Jim Little didn’t allow anything to stop him from arriving at 4 a.m. Sunday to Patriarche Park in East Lansing to begin preparing food for the annual Pancakes in the Park fundraising breakfast. Little said fighting the rain was the easy part and preparations prior to Sunday were what gave him the most trouble.
“I got a list of things that I need to have done,” he said. “The (preparation) begins in January. Ordering tickets, getting banners set up, reserving the pavilion, ordering food— it’s an ongoing process of about 50 or 60 steps.”
Little, along with Bob Davis, host the Pancakes in the Park event, which is an annual fundraiser hosted by the East Lansing Rotary Club that gives aid to local organizations.
The partners, who serve together as co-chairmen for the event, said they were surprised with the amount of work hosting the breakfast now required.
“We used to have a company (cook) for us,” Little said. “We bought their equipment and now we handle everything ourselves. I store the equipment, maintain it, get it here and all of our club helps. Everybody works together and does three or four different jobs.”
Davis said he estimated they cooked about 5,000 pancakes and went through an equal amount of breakfast sausages. Proceeds are donated to East Lansing organizations such as the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center, 6400 Abbot Road, and Haven House, 121 Whitehills Drive, a local group that provides services to homeless families.
“We had a number of groups out there who needed help,” Davis said. “In order to help them we have to raise funds, and (the breakfast) does that. We’re a service club and what we do is we try to service the community and their needs.”
East Lansing residents Roger and Jennie Taylor were invited to the breakfast by a friend and said the experience made them want to become members of the Rotary Club.
“I asked some questions about the Rotary (Club) and the good things that they do — not only within the state but globally,” Roger Taylor said. “They do very nice things from building relationships, being ambassadors and making things good for people who have less than us. It really makes me want to be a part of that.”
Volunteers of the club grillied sausages, cinnamon apples and refilled unlimited beverages, and Roger Taylor said he enjoyed the atmosphere.
“This is our first year so we’re kind of newbies,” Taylor said. “We’ll be back — and not only for the food. It’s the friendly faces of the people, how receptive they are and how they made us feel like we would be welcomed into the Rotary (Club).”
Davis said the warmth shown by his fellow club members is something that keeps people coming back to the event.
“A lot of people look forward to it every year,” he said. “It’s a social event where people come, eat and socialize for an hour
or two.”
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