Success Stories

Can & Bottle Drive- May 2020

The Can & Bottle Drive was a great success! We received more than 85,000 cans and bottles from community donations.  The event raised $8,533.06 to go towards the Student United Way for events and projects for the 2020-2021 school year. Thank you to the City of Plymouth, the P-CEP Student United Way, Lou Whitlock, Curt Bastianelli, Paul Fessler, Brian Zahn & family, and Rick Fillmore for their help.

Community Food Drive- June 2020

On June 10-12 the Plymouth Community United Way held a food drive for the Salvation Army.  The drive ran for 3 days, with 5 drop-off locations throughout Plymouth and Canton. We were able to gather 4,400 lbs of food! This food helped to fill up the Salvation Army Food Pantry, allowing them to help those in need. We would like to thank Paul Fessler, Denise King, Brian Zahn, Rotary Club of Plymouth members, St. John Neumann, Our Lady of Good Counsel, West Middle School, Plymouth Cultural Center, Fox Hills Golf & Banquet Center, Huron Valley Ambulance and Kiwanis Club of Colonial Plymouth for their support with this successful drive.

Make a Difference Day

Plymouth Community United Way and our partner agencies work tirelessly all year long to provide programs of support to the residents of Plymouth, Canton, and Western Wayne. Our partner agencies provide programs of support for the young and the elderly, and everyone in between. One of the ways PCUW supports the elderly and those with disabilities in our community is through our annual Make a Difference Day. The purpose of Make a Difference Day is to assist the elderly and homeowners with disabilities to prepare their yards for the Michigan winter weather.

In 2017, over 300 volunteers gathered at Plymouth First United Methodist Church for a light breakfast before gathering up their rakes, lawn bags and work gloves to rake leaves and provide outdoor clean-up for senior citizens and homeowners with disabilities in Plymouth and Canton. Volunteers were made up of community members looking to help out their fellow neighbors, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops from local elementary schools, employees from corporations and businesses like Adient and JTEKT NA Corporation, as well as teams and clubs from Plymouth, Canton and Salem High Schools. “The Salem Hockey Team has raked our yard for many years in the past. My father enjoys seeing them each year,” said Yvonne Begian, a homeowner who has benefited from this service. It is because of generous volunteers like these that PCUW was able to “Make a Difference” at over 65 homes in 2017.

In both 2018 and 2019, Make a Difference Day had to be cancelled due to inclement weather but the pandemic did not stop us in 2020.

2020 was especially challenging, yet it was so encouraging to still have so many wonderful volunteers willing to take the time to help others. While the event was smaller and run differently, to abide by Covid-19 safety protocols, PCUW was still able to aid those in need of yard clean-up assistance. We were able to provide yard clean-up to all the seniors and disabled individuals who requested the service, over 30 houses, and had nearly 150 volunteers!  We are grateful for the continued support of community members, local teams, and businesses. In these uncertain times, we continue to be impressed and encouraged by the heart of our volunteers. This year, the generous donation of time was appreciated more than ever.