Amid the stress, strife and seclusion during  the past couple of weeks, the Lansing community has displayed not only a heart of gold but also a spirit that can’t be beat. We are comprised of neighborhoods full of kindness and compassion, looking out for each other especially those less fortunate and our vulnerable population. We are also people who know how to make do with what we have and nimbly switch our focus at a moment’s notice.

Acts of Kindness, ingenuity and coming together (virtually) is in the cards for us all for the immediate future. We thought we’d share a few things we’ve seen recently.
Last updated April 8, 2020.

Acts of Kindness

  • The Women’s Center of Greater Lansing is supporting the community by giving away personal needs packs including feminine hygiene products, shampoo/conditioner, soap, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste.
  • American Fifth Distillery is donating 30% of all sales of their cocktail carry-outs and bottles sales that will go directly to their servers and bartenders that are not working.
  • High Caliber Karting in the Meridian Mall recently donated 50 ready-to-bake pizzas and 50 salads for The Fledge to distribute to people in need.
  • Saddleback Barbecue has been giving away hundreds of free kids meals from both their REO Town and Okemos locations.
  • Toarmino’s Pizza in the Eastside neighborhood is offering free meals for up to 5 low income families per week.
  • The Hampton inn & Suites Lansing West in Delta Township is open and providing emergency lodging services to any first responders that need to self-quantine or work away from their families for safety reasons. Any essential personnel seeking housing  can contact General manager Dave Eddy or Director of Sales Cecilia Wallace. And an even better part to that is that an anonymous donor has paid for the first five rooms of the above noted hotel's special.
  • The Fairfield Inn - East Lansing/Okemos donated food to the hard working staff of Sparrow Hospital.
  • Playmakers supplied hundreds of pairs of shoes to health care workers at McLaren Greater Lansing and Lansing Urgent Care facilities at the end of March.
  • Saddleback BBQ distributed more than 300 Free Kids Meals to children that need meals while schools are closed. Their customers have already donated more than 400 meals! If you would like to donate a meal, it's only $5 and you can learn more here!
  • Saddleback BBQ added the option to donate a Free Meal to First Responders or Medical Professionals that are on the front lines of this crisis. If you are interested, you can donate a meal for only $10! 
  • Saddleback BBQ created a video for Lansing to give a little hope in this tough time. Watch the video here!  #LansingStrong (or on Youtube) 
  • Dusty's Cellar in Okemos prepared 90 meals for the staff at McLaren Hospital.

Ingenuity

Virtual Tours

On a different note, if you are looking to virtually visit a Lansing area attraction, take a peek at these virtual tours by Able Eyes that take you through various places. It was set up originally for our neuro diverse audience so they could acquaint themselves before visiting.

Follow on Facebook

  • Suggestions to follow on Facebook are places like the Potter Park Zoo Facebook page. Posts and  videos of the animals, including updates on the new zoo babies, Jaali the black rhino calf and the North American river otter pups and their mom Nkeke will brighten anyones' day.
  • Another interesting Facebook page is the Lansing Michigan Peregrine Falcons that are nesting on the Lansing Board of Water & Light’s Eckert Power station (Winkyn, Blynken and Nod.) We’ve been able to watch them scout out the nesting area, have a romantic moment and now April is producing eggs. From here on out, it’s an egg watch and hatching.

Because we’re all in this together, let’s take a moment to be grateful for what we have, for our neighbors and friends, and for our awesome and resilient community. Stronger together, we are thankful for you, Lansing.

Photo Credit to Camylla Battani on Unsplash