Established in 1997 to galvanize volunteerism on a regular basis, A Time to Help stages monthly projects to aid the needy and promote unity in metro Detroit.
Since then, more than 200 monthly projects have been completed by thousands of volunteers, ranging from building houses, delivering meals, beautifying city streets, running adoption fairs, repairing homeless shelters, packing food, and hosting an annual Christmas party to a shelter for battered women.
Mitch Albom and WJR co-host Ken Brown lead each monthly project, usually held on Saturdays between 9AM – noon. Volunteers can sign up for one, two or all, and there are no requirements, except that, for most events, volunteers should be at least 18 years of age. Older teenagers can come if accompanied by at least one adult supervisor for every four of them.
Do you have a suggestion for a project, or have a question about volunteering? Contact us at atimetohelp.detroit@gmail.com.
Perfect Match: A Time to Help Joins Motown Soup Once Again
UTICA, MI., NOV. 11, 2020 —The numbers were fewer, 15 volunteers instead of the usual 30-plus, due to necessary restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic.
No problem. Small and mighty then, that’s what they were.
Motown Soup is a charity near and dear to A Time to Help: both programs are rooted in volunteerism. Over the past 15 years, Motown Soup has donated nearly $1.3 million to local charities that work with the homeless and hungry, including supporting SAY Detroit’s food program for the last few years at the SAY Play youth development center in northeast Detroit.
So when confronted with an opportunity to help a nonprofit which helps so many, ATTH jumped at the chance. From 2-4:40 pm Tuesday (Nov. 10), ATTH volunteers worked solo and in small teams, packaging soups to help restock Motown Soup’s storage room shelves.
The “soup teams’’ results: tortilla (258 packages); white chicken chili (252); tomato basil (209).
Dan Kennedy, who helps oversee operations at Motown Soup, knows firsthand how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted nonprofits in the state, including his charity. Located in the lower level of Trinity Lutheran Church in Utica, the Motown Soup is able to offer volunteer opportunities just once a week now, on Tuesdays.
“You guys today have been an absolute blessing,” he said. “We’re coming into the homestretch now, before the holidays, and inventories are low. Your volunteers, their attitude is right, their willingness to do anything and everything we ask. Just great.”
Please help Motown Soup help others. With many craft shows cancelled or closed since last spring, the nonprofit is grateful that several apple orchards have recently begun selling their products. Another way to help: For two weeks starting Nov. 14, Motown Soup will host a virtual Open House to sell its products to help the community (go to motownsoup.com for more information.)
And if you’re able, please join SAY Detroit and A Time to Help in making the holidays bright for our friends at the Salvation Army Harbor Light as we’re unable to host our annual party because of the coronavirus pandemic. That will be ATTH’s volunteerism project for December. Get the details here.
Please stay safe, healthy, and take care of each other.
NEWS
Perfect Match: A Time to Help Joins Motown Soup Once Again
UTICA, MI., NOV. 11, 2020 —The numbers were fewer, 15 volunteers instead of the usual 30-plus, due to necessary restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic. No problem. Small and mighty then, that’s what they were. Motown Soup is a charity near and dear to A Time...
A Time to Help Make a Home
Nearly 20 volunteers worked alongside Michigan Recreational Construction on a landscape project, a backyard fence and playscape.
Group Gardening at Big Glen Brings ‘A Time to Help’ Together Again
A Time to Help volunteers gathered for the first time since March for a socially-distanced garden project with Buckets of Rain
Getting Detroit Water Ice Ready for the Spring Season
From storage room to storefront, the Detroit Water Ice Factory’s flagship location in downtown Detroit received a behind-the-scenes pick me up thanks to A Time to Help.
No Pipe Dream: Helping the Senate Theater Preserve History
It wasn’t difficult for Kevin Werner to put into words what Saturday’s A Time to Help project at the Senate Theater meant to his organization that has operated the iconic Michigan Avenue landmark since the early 1960s. “To do as much as your group did today, it would...