You’ll love who we are
Community Boxes Overview
Community Boxes are donation-based resources available for anyone to give or receive non-perishable food, hygiene, or cleaning items. Items should be non-perishable, unexpired, and unused. Please refrain from donating household goods or perishable items.
Each box typically has a caretaker who visits weekly to clean, remove expired items, and restock when possible. Caretakers also help promote and advocate for the locations they manage.
Please no household items, NO clothing items including shoes. Only for non perishable food, hygiene, infant care and cleaning items
Expansion and Partnerships
Thumb Blessing Boxes (TBB) expanded into Tuscola County and onto public transportation systems through partnerships with Blue Cross Complete of Michigan, Thumbody Express, Thumb Area Transit, Humana, The Esther Evans Family, The Ellery Fritz Family, Molina, and Corteva. These sponsors provide funding to keep the transit boxes stocked.
Approximately once a month, transportation partners notify us when boxes are low, and we place a Walmart pickup order for restocking. Bus staff maintain the boxes with support from our sponsors.
We continue to seek additional sponsorships to expand this initiative, with the goal of placing a Blessing Box on every bus so that all riders have access to essential items. Sponsorship costs are modest, and each contribution helps us reach more community members in need.
Founder
Melissa Deming
FAQs
Accepted donations: Non Perishable food items, cleaning items, basic hygiene items, pet food or laundry items. Please ensure that all donations are not expired and that they are non perishable food items. No household items or clothing donations please.
Thumb Blessing Boxes was started in May of 2020 (not in response to the pandemic, it was already in the works when covid hit). The concept of the program is “Take what you need, Leave what you can. Above All, Be Blessed”. The program was started with one box in Wilcox Park in Bad Axe, Michigan. The first box was placed with personal monies and then we waited to see the community response. Very quickly another box was added in Elkton, Michigan and it snowballed from there. In 2021, Karly Creguer (MSUE District 10 Director) was working on her Masters degree and was researching food insecurity and how to have public refrigerators. In her research she stumbled across Thumb Blessing Boxes and another relationship was formed to expand TBB into Tuscola County as well as on public transportation systems.
Where can you find a Blessing Box?
- This will be our locations post and update as we add new locations:
- HURON:
- 1) Bad Axe-New location is the grassy area behind city hall. East side of the road, next to the sidewalk. North of the brick wall where it was located.
- 2) Elkton Missionary Church-220 Main Street Elkton, MI 48731 (by the walkway up to the gazebo for the memory garden)
- 3) Ubly-Garfield Street next to the little library in Ubly
- 4) Port Hope Activity Center- 7840 Portland Road Port Hope, MI 48468
- 5) Harbor Beach permanent location. Our Lady of Lake Huron (OLLH) parking lot; right off M25. 413 S 1st Street.
- 6) Kilmanagh-9476 Kilmanagh Road next to St John’s Lutheran church. East side of the old bank building on the corner of bay port and kilmanagh roads.
- 7) Pigeon-7184 Nitz Street Pigeon at Shetler plumbing and heating
- 8. Kinde- North Huron School directly across from the secondary school entrance 21 Main Street Kinde, MI 48445
- 9. Sebewaing- Trinity United Methodist Church- 513 Washington Street Sebewaing, MI 48759
- 10. Sebewaing- Bay View Gardens Assisted Living- 628 East Main Street Sebewaing, MI 48759
- 11. Sebewaing Police Department- 145 West Main Street Sebewaing, MI 48759
- 12. Bay Port- 9757 Main Street in front of Tiny Treasures & Overflow Attic. If the box is not out front check behind the building.
- 13. Thumb Area Transit (TAT) buses (8 total) (4)- Sponsored by Blue Cross Complete of Michigan & (4) sponsored by Humana.
- 14. Harbor House Senior Complex-606 Schock Road Harbor Beach, MI 48441. In the managers office.
- 15. Owendale United Methodist Church- 7370 Main Street Owendale, MI 48754
- 16. Helpings Hands Thrift Store- 6495 Main Street Caseville, MI 48725
- TUSCOLA:
- 1. Unionville-Kemp park under the pavilion-corner of Bay City Forestville and 25 in Unionville
- 2. Cass City Rotary Park by the alley way-6530 Main Street Cass City, MI 48726
- 3. Fostoria location was removed in 2024 at the request of the Post Office due to confusion with packages. We are in need of a new location.
- 4. Caro Area District Library – 840 W. Frank St. Caro, MI 48723
- 5. Fairgrove-Castamore Zanglotti’s Restaurant – 2034 Main St. Fairgrove, MI 48733
- 6. Vassar City Hall (back parking lot by police dept entrance) – 287 E. Huron Ave. Vassar, MI 48768
- 7. Thumbody Express Buses (10 total-2 TBB; 4 Blue Cross Complete of Michigan; 4-Andrew Garman, Licensed Sales Agent) can also donate items to “restock box” at Caro Farmers Market on Saturdays 9 am – 2 pm and Tuesdays 4-8 pm)
- 8. Gagetown Gazebo at intersection of Bay City-Forestville Rd and Lincoln St/Walsh Rd
- 9. Caro Senior Commons – 1601 W. Gilford Rd. Caro, MI
- 10. Mayville Elementary School- 106 Orchard Street Mayville, MI 48744
- 11. Millington: Behind Millington Pizza & More and Worth’s Market on Main St. Millington, MI 48746
- 12. Reese Unity District Library- 2065 Gates Street Reese, MI 48757 (north side of building)
Thumb Blessing Boxes 