Mittens For Detroit

Charity warms hearts during the winter, two hands at a time.

HAVE GREAT IDEAS!

Jason Brown
Special to the Jewish News

A

chance encounter between two
strangers on a cold Halloween
night some four years ago is what
inspired actress Erin Cummings to start
the nonprofit Mittens for Detroit.
Currently in its fourth collection season,
Mittens for Detroit collects and distributes
new, unused gloves and mittens to adults
and children in need. In its first three
years, the organization collected more than
40,000 pairs, distributing them through 12
Detroit-based nonprofit agency partners.
This season, more than 12,500 pairs have
been distributed so far.
Since 2010, Cummings has enlisted the
community's help in warming Detroiters'
hands during winter. The actress, who
relocated to Metro Detroit for the film-
ing of ABC's Detroit 187 that year, came
up with the idea at her cousin's house on
Halloween.
"Two young girls and their mother came
to the door trick-or-treating at my cousin
Kathi Moss' home in Southfield, and one
of the girls was crying. Kathi immediately
noticed the girl was missing a glove and
asked her if she was crying because she
was cold:' Cummings recalled.
"Without thinking twice, she invited
the girls and their mother into her home
to get warm while she found an extra pair
of gloves:' she said. "She put the gloves on
the girl's hands, wiped her tears, gave her a
hug and a piece of candy, and sent the fam-
ily out to enjoy the rest of their Halloween
night. It was from that brief encounter that
Mittens for Detroit was born"
Cummings now lives in New York City,
but comes back during the winter to sup-
port the charity. She recently had roles in
Cold Comes the Night and The Iceman.
In May 2013, Wendy Shepherd became
executive director of the organization.
"One of the first aspects of Mittens for
Detroit that appealed to me was that it is
a great example of tikkun olam," Shepherd
said. "I grew up as the daughter of Dave
Shepherd, Oak Park's longtime councilman
and mayor, and that spirit of healing the
world, of communities coming together for
the greater good has always been seen as
an important value:'
Mittens for Detroit collection boxes can
be found through the end of February
at nearly 200 businesses, including Just
Baked, Weight Watchers, ACO Hardware,
American Coney Island and other partners
throughout Metro Detroit. Recently, the

organization launched an in-store collec-
tion at 82 Michigan Starbucks locations.
The organization also has a relationship
with Auburn Hills-based Broner Hat &
Glove, so tax-deductible monetary dona-
tions buy gloves that are distributed.
Partner nonprofits include Covenant
House, Crossroads of Michigan, Michigan
Veterans Foundation, Ruth Ellis Center,

Erin
Cummings
delivered
gloves to
Detroit Public
Schools
students.

St. Patrick's Senior Center, Latino Family
Services, Gleaners Food Bank, YWCA
Interim House, Alternatives for Girls, the
Children's Center and COTS.
To donate or get involved, visit www.
MittensForDetroit.org or call (586) 913-
5690.

❑

Mittens For Detroit To Hold
Comedy Benefit On Jan. 25

Mittens for Detroit and Pinup Girl
Clothing will present the fourth annual
"A Night of Giggles & Gloves," a comedy
show benefiting Mittens for Detroit, at
8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the MGM
Grand Detroit Ballroom. A silent auction
begins at 6:30 p.m.
Headlining the show will be Jackie
"The Joke Man" Martling, who spent 15
years as the head writer and on-
air personality for the Howard Stern
Show. Opening the show will be local
comedian Jeff Dwoskin. The event will
be hosted by actress Erin Cummings
and Fox 2 reporter Roop Raj.
VIP tickets are $100; general admis-
sion, $50. Sponsor tables for 10 are
$1,000 each. For tickets, go to
mittensfordetroit.org/events or
neptix.com .

Jason Brown is a principal at Publicity PR.

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January 23 • 2014

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