Winter in Michigan is a cold reality. And for many it’s a struggle to stay warm. From clothes and blankets, to heating your home. Celsie Mae VanLoon is doing her part through a foundation she started called Warm Body Warm Heart.
“Warm body warm heart is a fundraiser that we created to kind of bring together money so that we can create blankets for shelters and even animal shelters to help donate these blankets to people who are in need,” said VanLoon.
Six dollars is all it takes to help donate a blanket for a child and twelve bucks for an adult. Celsie will use the donations to purchase the fabric and hopes to have a large get together where people can make the blankets and take them to different donation sites. It’s something desperately needed in Jackson.
“There is a very large homeless population we have a lot of people who are in shelters -or even just on the streets. And seeing that kind of thing and knowing that I get to come home and set the heat to whatever I want it to but there are people who are sleeping under bridges and people who are sleeping under in parking lots. That breaks my heart,” said VanLoon.
There’s also ways people can get help with their heating costs.
“It’s important not to wait. If you want to get help if you need help go get it right away. Your best resource is to call 211. 211 is a free number that you can call that connects you with community organizations, non-profit organizations that can offer that assistance that you need,” said the Spokesperson for Consumers Energy.
Here is a link for how to donate to Warm Body Warm Heart. https://www.gofundme.com/f/warm-bodywarm-heart?pc=fb_co_shareflow_w&rcid=r01-157098342795-96564b0497804a74&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf%2Bshare-flow&fbclid=IwAR3gn5YcvSw_V-dIHOEk9W_ztFYpdyAxDOvHYFSzrMPG3paNoOjFi3RP8k8
