Sunrise Windows Collects Food for Local Charity

Sunrise Windows, a Temperance, Michigan-based manufacturer of custom vinyl replacement windows, delivered more than eight palettes of food items to a local charity on December 22. The charity, Food for Thought, is based in Toledo, Ohio, and distributes approximately 350 brown bag lunches every Saturday morning in the courtyard of the Toledo Public Library's main branch.

"This is such an incredible help," says Michelle Marks, assistant director of Food for Thought. "There's more and more need in our community, and a donation like this goes a long way toward feeding families that would otherwise have to sacrifice [food] for other necessities."

Sunrise Windows sets up its food drive as a contest. Employees are divided into five teams that compete to bring in the most items. The prizes for the winning team are colorful t-shirts and bragging rights.

"We have a lot of fun every year," says Dan Foster, plant manager for Sunrise Windows. "In the end, however, the heart of all the teams is that the real winners are the people who will benefit from the food drive."

This year the company exceeded its 10,000 item-goal and brought in all kinds of food to benefit both the lunch distribution and the pantries. In addition to the food drive, five families were randomly chosen by the food pantry and were assigned a family to each of the five teams. These families received a box of food right before Christmas, delivered by members of the teams.

This was the second time Sunrise Windows worked to benefit Food For Thought. In late October, the company had a one-day clothing drive and filled a 17-foot trailer in time for Tent City.

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