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Family Fun Day supports people with mental, developmental disabilities

Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle - 8/8/2017

BLOOMFIELD HILLS - Marian High School will play host for Angels' Place Friends and Family Fun Day later this month.

Angels' Place is a nonprofit based in Southfield that provides assisted living and other resources for children and adults living with mental and developmental disabilities. It has hosted its Friends and Family Fun Day event for the last 16 years as a way to raise funds for its programming.

"It is a Christian-centered nonprofit that cares for adults and children with disabilities," explained Tom MacLean, a board member for Angels' Place. "We have more than 20 homes in the metro Detroit area and some outpatient services that we provide people of all ages, such as job training. We're celebrating our 25th anniversary this year."

The event will take place Saturday, Aug. 26, beginning at 9 a.m. with a 1.8-mile race that starts and ends at the high school. The rest of the festivities will begin at 10 a.m. and run until 2 p.m. Attractions include carnival games, a basketball challenge, a rock climbing wall, inflatables, music, a dunk tank and a petting farm. There also will be free food provided by National Coney Island and Better Made Potato Chips.

"It's a great event for parents and folks to bring their kids to," said MacLean. "There's great food, games, inflatables, a dunk tank - I was personally dunked last year - and I think people feel good attending an event that helps those with disabilities who are in need. They can get a sense of helping others and have a great time all in one. This is a family event everyone can go to, as opposed to a golf fundraiser or an auction. It allows the whole family to be part of this effort."

Admission costs $10 per person for the fun run and $20 per person for the rest of the festivities. Packages are available for groups of five. Food and game prices are included in the cost of admission. Tickets will be available at the door and at www.angelsplace.org.

"There's a few expenses we need to cover, but 85 to 90 percent goes right back to the houses," said MacLean. "We have a ton of volunteers keeping the costs down, but most of the money goes to maintaining our houses and programs. Government funding has been cut, and people need pantry items, transportation, the staff - like the home managers - need to be paid, and all that is thanks to people who attend events like this or our golf fundraiser, which we recently had. We have a waiting list, so we need continued support."

The organizers enjoy the relationship with Marian High School due to the helpful staff there, plentiful volunteers and centralized location, they said.

"Angels' Place asked us if we would host the event, and we had been connected to the organization through student volunteers over the years, so it was a good fit," said Margie Adams, Marian's director of business operations.

"Marian and Angels' Place constituencies overlap," added Lorry Ashe Kempf, assistant head for advancement at Marian. "We have so many in the Marian community who are also in the Angels' Place community and/or who support both communities."

Marian said helping Angels' Place fits in with the school's mission and its goal of assisting the community.

"We are good neighbors," remarked Kempf. "Angels' Place provides a great opportunity for our students to serve others and become aware of the diversity of God's people. Just as Marian students do collections, fundraising and service for the Angels' Place community, Marian opens our facilities/campus for an enjoyable family/community event."

MacLean hopes those in the community will attend the event and support a group that he said can do a lot of good for a lot of people.

"This is an excellent event where kids can have a great time for low expense, and it's an event people can feel good giving to because it does so much good," remarked MacLean. "I joined (Angels' Place) trying to help and give back, and the residents with their unique personalities and gifts have given me far more than I have given them. If you were a parent of a child with developmental disabilities, they may worry if there is someone who can care for that child if something were to happen to them, and Angels' Place is here to ensure they still have a place to belong."

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