How about leaving the cooking behind for an evening while also helping one of our most enduring local organizations help children, families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities? This year on October 21, you can support this work of The Avenue Family Network by buying a ticket to the Avenue Family Network Auxiliary’s drive through dinner event. Traditionally, the auxiliary has held an ice cream social on the Veranda at The Whitcomb as their big annual fundraiser. However, due to COVID, this year’s event had to be cancelled so they came up with a new way to raise money for an organization with a very long history of helping our community.
“The auxiliary has been associated with the Avenue for over 100 years and through the years has provided numerous amounts of support both in dollars and in-kind items,” explains The Avenue Family Network’s Executive Director, Joseph Goepfrich. “The annual ice cream social has raised funds for important projects such as construction for an outdoor playground for the children staying at the Cora Lamping Center, helped with the green space outside of Harbor House, and has funded projects that have a direct impact to help the lives of our clients.”
The partnership between the Auxiliary and The Avenue goes back over 125 years. It started in 1891 when a group of local citizens founded the Michigan Children’s Aid Society, now named the Avenue Family Network Auxiliary, with a mission to help improve the housing conditions for orphaned children and help promote adoption. One of the founding members was Cora Lamping. She served as the organization’s first secretary and was responsible for fundraising as well as helping improve the adoption process for many needy children. Now, over 100 years later her legacy endures helping area families in need through auxiliary fundraisers.
Since the Avenue’s work began, which was by opening a home on State Street for orphaned children on September 28, 1891, their programs have expanded as new community needs were identified. These now include the Cora Lamping Center for Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence, Autumn House and Harbor House Adult Day Services, Shoremark Homecare which offers assistance to seniors, disabled persons and those with chronic conditions in their own homes, and the West Michigan Guardianship, a program that provides services for individuals who are unable to take care of themselves and have no one else to help them with their daily living needs.
“My mother was in the auxiliary and took me to my first meeting when I was right out of college. The work they do is so important. When COVID forced us to cancel the ice cream social, we wanted to find a way to raise money and thought this would also be a great way to accomplish that,” says auxiliary member Mary Goff.
Each ticket will be good for one spaghetti dinner with meatballs, Caesar salad, a roll and a choice of some of the delicious cakes, pies and ice cream the auxiliary is known for. The best part is that 100% of your ticket purchase will help the work of the Avenue.
The tickets for the dinner are $10 and dessert tickets are $4, only 300 will be sold. To reserve your dinner contact Marian Douce at mdouce1@gmail.com; Sue Thompson at thompson4438@gmail.com; or Ann Palenske at ap1054@yahoo.com or any auxiliary member. To attend the dinner, ticket holders go to the First Congregational Church at 2001 Niles Avenue and use the entrance on Mohawk Lane. Dinners will be freshly boxed and handed out to the cars. Donations can be sent to Auxiliary Treasurer Debbie Proulx, 1015 Field Drive, St Joseph, MI 49085. To learn more about The Avenue Family Network and their work in Southwest Michigan, visit https://www.theavenue.ngo/.
