(WXYZ) — As the nation is still grappling with the pandemic, many community groups have stepped up, helping those who need it most.
One local organization is now being recognized by the FBI.
Joining us for the 7 UpFront segment to talk about it is Dr. Mahmoud Al-Hadidi Chairman of the Michigan Muslim Community Council.
You can see the full interview in the video player above.
"It was really a pleasant and empowering experience. Early in the pandemic MMCC and our board and our volunteers had realized the shortages in the PPE supply, so we purchased thousands of masks, N-95 masks, and we donated them to health care providers," Al-Hadidi says. "Then we moved on to take meals to the frontline at hospitals, intensive cares and ERs, in many hospitals across southeast Michigan from all health systems. Then we started to distribute food boxes to underprivileged families. When the supply lines were interrupted and the shelves were empty, we found that there was a tremendous need to give families in needs food supplies to get through the pandemic. Then we had a breakthrough and were able to have food boxes from the USDA, and this was the triumph of our experience, where we were able to partner with a range of organizations from all backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, religion, racial backgrounds and recruited hundreds of volunteers from MMCC and we distributed food boxes to almost 100,000 families throughout 12 cities in Michigan, 6 counties, many centers, including churches, mosques, shelters, the underprivileged areas. It was really an empowering experience. What we achieved was to get the best out of everybody during a very hard time of a pandemic."
