By Staff
State Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Lawton, in collaboration with the Portage-area Wal-Mart, donated $1,000 worth of hats, gloves and other winter clothing items to children from Van Buren and Kalamazoo counties.
This is the second year Wal-Mart and Schuitmaker teamed up to help keep kids in the community warm. Schuitmaker, along with volunteers from Lending Hands picked out the clothing, which filled several overflowing shopping carts.
"As a mom myself, I am really grateful for this opportunity to make sure children are kept warm and have something new to wear this winter," Schuitmaker said. "Especially now when a lot of people are having a hard time making ends meet, it's nice to be able to give back to the community and help take care of one another."
Schuitmaker donated $500 worth of hats, gloves and other articles of clothing to the Van Buren County Health Department and another $500 to Lending Hands for its Warming Hearts Campaign. Lending Hands is a non-profit organization that collects and distributes blankets to local service organizations in Kalamazoo, Allegan, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties.
Those interested in making a contribution may donate blankets to the Lending Hands office at 5248 Ivanhoe Court, Portage, during regular business hours. Lending Hands accepts new and gently used blankets in good condition.
For more information, call (269) 567-4381. Schuitmaker, Wal-Mart manager Cat Stephens and Lending Hands volunteers Julie VanderNoot and John Hilliard spent the afternoon shopping for winter clothing and blankets to donate to local children.