Christmas will be a little brighter for about 5,500 homebound seniors and other disadvantaged adults, thanks to a Detroit senior services nonprofit, DTE Energy’s philanthropic arm and hundreds of volunteers.
Starting at 6:30 a.m. Christmas morning, more than 100 DTE employees will meet at Trio Community Meals on Bagley Street, where they will pack meals of airline chicken breasts with thyme rosemary gravy, mashed redskin potatoes, a California vegetable blend, dinner roll and dessert. Then, some 300 community volunteers will deliver the meals to seniors and adults with disabilities.
Detroit Area Agency on Aging has organized the annual Christmas Holiday Meals on Wheels event for 37 years while DTE Energy Foundation has supported it for the past 16 years, the organizations said in a press release.
DAAA President and CEO Ronald Taylor, and DTE Senior Vice President Angie Pizzuti will join the DTE volunteers to help pack the meals on Christmas morning.
“Volunteering alongside my family every Christmas is one of our most cherished traditions,” Pizzuti said. “At DTE, we don’t just power Southeast Michigan, our employees across the company are dedicated to giving back to the communities we serve and call home.”
DTE Energy Foundation, which supports local initiatives including human needs endeavors, donated $43,000 toward this year’s event.
The ready-to-eat meals will be distributed to seniors in Detroit, Hamtramck, Harper Woods, Highland Park and the five Grosse Pointes, which is the area served by the nonprofit DAAA.
“For a lot of older adults, Christmas morning can be really quiet and lonely,” Taylor said. “These meals aren’t just about food, they’re about letting our seniors know they’re seen, they matter, and they’re not alone.”
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
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