Gun Lake Tribe Announces Holiday Season Donations, Employee Food & Clothing Drive

Published December 18, 2018 

Donations Reach Charities in Allegan, Barry, Kalamazoo, Kent and Ottawa Counties

BRADLEY, Mich. — On Monday,the Gun Lake Tribe (Tribe) announced holiday season donations to several West Michigan charities.  The tribal government made monetary donations that totaled $20,000 to charitable organizations.  In addition, employees of the tribal government independently held donation drives to collect food and clothing items that were donated to two additional charitable organizations located in Grand Rapids and Allegan County.

“During this holiday season we wanted to help local charities achieve their mission of making lives better for those less fortunate,” said Bob Peters, Chairman of the Gun Lake Tribe.  “These seven West Michigan charities are truly deserving of the support provided by the Tribe and its employees.”

The following West Michigan charities each received a monetary donation of $4,000 from the tribal government:

• Sylvia’s Place (Allegan County): provides emergency assistance to women and children who are victims of domestic violence.
• Manna’s Market (Barry County): provides food, baby items and clothes for those in need.
• Open Doors (Kalamazoo County): offers programs for homeless men and women, and apartments for low-wage working individuals and families.
• West Michigan Veteran Assistance Program (Kent County): helps homeless and nearly homeless veterans and their families with food, housing, financial/medical needs, fuel cards/bus passes and other emergent needs.
• Nestlings Diaper Bank (Ottawa County): provides diapers and wipes for low income families.

The Tribe has over 120 governmental employees who volunteered time and contributed donations to collect over 1,782 food items for the Allegan County Food Pantry Collaborative, which supports 15 food pantries throughout the county.

The tribal government employees also collected clothing items that were donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Grand Rapids to fulfill Christmas wish lists of needy children.