The city of East Lansing may be miles away from New York, Washington and Pennsylvania but like many Americans, area residents are searching for ways to help in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Breakfast for America, the first of two major fund-raising efforts, is Sunday at East Lansing High School, 509 Burcham Drive.
The pancake breakfast is 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the school’s cafeteria. All groceries for the breakfast were donated by corporate and local sponsors.
“All the money we take in will go straight to the United Way September 11 Fund,” Councilmember Bev Baten said. “I think a lot of people will be healed by the spirit of giving.”
About 1,500 people are expected to attend the breakfast. A $4 per person suggested donation is in place, but Baten said she suspects many will give more.
“We give blood, we say prayers and this is a tangible way for us to raise money for the victims and their families,” East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said.
After filling up on pancakes and other breakfast goodies, the city will have two weeks to get in shape for a second community event, the Unity Walk and Run 5K.
The event will be held at 2 p.m. on Oct. 14 along a 3.1 mile figure eight run through several East Lansing neighborhoods. The race will begin and end at Pinecrest Elementary School, 1811 Pinecrest Drive.
Rob Thompson, a Lansing Township firefighter and the race’s director, jumped into the project with his staff to put the race together in record speed. Most 5K races take nearly a year to put together.
“If you talk to any firefighter in any place around Lansing you’ll hear that we were all chomping at the bit to go to New York and help, but the need was never there,” he said. “This was a way that I could personally help the families of my fallen brothers.”
If the weather cooperates, up to 2,500 people could participate, Thompson said.
A suggested donation of $10 per person or $25 per family can be sent in with the race entry form. All proceeds will go the American Red Cross National Disaster Fund. The first 1,000 entrants will receive a free commemorative T-shirt.
Beyond the goal of raising money, these fund-raising efforts will also work to heal and improve relations in the East Lansing community, Staton said.
“As tragic as these events are, they’ve brought families closer together, religious congregation’s closer together and they have the potential to bring our own community closer together,” he said. “There are so many people from all walks of life in East Lansing and this will be a chance to celebrate the enormous diversity of our community and begin to heal.”
East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows encouraged citizens to donate during Tuesday’s East Lansing City Council meeting but warned them to remain cautious.
“There are some people out there that are trying to take advantage of people’s generosity and desire to help during this time,” he said.
Phone scams and faulty organizations have been operating around the country, and in response, the city has released a complete list of United States government organization’s developed for donations. The list can be found at www.libertyunites.org.
