MIDLAND, Mich. – Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Dow Chemical Employees’ Credit Union from conducting its annual donation drive to help restock local pantries, it still found a way to go so.
“It was important to us find another way to support our friends and neighbors throughout the region at a time when we know the need for assistance is high,” said Susan Phillips, DCECU’s senior executive assistant to the chief executive officer, who has organized the annual drive. “So, in lieu of a donation drive like we’d usually do, I proposed that DCECU purchase items to deliver to local organizations in a ‘donation blitz’ over the course of a few weeks – a pivot that would allow us to provide a much-needed boost to these organizations even though we couldn’t host a donation drive this year.”
Selected as beneficiaries of the donation blitz were four organizations in the communities that typically benefit from DCECU’s pantry restock drive.
In all, DCECU distributed a total of $8,400 worth of items among the four organizations.
“Everyone was thrilled to get everything,” said Phillips, who personally delivered the items to the organizations during March. “A couple of the organizations even said the need for assistance has increased so much that they are now serving quadruple the amount of people they were prior to the pandemic. We’re so grateful to have been able to play even a small role in helping all of these organizations serve their respective communities.”
Phillips said DCECU hopes to resume the pantry restock drive – which typically occurs in the credit union lobby for several weeks during the first quarter of each year – in 2022.