The Salvation Army's Laurie Aren Works Overtime As Back To School Season Is Upon Us. See How You Can Help

Today there are many children who will be starting the school year with a shiny new calculator in their
desks thanks to the hard work of Plymouth's Laurie Aren, the generosity of Gerber Life Insurance Company, and a small army of Laurie's volunteers.

Gerber had a number of calculators on hand that they really didn't need, and Laurie Aren of the Plymouth
Salvation Army, never turns down a donation from anybody, and make no mistake, this was a big donation. Calculators, tens of thousands of calculators.

So with little notice, she took delivery of these brand new, in the box calculators, and began going through her many contacts, and finding homes for them exactly where they were needed. This happened all within a few days, thanks to a small army of volunteers that Laurie put together. They went to our Plymouth-Canton community, and stretched outward to other communities, and the last I heard, some even made it up into the
thumb of Michigan. All to non-profits, and schools. All into the hands of those that needed them most.

This is what Laurie Aren does at the Salvation Army. She gets things for those who need them most. While
that may be an over simplification, it pretty much explains what her life's mission has been. In my days here in Plymouth, I have seen her feed people who are hungry, I have seen her put school supply backpacks into the hands of students who need them, I have seen her find housing for people, including our veterans who are down on their luck, and I have seen her get elderly people help with home repairs. I actually remember her walking out of a movie theater, while she was on vacation, to get a homeless person a place to stay until more
permanent arrangements could be made.

This is just what I personally have witnessed in my six years in the Plymouth-Canton community. Canton
Treasurer, Melissa McLaughin, who has been around these parts a lifetime, calls Laurie Aren, “an angel without wings.” I call Laurie one of the shiniest jewels in the Plymouth-Canton crown.

Every community has folks who need a little help, who get down on their luck, and need a hand up. Every
community also has people who dedicate themselves to providing that help. In the Plymouth-Canton community, Laurie is one of those people, and we are lucky to have her. We are also lucky to have a very generous community, who regularly come to the aid of those less fortunate. We have a community that answers the call when Laurie puts it out.

This is one of those times. Laurie wanted me to put out a final call for school supplies, for kids who are a little less fortunate. Every child wants to have the right school supplies to start the year, but that isn't always the case. Some parents are just down on their luck, and food on the table becomes a priority over a backpack filled with the necessary supplies for the new school year. These are the cases where Laurie steps in, and works wonders to fill the need. She simply can't do it though, without the generosity of our more fortunate community members.

So Laurie just wanted me to put out one last call to our Plymouth-Canton community, and ask if folks could
give a hand up to some of our kids for the upcoming school year. As of last count, among the most needed items are 1" binders, dry erase markers, colored pencils, loose leaf paper, 50 backpacks, and "a lot" of classroom items (wipes, soap, zip-loc bags, dry-erase markers, sharpies etc) but all other supplies are needed as well. The complete list is at the top of this page.

If you are at Target, WalMart, or wherever, please consider picking up a few extra items off this list to help our children out. You can even order some supplies at Amazon, and have them shipped to the Plymouth
Salvation Army. (the shipping address is at the top of this page) There are also many locations you can drop off donated supplies, and those locations are listed at the top of this page. If you want to skip the store, and just make a monetary contribution for the back to school effort, you can bring a donation towards this effort to the Plymouth Salvation Army, and Laurie will be happy to put it to good use, as she picks up the supplies needed to complete the backpacks.

If you would like to help out, you have until August 29th to drop off supplies, or make a monetary donation. I know that Laurie would appreciate it, and I know that there will be countless children who will be grateful to start the school year on the right foot...

The Salvation Army

9451 S. Main

Plymouth, MI 48170

Questions: 734-453-5464