A Time to Help Project at the Detroit Zoo Polk Penguin Conservation Center

Spreading Rocks – And Fellowship – At The Detroit Zoo

May 22, 2017

Royal Oak — As scores of patrons waited in line Saturday (May 20) to visit the Polk Penguin Conservation Center, more than two dozen A Time to Help Volunteers made their way behind the building to face the project that awaited them at the Detroit Zoo: Spreading thousands of pounds of landscaping rocks.

How’s that song go? Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Led by S.A.Y. Detroit founder Mitch Albom and his radio show co-host, Ken Brown, the crew worked diligently for nearly three hours clearing debris, shoveling rocks into wheel barrels and, finally, spreading the rocks around shrubs and trees to beautify the area behind the center.

“This group is awesome,” said Matthew Lapshan, who leads the Detroit Zoo’s landscaping staff. “I can’t believe how much they can get done in a short period of time. They went right to work.”

The fellowship among the volunteers is one of the reasons Donna Mesyn of Clinton Township has been supporting ATTH for the last 15 years.

“Of all my experiences, volunteer people are the greatest to be around,” Mesyn said. “I love ATTH. I love we’re getting something accomplished, and the friendships I’ve made. But the best thing is that we don’t have to look for the work to do; it’s assigned to us because of Mitch and his great organization, and the time they put in. It’s a fun way to spend a Saturday.”