As part of Integrity Marketing’s Game Time 2023 events, AIP Marketing Alliance took a Time Out for Charity to support a local charity’s efforts and make a difference in the Oakland County community. Integrity implemented this philanthropic event last year by utilizing a toy drive to support hospitals as AIPMA contributed by supporting Detroit Medical Center’s Snowflake campaign in 2022.

In 2023, AIPMA decided to give our staff a chance to use some of their Integrity-allocated service hours to volunteer within our community. During our annual Casual for a Cause campaign, Lighthouse of Oakland County has received support from AIP Marketing Alliance through monetary donations.

This time around, AIPMA chose to donate our service and assistance at their local food pantry located in downtown Pontiac, Michigan. At this Lighthouse “hub,” local Oakland County families needing food for the holidays could place orders through Lighthouse, which volunteers fulfill through food within their pantry.

Volunteers play a pivotal role in Lighthouse’s operations as AIPMA’s team discovered how much coordination and manual labor is necessary to satisfy these needs. Local food distribution centers, such as Forgotten Harvest, unload pallets of various foods to stock this pantry location, plus area businesses (Meijer and Panera Bread, to name a few) also drop off multiple items to repurpose and place into food boxes.

Based on the number of people in the family, these food boxes allocate portions to provide meals consisting of macaroni and cheese, pasta, fruits, vegetables, cereal, dessert, meats, bread, and other items. Families call in their orders, and volunteers load up boxes and bags to wheel out to each vehicle.

Behind the scenes, AIPMA’s volunteers helped stock items within the pantry’s storerooms, freezer, and fridge, as well as created “food boxes” with the allocations noted above. They also unloaded trucks, processed orders, delivered to the actual families, and even cleaned up at the end of the day.

Between the exercise and helping Oakland County families, AIPMA’s team definitely left with heavy hearts as they truly experienced the hard work necessary to operate and coordinate meals for families. By 3:00 p.m., AIPMA helped Lighthouse provide meals to more than 100 families, stocked the pantry for Thursday’s shift, and left Pontiac feeling good about taking the Time Out for Charity.

Thank you to both shifts as Kym, Kurt, Alice, Bella, and Alyssa G. took care of the morning, and Maggie, Nanci, Colleen, Tom, Marc, and Darron supported the afternoon efforts.

Lighthouse was established in 2019 when Lighthouse of Oakland County and South Oakland Shelter combined forces and merged agencies. LOC was founded in 1972 and started with a group of volunteers who provided food and clothing from the back door of a local church. With over 80 years of combined experience, Lighthouse aims to be a Beacon of Hope to our neighbors who need us the most. Families turn to us seeking support for the most basic needs, such as food or shelter. Many of these people are seeking help for the first time.

If you would like to support Lighthouse of Oakland County, you can make a difference through a monetary donation here or sign up a team of volunteers to work at the food pantry here. You can also send this Lighthouse contact information if you know of a family in the Oakland County area that needs assistance during the holidays.