In the spirit of Christmas, The Detroit Police Department teamed up Wednesday with the Goodfellows of Detroit and some Broadway stars making sure no child is forgotten this holiday season.
In 1914 the Goodfellows put together 3,400 holiday boxes for needy children in Detroit. More than 100 years later, they’re helping 34,000 kids and giving out those boxes with the help of some special friends.
“We will raise over a million dollars to pay for the content of those boxes,” President of Goodfellows of Detroit Nancy Foran said.
It is a yearlong effort from the Old Newsboys Goodfellows of Detroit collecting donations and selling newspapers. Wednesday they were joined by cast members of ‘Newsies’ from the Broadway musical who are in town for performances at the Detroit Opera House.
“As newsboys we thought this would be an opportune moment to give back to the community since we were here in Detroit,” actor Stephen Lanton said.
The holiday boxes are sorted and specifically created for girls and boys differing by age.
For some parents, it’s the only opportunity to give their children gifts this Christmas.
“It helps out a lot with the Christmas gifts and stuff like that,” Detroit mother Bernice Parker said.
Detroit police have been helping the cause since the very beginning in the early 1900’s delivering the packages to homes where they saw the need firsthand.
“A lot of these kids see stuff that most kids shouldn’t have to see, especially a lot of the families that police officers encounter,” Deputy Chief David Levalley said.
Goodfellows of Detroit still need donations this holiday season and they’ve teamed up with Newsies for discounted tickets with a portion of the proceeds donate to the organization.
