Inaugural “Stuff a Blue Goose” program a success
Published 9:12 am Tuesday, December 9, 2014
The Niles post of the Michigan State Police saw a successful first year of its Stuff a Blue Goose program on Saturday morning.
Trooper Jeff Miazga, who helped coordinate the project, said the department was very pleased with the turnout of the event.
Submitted photo
Several people from the Niles area donated toys and other items
“We ended up stuffing two patrol cars, and actually the back of a Cadillac Escalade that Tyler Automotive collected for us,” Miazga said.
Troopers volunteered their time at the car lot to collect donations, which were donated to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Michigan. Items gathered included toys, food and clothing items, and will be distributed by the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.
“I’m always so amazed by the generosity of this community and the cities that we serve. This is a true testament to that,” said Christina Frank, executive director at Big Brothers Big Sisters Southwest Michigan. “The really great thing is that all of these toys will go to the children in our program that we serve. We personally know all the kids who will be benefitting from these gifts.”
“(Big Brothers Big Sisters representatives) were there with us during the collection, and we transferred all the items to their office here in Niles right after the event,” Miazga said.
Both Miazga and Frank are excited to continue the event in future years, hoping to collect even more than they did this year.
“This is really what this season is all about. It really warms your heart,” Frank said.
