As temperatures drop and the holidays approach, Big Rapids is home to several nonprofit organizations that appreciate extra help during the winter months.
Angels of Action, located on 200 S Stuart Ave, is a Big Rapids nonprofit organization that helps families address physical, emotional and educational needs.
Angels of Action Hub Director Laurie Kohn spends her time connecting people to resources they may need in the Mecosta community.
“We are not technically a food pantry, which is a common misconception we get,” Kohn said. “But when people call me, I put them in the right direction for the help they need, and I give them a heads up of what to expect.”
In the Angles of Action headquarters, they have a “gift shop” that allows people to go shopping for free to get essentials like clothing. According to Kohn, the shop offers children and adult sizes, both professional and casual clothing along with smaller wardrobes like socks and shoes.
“It’s all donations and everything is completely free,” Kohn said. “Everything is constantly changing. If we don’t have something one week, we may have it the next.”
Kohn also explained that they’re busy consistently throughout the year, but during the holiday season, they see an increase in both volunteers as well as people in need.
“Big Rapids is already a pretty giving community and towards the end of the year, around the holidays, people tend to think about it a lot more,” Kohn said. “The need for help seems to be growing a lot each year as well.”
Project Starburst, located on 120 S State St, is both a food pantry as well as a place to get personal care items.
A volunteer at Project Starburst, Kristina Russo, explained that their food pantry started almost 50 years ago, and has been helping the community since. Within the past year, they’ve seen an 87% increase in people utilizing the pantries.
“Inflation and the COVID funding has been cut, and with that, there has been a really big need for help,” Russo said. “And we are now seeing over 300 families each month.”
Executive director of the Manna Pantry emergency food pantry, Bonnie Clark, says that when the need is there, people come no matter what time of year it is.
“We don’t turn anyone away, and we give out food for a week depending on the family size,” Clark said. “People call, we take their order, pull it and bag it and then they pull up and pick it up.”
All of the pantries in Mecosta County are available to help anyone in need this holiday season. If you’re interested in volunteering or donating, please visit these locations.