If Cordell Green is going to do something, he’s going to really do it—and it’s going to be big.
One fall day in October 10 years ago, Green, a DTE Energy service technician in gas Grand Rapids field service–HPP, was driving his route, which went past a low-income neighborhood in Cedar Springs, Michigan. He’d grown up poor, too, and he started remembering past Halloweens when his family couldn’t even afford a pumpkin. A thought crossed his mind: “Let’s do a pumpkin giveaway for them.”
With a handful of friends and family helping, Green bought a few dozen pumpkins, several games, cider and doughnuts—and put together an event in just a couple weeks that attracted about 35 children and their families.
Their response was surprising. “They said, ‘Why are you doing this?’ and ‘Why would you do this for us?’” said Green, who responded, “Because we care, that’s why.”
That’s how Green Family and Friends (www.facebook.com/greenfamilyandfriends) was born. “Our motto is ‘Giving so others may receive,’” said Green, who, along with a few partners—including DTE’s HPP program, City Impact and the Cedar Springs Chamber of Commerce—now self-funds events nearly every month, including the annual pumpkin giveaway and a new Easter Egg hunt.
From just 35 people at the first event, the pumpkin giveaway now attracts more than 1,000 people every year. It features pumpkin painting, games, a magic show, a costume contest and hot dogs—all free to families. It’s the second-largest annual event in Cedar Springs, said Green; the largest is the Red Flannel Festival, which has been around for a little over 80 years.
That first year of the pumpkin giveaway, it drizzled, said Green. The second year, the weather looked even less promising. But when he peered outside the tent, the sun burst out from behind the clouds and he saw more than 200 people in line. “That’s when I knew this was going to be OK, and that it was going to be an ongoing thing,” he said.
Every year, you can find Green setting up, emceeing the costume contest, picking up trash—whatever it takes to make the event a success. Families often find him to thank him, he said. “I just say, ‘You’re welcome,’” said Green. “I love to see the kids have fun; I love to see the smiles. I love to see the parents with their children having a good time and free of stress. So, that’s the reason I do this: I love to see the kids happy.”