Kalamazoo residents give to those in need year-round

From Jeff Barr of the Kalamazoo Gazette:

KALAMAZOO — Examples of Kalamazoo Gazette readers lending a hand to those in need are as plentiful as they are generous.

In the past six weeks, there have been three such gifts after stories appeared in the Gazette, and many more before that.

Last week was such an instance. A response came after a Sunday column profiled the plight of Michelle, a woman walking in the bitter cold who had missed the last bus of the night after Christmas shopping for her children.

Details of Michelle’s optimistic smile despite her tenuous financial condition touched a heart. A local dentist reached out with a $100 bill that made it into Michelle’s hands.

Another example came just before Thanksgiving, after a Gazette column told the tale of Kevin Whitfield. The resident of Kalamazoo’s east side wakes up at 3:30 a.m. five days a week and walks an hour to catch a Ministry With Community shuttle to a temp agency in hope of finding day work.

Soon after the column appeared, a $25 money order arrived for Whitfield. Another call offered a new bike and a lock; another reader gave a holiday food basket.

In the past few years, dozens of residents have responded with various gifts after reading Gazette stories.

A few examples: A $300 check arrived for a man who couldn’t fill up his oil tank; donations poured in to completely renovate the bathroom of a woman with multiple sclerosis after a contractor collected money and didn’t complete the work; more than 90 respondents donated to a cerebral palsy victim who couldn’t afford summer camp; a bike was given to a mentally challenged girl who had hers stolen.

These are a few of the generous examples of which we are aware. Undoubtedly, there are anonymous gifts that are given quietly and without notice.

It is true that the holidays are a season of giving. But in Kalamazoo, it goes on year-round.