OTSEGO COUNTY — Many men and women have dedicated much of their time this month to helping those affected by the storm, but what is the story behind those helping?
Pam Strunk drives back and forth to the Otsego County Sportsplex every day from Kalkaska, and volunteers for 12-14 hours to feed the people of Gaylord.
Strunk was lucky enough not to be hit by the storm, but a friend of hers saw the disaster on Facebook.
“One of my girlfriends just bought a place on Frederick, so she’s part of the Frederick webpage and saw the disaster downstate, so she organized this whole drive,” Strunk said.
Typically, Strunk and others serve about 150 people every day.
This griddle alone has made 600 pancakes and 50 pounds of potatoes, and it was brand new just a few weeks ago.
With all she and her friends are doing, the community is helping too.
“The community has been amazing. Like we run low on plates that somebody has come in with plates, somebody is coming with napkins, somebody is coming with forks — to 10-year-old boys from this area just made us 200 cookies. ”Strunk said. “I’m like, ‘Are you the Boy Scouts?’ They said, ‘No, we’re just boys that love to help people.’ It’s just been — the community is great. It’s just everybody coming together, and there’s not a lot of resources up here in Northern Michigan.”
As some people can expect, it’s a lot.
“We’re tired, but we’re not going to stop until the last light goes on. We’ve already come to that conclusion. We’re not like a business. We’re just friends, moms, Christians. We’re just coming together to help the community.”
