GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On Wednesday, Sportsman Channel and Comcast partnered to host a natural resources themed dinner for the Boys & Girls Club of Grand Rapids Youth Commonwealth and their families.
"I think it's really important for families to be able to come in and see where their kids are spending their time between school and home and to get to know what's happening here in the club," said CEO of Boys & Girls Club, Patrick Placzkowski.
He said a special dinner and new laptops were given to children and their families.
"The way it works is Comcast comes out with a whole bunch of volunteers from the local area. Outdoor Channel comes out with some personalities and a celebrity chef, and that celebrity chef has cooked us venison tacos today. Then at the end of the event, Comcast is going to be giving out 200 laptops to the families as well," said Placzkowski.
The event, called Hunt. Fish. Feed, paired community partnership with the start of Michigan's deer hunting season. The laptop donation was created to advance digital equity across the country.
"What's great about it is, not only are we helping to bridge the digital divide, because unfortunately, a lot of people can't afford devices and therefore can't connect to the power of the internet, but also because we have a national partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs," said Vice President of External Affairs at Comcast, Craig D'Agostini.
The Hunt. Fish. Feed. program connects families experiencing food insecurity with underutilized food sources. Majority Leader of the Michigan Senate, Winnie Brinks also attended Wednesday's dinner. She told 13 ON YOUR SIDE that she hopes more events like this will be created in the future.
"This just really fits in with that kind of sentiment that we want kids to have an opportunity to experience some of the pleasure of being outside and get introduced to the benefits of, you know, the psychological and mental health benefits of just spending time in nature, and hunting and fishing is such a strong tradition here in Michigan. This is a great way to kind of bring those things together," said Brinks.