.
Then we head to marvelous Marquette, and learn about the work that the United Way is doing in this part of Michigan. Andrew Rickauer, a Northern Michigan University grad, has been the executive director since 2019. United Way of Marquette County works together with the community on a variety of projects. They manage a county-wide volunteer program with over 2200 participants who have provided over 10,000 hours of work back, they've given away 10,000 pairs of socks, and have helped fund over 25 different community programs. Rickauer shares a few of their current campaigns, as well as why he loves this northern Michigan community.
The Revive and Thrive Project is a unique organization that has a two-fold mission: to provide nourishing meals to those who are in a health crisis, and to train and empower our next generation of chefs. As soon as I heard this, I knew I had to volunteer. R&T works out of Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids (fun fact, this was President Ford's home parish!) and provides hundreds of incredible, healthy, delicious and nutritious meals to communith members who are undergoing a health crisis or medical issues. Executive Chef Mandy Thompson runs the show here, and shares why food is so important to healing, and why working with our Michigan teenagers in the kitchen is so vital to their development.
Our final guest has joined us before on the show, and we are always happy to share updates on the important work he is doing around the state, and to talk about his award-winning pizza. Fredi Bello, aka Fredi the Pizzaman, is a man on a mission, who is creating postive change one sensory room at a time. He's been making pizzas since he was a child, and runs a small, very old-school shop in Melvindale right outside of the D. No online ordering, no phone calls, you come in and pull a ticket, place your order and watch the magic unfold. Magical these pizzas are, with bubbly dough that Fredi makes fresh every day, and that earned the unprecedented 8.7 on BarStool Sports. The Fredi the Pizzaman Foundation operates seperately from the pizzeria, and relies on donations to help them place one hundred sensory rooms and countirng around the state, everywhere from schools to large arenas like the Breslin Center at Michigan State Univeristy and Ford Field in Detroit. Fredi started his mission to increase autism awareness and accomadations after his own son was diagnosed. There truly is power in pizza, and you'll find it here.
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