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The Westland Goodfellows’ mission is clear. Creating lasting impact in our community by providing our families faced with financial challenges with toys, food and other supplies.

Our History

The Westland Goodfellows have proudly been serving the City of Westland residents for nearly 60 years.  Historically the Goodfellows raised funds through the selling of “Old Boy Newspapers”, using those funds to purchase toys and clothing for the needy children of Westland, and then finally delivering those items directly to families at Christmas time.  This ensured that “No Child is Without a Christmas”.


In recent years our fundraising methods have changed.  Due to the safety concerns of our volunteers, we no longer sell papers in traffic on Thanksgiving weekend.  We have several sources of fundraising and rely heavily on public support to administer our program.  In October we reach out to the Westland community and make our annual appeal through a mailer.  Please consider what Christmas means to you and your family and give generously to support a child in Westland.


Currently we administer two specific programs:


First and foremost is our Christmas Assistance Program.  The Goodfellows accept applications submitted by families in need for Christmas assistance for their children.  Families must be Westland residents and must demonstrate financial hardship to be approved. In addition, children also receive hats & gloves, coloring books & crayons, dental kits, and donated toys collected by the Goodfellows.  And finally, families will receive a food voucher at Heartland Market, a Westland grocery store.

Our secondary program is to help families in emergencies related to residential fires.  The Westland Fire Dept. often reaches out to us when a family is “burned out” of their home and is in need of immediate resources to find living quarters and replace clothing items.  In May 2018 the Goodfellows offered assistance to the three apartment fires: Hampton Court, Woodland Villa, and Westwood Village.  Forty-three families were assisted in their time of need.It’s clear how important our program is to the residents of Westland, and it’s clear how much we value & need your support!

Christmas Season

Our “No Child Without a Christmas” Program consists of the following:

Computerizing applications-to maintain an accurate database and account of all applicants.

Food vouchers!  It had been a goal of the Board of Directors to once again distribute food to Westland families at Christmas. Thanks to their amazing fundraising efforts, we are able to purchase food vouchers for each family, from Heartland Market on Ford Rd.   

Volunteer Involvement! The recent season brought us a whole new group of volunteers and lots who have returned from Christmas’ past.  We were super excited to have so many people donate their time to our application season and the distribution event.  Many were new faces to the Goodfellows and many had been present in the past.  We hope to have a great return of those volunteers next season.  THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Pick-Up Program.  In years past, weather has impacted the ability to deliver packages on the scheduled delivery date.  Additionally, there is a huge need for volunteers on the delivery date.  By having recipients pick-up their packages at Jefferson Barnes Center we have solved a two fold problem.