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Madras Plant 7 Club Delivers Thanksgiving Dinner to 40 Families

[November 23, 2021] Make a Difference (MAD), a club made up of Madras Plant 7 people and their family members, delivered Thanksgiving dinners to all 40 units in the Willow Creek Apartments on November 20. They raised the $1,300 needed to purchase turkeys and side dishes through donations and fundraising events.

“When I was promoted from lead to supervisor, I wanted to do activities to build a team that I was proud to lead and be a part of,” James Clay, Madras Plant 7 Swing Supervisor, said. “I figured why not make a difference while bringing the team together? I sent Bright Wood leadership a proposal requesting permission to ask my co-workers if they were interested in making a difference in our community during non-work hours on behalf of Bright Wood.”

“Along with my family and myself, we found that there were a lot of people with hearts for wanting to make a difference,” James said. “I researched trending needs; feeding families was the #1 search result. The Willow Creek Apartments are low-income housing for families and individuals who qualify, so that seemed like a good place to start.”

MAD held several fundraisers where they sold meals. Jason Green, Plant 7 Swing, won their “What Would You Do for a Klondike?” contest by juggling three Klondike bars at once.

Santa in the Park Event Coming December 18

MAD’s next event will be “Santa in the Park” at Sahalee Park in Madras on December 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. You can find more details on Facebook and Instagram under @ClubMakingADifference. A MAD website is also in the works.

“We can’t do this alone,” James said. “We are not asking people to join the club per se, but to support MAD with donations and by attending our fundraisers.”

“I have seen my goal become a reality,” James said. “I see MAD getting bigger than I ever dreamed. I see people helping people for nothing in return. I see compassion for our fellow man/woman returning to the world around us. I see less time spent wanting to make a difference and more time spent making a difference.”

Make a Difference group
MAD picks up the food they will deliver
MAD getting ready to deliver the Thanksgiving meals
MAD delivers Thankgiving meals