SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Space and time were running out for a local charity that provides Christmas gifts to hundreds of children and food to needy families.
After Local 4 brought viewers the story Monday night, companies stepped in to help the Southfield Goodfellows. Not only did multiple companies step up to help, they're also giving the Goodfellows working space. The Town Center in Southfield appears to be the perfect location to keep the charity afloat.
Iris Thompson, president of the Southfield Goodfellows, said she was overjoyed when she walked into the Town Center. Nick Prokop escorted her down a hallway to potentially ease her concerns.
"It's in a great spot, right off the loading dock," he said.
Last year, the Goodfellows collected 18.5 tons of food and gave out gifts to more than 600 children. But their normal storage space wasn't available this year, so there was nowhere to keep the holiday giveaways.
"They wouldn't be able to provide this service to everyone who needs it," Prokop said. "They couldn't get the space to put together these packages for these needy people."
Prokop and Transwestern, a property management company, decided to help keep the tradition going.
"I'm so excited," Thompson said. "We were so worried. It was getting so late into our year... We can't do this without people like you, because we're a charity. We rely on donations so we can help people."
There are 4,000 square feet in the new space, and the charity will now have a loading dock for all the packages.
"In all the years I've been involved, we've never had a setup like this," Thompson said.
The room is new life to the Goodfellows.
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