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January 28. Livonia All Stars v Detroit Red Wings Alumni Year Three.

Blessings in a Backpack Livonia is a 501(c)(3) organization that mobilizes volunteers and resources to provide food on weekends for school-aged children who might otherwise go hungry.

In Livonia, this means approximately 500 students every weekend for 38 weeks of the year. On average, $175 will feed one child on the weekends for one 38-week school year through the Blessings in a Backpack program. The results are nourished kids ready to learn. Food is an essential building block; in this case, it is truly a blessing, especially to a hungry child!

Livonia's Blessings in a Backpack needs to raise $100,000 to continue providing nutritional meals over the weekend. Currently, BIAB Livonia assists students in 15 Livonia schools.

The organization is run by unpaid volunteers, including steering committee leaders Nicole Dant, Audra Rons, Garrett Rons, Lauren Severini-Peters, Susan Swantick, Nathan Lipski, and Heather Belcher.

Blessings in a Backpack is receiving help from Two Men and a Truck, who donate their time to bring all of the bins of food to the respective schools every week.

For ten years these intrepid volunteers have been providing weekend meals for over 400 students. Is Livonia ready to pitch in and help them reach another 10 years of providing nutritional support for our hometown students?

Out of history comes a source of knowledge recording

and explaining past events while helping us understand from

where we have come and where we can potentially go.

Livonia Historical Society is setting the tone for our past understanding while helping us understand what our future holds

FridayMusings has long felt and frequently written that too many of our elected officials believe that the history of the community they have been elected to represent starts the day they are elected.

They need to study the history of Livonia, understand the traditions, appreciate the leadership that came before them, and share the steps taken to create a hometown of which they can be proud.

Our Livonoia Historical Society is instrumental in telling our story, in ways that can be easily understood and proves valuable when it comes to sharing the heritage that unites all of Livonia.

Bentley Historic Marker

Last year 10 intrepid researchers worked to write the wording to be included on the Bentley Historical Marker set to be dedicated in September 2024 on the site of our original high school. Along with the marker dedication the original Elm Elementary School bell will be included. All in a way to remind Livonia of the role education played in developing a community that at once was the hotspot for young families seeking an educational system defining a town they wanted to live in.

The Livonia Historical Society has raised $5,000 to pay for the marker from the Michigan Historical Society. All that is left now is to identify a landscaping company to design and put in place an appropriate plan for landscaping.

Day at Greenmead

Last year a long tradition of elementary school students spending a day at Greenmead in the historic one-room school house was re-established with the Livonia Historical Society raising $7,000 to transport 400 elementary school students to Greenmead where in partnership with our Livonia Parks and Recreation they were able to transport themselves back in time to when education took place in this one-room schoolhouse.

This year the Historical Society is raising $10,000 to continue the program. The initial seed money of $2,000 has been donated by Livonia Kids & Families. With $5,000 on hand, the Society is in the process of raising the balance of $5,000.

Cemetary Walk

Another tradition, the Livonia Cemetary Walk, has been revitalized in partnership with the Livonia Education Foundation and Historical Society, under the leadership of hometown historian Kathy Bilger. Another Walk is scheduled for Fall 2024.

Livonia 75 years Celebration

Plans are underway for the 75th Birthday Celebration since the founding of Livonia in 1950. Included will be church bell ringing, art contest (this Spring) for the design of an official brand logo for the 75th Birthday, the publication of Freeways to the Future book detailing the history of Livonia since 1950, dinner dance, special bakery contest designing birthday cakes, and so much more.

Mail Address

19514 Bainbridge 48152

E-mail address

rwilliamjoyner@gmail.com

Cell address

734-674-5871

The typewriter is not available for phone calls or emails Saturday and Sunday. Mental health and rehabilitation time. Out and about enjoying life.

What motivates FridayMusings:

We can't only define Livonia as taking small steps toward maintaining the way things were. That will give us mediocre outcomes. Our goal needs to be innovative and transformative.

Kick off the 2024 Livonia Women’s Connection series with a Gal-entine’s Day get together coi-hosted by Nicole McPherson of Family Affairs Party Rentals. Join for sweet treats and conversation on Thursday, February 8th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

Make new connections, catch up with friends and join Livonia's best and brightest for an evening mixer. Livonia's civic, community and business leaders (and future leaders) are invited to the renewed and re-imagined quarterly gathering designed to bring women of all backgrounds and interests together. Help move our city forward by building your network of women working hard in Livonia.