Press Release

Patterson Brightens Holidays for Local Charities with Casual Day Checks

Pontiac, MI, December 19, 2007 - Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson today handed out checks totaling $26,000 to nine local charities. 

"I am delighted to be able to present these checks on behalf of Oakland County employees who generously donate weekly to the Casual Day Fund to help others," Patterson said.  "This bit of holiday cheer will make the holiday season merrier for a lot of deserving people."

Organizations receiving checks: Rainbow Connection, grants wishes to children with life threatening or terminal illnesses; POH Children's Clinic, provides free medications to thousands of underserved children in the Pontiac area; Give-A-Christmas Year Round, provides emergency aid funding for nine agencies in south Oakland County; Child Abuse and Neglect Council (Care House) provides advocacy, intervention and treatment services to child victims of abuse along with prevention programs and services to at risk families; Friends of Little Oaks, the fundraising arm of the Little Oaks Child Care Center serving the children of Oakland County employees receives, administers and disburses funds for charitable and educational purposes for the benefit of children who attend Little Oaks; Donate Life Coalition of Michigan, provides organ and tissue donation; Birmingham-Bloomfield Art Center, enhances quality of life by promoting appreciation, understanding and practice of the arts; Paint Creek Center for the Arts, dedicated to enriching the community through art while creating increased opportunities for Michigan artists and Huron Valley Council of the Arts helps develop, advance and sustain cultural life in the Huron Valley area.

Patterson also announced that $31,264.73 has been raised for special Casual Days held during the past year for a variety of worthy causes such as helping a local family who lost their home to foreclosure and suffered the lose of two sons in a car accident and the serious wounding of another son in Iraq.  Special Casual Days also raised money for Breast Cancer, March of Dimes, the Fallen and Wounded Soldiers Fund and the family of Brooks Stuart Patterson.

Since the Casual Day program began in 1993, nearly a half million dollars has been raised and donated to local charities.

For media inquiries only, contact Bob Dustman, Media and Communications Officer, at (248) 858-1048.