The DRE Project delivers home-cooked meals to Metro Detroiters in need
(CBS DETROIT) — Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for you to make a difference by donating to charity.
There are close to 4,000 nonprofits in the Metro Detroit area that need your support, including those battling food insecurity, like The Dre Project, a food pantry based in Birmingham.
The Dre Project founder, Jennifer Jackson, operates the nonprofit out of her garage. She will deliver to 600 families this year, impacting about 1,500 children.
"We're not going to ask any questions, so we'll just kind of help you through that little interim, and then hopefully people come back, and they help, and they deliver, and they do other things within our community," Jackson said.
The Dre Project delivers 60 pounds of dry goods, a home-cooked meal and a birthday box to any family facing hardship one time.
That includes people like Tamilla Thomas and her three children.
"She made me up a food box, and she brought it to me, as well as a few baby items that she had, like new boxes of diapers, wipes," Thomas said.
It was a big help for the mom who just gave birth to her daughter three weeks ago.
"A lot of those things I was really in need of, but it was, like, a very, very big help. Like, I am in love with Mrs. JJ," Thomas said.
She's also set for the holidays thanks to Jackson and The Dre Project.
"I got a Christmas tree that I'm in love with that. It's like, just so big, and it's taller than me. And I never had a Christmas tree this tall," Thomas said.
Pantries across the country continue to see an increase in food assistance.
"I feel like the need just keeps growing and growing with the price of groceries that are going up with so many families facing hardship," Jackson said.
That's especially true during the holidays.
"It's very expensive to have children now; the cost of diapers, the cost of baby formula, cost of food, snacks, things they might need for school clothing. It just adds up fast," said Janette Phillips, executive director of Share Detroit.
But just a small donation of $10 can make an impact.
"Imagine if every person in Metro Detroit, six million people, each gave $10; that would be $60 million that can support a nonprofit," Phillips said.
Every little bit helps families in need, not only on Giving Tuesday but every day of the year.