By C.J. Carnacchio

Oxford Leader Editor

It’s official – Oxford-Orion FISH is going to have a spacious new home right on M-24.

Last week, the nonprofit’s board of directors voted unanimously to approve a lease agreement with Addison Township resident Dan Davis for the 5,000-square-foot building located at 1060 S. Lapeer Rd., just south of Drahner Rd., in Oxford.

“I am elated. I am relieved. I am thrilled,” said FISH president Laurene Baldwin. “It’s just hard to imagine being given such a generous gift. All of us left (the meeting) with smiles on our faces.”

“I’m very excited about our new opportunity and truly beyond grateful for Mr. Dan Davis,” said FISH Board Member Lynn Kennis. “I look forward to our new adventure . . . I couldn’t be happier.”

Not only did Davis, who owns Royal Roofing in Orion, purchase the building for FISH to house its food pantry and offices, he’s agreed to donate the money to FISH to completely cover the cost of the lease, which includes utilities, maintenance and property taxes.

Davis is also paying for all of the necessary improvements – including lighting, flooring, walls, shelving, restrooms, etc. – in order to transform the building into a functional space that meets all of FISH’s needs. The building formerly housed the Tool Sport & Sign Co.

Davis’ intention is to pay for everything, so the new facility doesn’t cost FISH a dime.

“We’re just blessed. It’s a gift from heaven. I don’t think my feet have hit the floor since I’ve been home,” said Baldwin, following the meeting. She called Davis “a wonderful donor.”

“It is absolutely amazing,” said FISH Board Member Michelle Behm. “I think we were all just so overwhelmed that somebody would make such an offer.”

“It’s a win for everybody,” she added.

Since 1973, FISH has been providing free emergency groceries to families, individuals and senior citizens, who are living on low or fixed incomes, or who have fallen on hard times due to job loss, illness and other personal crises.

In 2017, FISH distributed 181,890 pounds of food to an average of 164 households, or 369 individuals, per month. The group added 93 families to its client base last year.

FISH serves the residents of Oxford, Orion and Addison townships and their respective villages, along with a small portion of Oakland Township.

FISH is a 100-percent, volunteer-run organization. Nobody receives a paycheck.

To Behm, “without a doubt,” being more centrally located in terms of the communities FISH serves and right on M-24, a state highway, will be the biggest benefit of this new home.

Since 2005, the FISH pantry has been based in a former, 1,800-square-foot community hall located at 487 First St. in Thomas, a little, unincorporated village in the northern part of Oxford Township near the Lapeer County line. Built in 1949, the Thomas United Methodist Church sold the hall to FISH for $1.

“We’re so far north,” Behm said. “We’re Oxford-Orion FISH, but we’re in the northernmost (part) of Oxford.”

Because of this, Behm said there are a number of FISH clients who often have difficulty affording the gas to drive to and from the pantry.

Another big advantage to her is the new building is located on a main, paved road as opposed to a little, residential dirt street. Because of this, Behm said the FISH pantry tends to be closed whenever the schools are closed due to bad weather. She would like to see that change.

“I have a real problem with that because when schools are closed, children don’t have that free lunch. Parents need that food,” said Behm, who’s volunteered with FISH for about 11 years. “I can’t sleep at night if I know children are going hungry.”

FISH board members hope being prominently located on a state highway that’s constantly travelled by thousands and thousands of vehicles each day will increase public awareness about the group and its mission of “neighbors helping neighbors.”

“I think there are so many people that are in need that don’t even know about us,” Behm said. “I really hope that we’re going to be able to help more people.”

“I think our FISH ministry is going to get bigger and better,” Kennis said. “We’re going to be more visible. I think that will be good, hopefully, for our clients, first and foremost, but also (for potential) donors and volunteers (who) will see us and know where we are.”

Behm noted some on the FISH board are concerned about how the group is going to accommodate a potential increase in clients, but she’s not worried.

“We can only give what we get,” she said. “As long as people (continue to be) generous, we’ll be able to adjust. I’m really not concerned. At the end of the day, the job is for us to get food out the door to the people.”