One Good Deed Michiana to host local benefit for parks improvements

Published 9:28 am Wednesday, June 26, 2019

NILES — Signature cocktails, live musical acts and homemade Rice Krispies Treats-style desserts with edible cookie dough pieces will be available at Saturday’s charity event hosted by One Good Deed Michiana at Iron Shoe Distillery.

Live and silent auctions offering prizes ranging from distillery tours to University of Notre Dame tickets will also be at the event, which runs from 4 p.m. to midnight.

So, too, will a special appearance by Niles Mayor Nick Shelton on drums.

Despite what One Good Deed founder Allison Hayes-Freeze Shelton hopes will be a fun event for people of all ages, the event’s ultimate goal is to raise money to be used to benefit people of all ages in the Niles community.

“I really wanted to do something here in my hometown, and I really wanted it to benefit, specifically, the people in Niles,” Hayes-Freeze Shelton said.

One Good Deed Michiana is a nonprofit meant to recognize Michiana residents making a difference in their communities. It also hosts charity events to raise money for local causes.

Saturday’s event, the first One Good Deed event in Niles, will benefit the Niles Parks Board. All proceeds generated by its $5 cover charge, auctions and other offerings will be sent to the government entity. The board will then direct the money toward updating its park system.

Hayes-Freeze Shelton thought sending the money generated from an event meant for all ages should go to something that benefits all ages, in this case, parks.

While Hayes-Freeze Shelton is happy to see the money go toward any park improvement, she has a vision of it going toward a park update her late husband Robert Freeze would have appreciated.

“My dream would be, if we had enough money, I would like to buy some new basketball rims and provide those for the park [board], and do that in Robert’s memory,” Hayes-Freeze Shelton said.

Freeze was a basketball player and a Niles High School Class of 1994 member. He died in a car accident in 2012.

One Good Deed Michiana stemmed from the support Hayes-Freeze Shelton and her daughter received from others after Freeze’s death, Hayes-Freeze Shelton said.

“We’re not the only people who have gone through a hard time and relied on the kindness of others to get us through it,” she said. “The people who are helping don’t even realize, usually, what an impact that makes.”

That was where Hayes-Freeze Shelton came up with the idea to recognize and celebrate community members making a difference through a nonprofit. The organization’s work is centered on its motto: “Helping those who help others because one good deed can change a life.”

Laura Tuthill, co-owner of Iron Shoe Distillery, said she does not know many organizations that have an impact like Hayes-Freeze Shelton’s does.

“She really gives back in wonderful ways, and I think the impact of that organization is felt by many different families and students across the Michiana area.”

Tuthill appreciates the community and family emphasis of the One Good Night for One Good Deed event coming to her distillery. She said she likes that the event is family-friendly, which fits well with her family-owned business.

“We’re all about supporting the local community, so we were really excited when Allison told us that was where the money was going to,” Tuthill said. “It’s community supporting community.”

Prospective attendees can expect to see four different bands play during the nearly six-hour event, Tuthill said. Bands will play in a large tent at the distillery’s parking lot. Near the tent will be Two-Horse Saloon, Iron Shoe’s cocktail wagon, and a food station serving pulled pork sandwiches with Michigan cherry barbecue sauce and coleslaw.

Iron Shoe’s indoor facilities will also be available to eat and drink in as well, but Tuthill said that the space will remain separate from the charity event.

Hayes-Freeze Shelton said she hopes that attendees will consider nominating community members to be recognized by One Good Deed. The non-profit relies entirely on community input, she said.