MATCHAN MENU
www.matchannutritioncenter.org
August 2015
Volume 7, Issue 2
Co-Editors: Frank Schmid & Betty Esnault
________________________________________________________________________________________
Michael Merlo elected to the
Matchan Nutrition Center Board
At the June 15th Board
meeting, Michael Merlo was
elected to the Board. We are
always looking for someone
who we feel will be an asset
to the Board and Mike fit the
bill.
He has been a hard working volunteer at MNC
since Jan 2014 when he retired from working for
the Department of Defense (DOD). He works in
the storeroom, unloads the van, works in the
kitchen and picks up at Costco. Whatever needs to
be done, Mike is there. He understands what our
mission is.
His expertise for the last 20 years in financial
management, strategic planning and cost and
budget development when working for DOD
should be helpful to the MNC.
Mike has been a Vincentian for over 25 years at St.
Rene Goupil and Sacred Heart of Auburn Hills
parish. Currently he is the treasurer and manages
the Sacred Heart SVDP Food pantry which has
supplied MNC with food for over 15 years.
In addition to volunteering at Matchan, Mike has
assisted at Gleaners Food bank, Habitat for
Humanity, Hope Warming Center, Mary's Mantle
and Feeding the Needy.
In his “spare time”, he teaches 8th grade religious
education and develops other education and
evangelism programs as part of the Sacred Heart
Evangelization and Education Team.
Mike has been married to his precious and beautiful
wife, Mary Alice, for 33 years and has three
cherished children.
Matchan looks forward to Mike’s contributions.
Be sure to congratulate him when you see him at
the kitchen.
Meijer “Simply Give Campaign”
Continues
to Adopt Matchan Nutrition Center
The Good News continues!
The
Meijer
store,
located
at
28800
Telegraph
Road,
Southfield, Mi has again
adopted the Matchan
Nutrition
Center,
Society of St Vincent de
Paul, as part of the
Meijer Simply Give
program. The store is
located on the southeast
corner of Telegraph and
12 Mile Roads.
The purpose of the Meijer Simply Give program is
to help local food pantries and nutrition centers
feed the large number of hungry families in the
communities in which they have stores. The Simply
Give program runs three times a year – in Spring,
Fall and during the Holidays.
This Fall 2015 Meijer Simply Give program will
run from July 19th to September 12th. The
donation cards are available in the store as you
check out. The funds are designated to Matchan
and the Meijer store will match each donation. And
in addition, Meijer will double your donations
made on Sept 3rd, Sept 4th and Sept 5th. It is
definitely worth the trip because your donation of
$50 or $100 becomes $100 or $200 to Matchan.
Think about it -- Supporting Meijer as they support
the Matchan Nutrition Center is a win-win
program. Please take advantage of this Meijer
program and support Matchan at the same time by
going to the store at Telegraph and 12 Mile.
Top Hat Award for Therese Frye
The Top Hat Award was created to recognize
volunteers (Vincentians) of the Society of St.
Vincent de Paul who live their lives with a
commitment similar to that of their founder,
Blessed
Frederic
Ozanam, who said
that by drawing
closer to the poor, we
draw closer to God.
This
commitment
includes joining with
other members in
pursuit of spiritual
development as well
as a willingness to
reach out to people in
need.
Therese Frye, a Vincentian and a Matchan Board
Member, has received the 2015 Top Hat award for
Oakland County. Of the 10 years that this award
has been given, Matchan volunteers have received
four Top Hat Awards.
One
of
Therese
Frye’s
more
recent
accomplishments is accepting the responsibility of
the Archdiocesan Council President of St. Vincent
de Paul, Detroit. Even though this is a time
consuming job, she still finds time to meet with
other special work groups such as the Camp
Committee and the Matchan Nutrition Center; there
may be other groups with which she meets as well.
She was president of Oakland County District for
six years before accepting the above responsibility.
She closely follows the Rule. She is very well
organized, structured and keeps an open mind.
This is probably why she makes a good manager
and decision maker. She also has excellent people
skills. These are traits which have allowed Therese
to take on difficult tasks for the Society.
She is a Board member of the Matchan Nutrition
Center. She spent six years on the Board as a result
of being SVdP Oakland District President, but
because of her past contributions, she was selected
to continue as a board member after her term
expired.
Therese has been a Vincentian for 23 years, making
visits and carrying out SVdP tasks in the Shrine of
the Little Flower Conference.
Therese says, “In my position, I am blessed to see
many, many Vincentians working day after day to
improve lives who deserve this recognition.
Myself, I am just one small part in a membership of
many who are attempting to put their "Faith" in
action.
I have always felt grateful and privileged to serve
those friends who humble themselves to ask for
assistance. God always puts us where he thinks we
should be!”
Andrew Novack helps Matchan
As his project to earn his Eagle Scout Award,
Andrew Novack chose to help the Matchan
Nutrition Center,
Society of St
Vincent de Paul,
by organizing a
fund
raising
campaign
to
raise both food
and money for Matchan Nutrition Center.
Andrew Novack, a senior at Walled Lake Northern
high school, is the son of Scott Novack and Kerri
Barnett-Novack and also the grandson of long-time
Matchan volunteers Bev and Fred Novack.
Over a five week period this spring, Andrew spent
more than 100 hours organizing, collecting and
accounting for the non-perishable food and funds
he collected. And he was very successful. His
Eagle Scout project collected over one ton of food
for Matchan – actually 2,150 pounds to be exact. In
addition, Andrew presented a check to Bob Harper
in the amount of $1,984.52 representing the
financial proceeds of his project.
Eagle Scout is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts
of America and less than 7% of scouts attain the
Eagle Scout rank. Andrew said his project was
about providing leadership and service to the
community. He said that his goal is “to lead the
adventure, not just be a part of the effort.”
In addition to earning his Eagle Scout award,
Andrew has also been voted into the Scout’s Order
of the Arrow, which is Scouting’s National Honor
Society. The Order of the Arrow’s purpose is to
recognize scouts who best exemplify the Scout
Oath and develop leadership, character, spirit and
the ability to take on challenging tasks and see
them to completion. Thanks – Andrew Novack!
The Christian Legal Aid Program
The Christian Legal Aid Program is a very
successful program that commenced in 2002 at the
SVDP Central Council in Detroit as an activity of
the Christian Legal Aid of Southeast Michigan
(CLASM). It was thought that our clients in Pontiac
could also benefit from such a program so in 2007 it
was initiated at the Matchan Nutrition Center.
Doug Toering, with a legal career of over 30 years,
serves as President and Board
Chair of CLASM. At Matchan,
Robert Bunger coordinates a group
of six lawyers, including himself,
so that someone is there each
Doug Toering
Tuesday. The people we
serve have a chance to
meet with a licensed
attorney to obtain legal
counsel. Mary Lackamp,
a Vincentian from Our
Lady of La Salette,
schedules the clients for Rob Bunger & Mary Lackamp
the lawyers.
Jeanine
Wiggins is a paralegal that helps the lawyers. Pat
Facca, Dan Marsh, Jeffrey Nutt, Jerry Richter and
Paul Paternoster are the lawyers on Rob’s team.
Recently, Matchan reviewed the cases discussed
with CLASM. Our mission is to serve hot, well
balanced meals to our neighbors in need and to
provide other life changing assistance that leads to
self-sufficiency locally in Oakland County. One
way we do this is by bringing in social and
government agencies to address the needs of the
people we serve. Knowing what their problems
are helps determine what agencies we invite to
Matchan.
The chart on
the left shows
the type of
issues
that
were
discussed
over a one
year period.
204
cases
were
reviewed. 41 of these cases were about real
property. The largest number of issues concerned
landlord/ tenant relationships (10).
Another 10 were evictions and foreclosures cases.
Two cases involved the condemnation of property
by the city and two uninhabitable premises. Three
individuals needed help to get into Section 8
housing. An unusual case was the wrongful
demolition of a house by the city.
28 domestic relations issues were discussed. 12 of
these were child custody and/or guardianship
issues. Being a Christian organization, CLASM
does not encourage divorce but in the real world,
issues and situations do come up. Nine cases
concerned legal questions about divorce.
As might be expected, debt related problems are a
big concern for low income people. They have a
hard time getting by as it is without having
someone garnishing their income or having a
collection agency on their backs. They need
advice.
The people we serve have problems like all of us in
many cases. Probate, social security, personal
injury and auto issues are typical examples.
Expungement is very significant in providing a life
changing event that can help lead to selfsufficiency for someone with a criminal record. If
you get an order setting aside (expunging) your
conviction, you can legally state on any application
for a job, school, public benefits, housing, or
employment that you have never been convicted of
or arrested for that crime. A conviction is any
misdemeanor or felony charge for which you were
found guilty; however, expungement is available
for only certain types of convictions.
Often a criminal record will keep a person from
being hired. It takes time and is not easy but
CLASM can make a difference.
All consultations are confidential and at no cost. It
is just another way that
volunteers give of their
time and talents to help
people in need. In this
case, it is a very special
skill. There is no doubt
that CLASM provides life
changing advice for the
Jeanine Wiggins (left)
people we serve.
& Jerry Richter
Matchan’s 2015 Annual Appreciation Dinner
Send comments to: matchan.svdp@gmail.com
Dates to Remember
Annual Pancake Breakfast
At Matchan
Saturday, August 8, 2015
A Delicious & Worthy Cause
SVdP Friends of the Poor Walk
Saturday, Sept 26, 2015
Gourmet Hot Dogs, chips, cookies by Matchan
Annual Appreciation Dinner
At Baker College
Friday, October 2,
2015
Please mark your calendars for Matchan’s 2015 Annual
Appreciation Dinner to be held on Friday, October 2, 2015 at
Baker College, 1500 University Drive in Auburn Hills,
Michigan.
Those who have attended the previous Annual Dinners at
Baker will attest to the beautiful facilities, the delicious
catered meal and well-lit parking areas.
This year’s featured speaker will be Martina Hahn, a speed
painter and motivational speaker, who will complete a
painting tied to her remarks in less than 30 minutes. She is
amazing!
Invitations will be mailed in early-September – please look
for the invitation and plan to attend.
Again -- this year’s dinner will have the very popular 50-50
Raffle, a “Tin Can raffle” and our annual “Thank You”
Door Prizes Drawing. Our hope is that everyone will go
home with a “prize”. Good Luck!! And keep in mind that
you can increase your “Luck” by buying many tickets for the
various prizes at the dinner.
Please try to attend and enjoy an evening dedicated to You.
Thanking - you - our volunteers, our food donors and our
financial donors.