PORTAGE, Mich. — A few weeks ago, teenagers knocked on doors across my Kalamazoo-area neighborhood with a loaf of bread.
Turns out, this is a long-standing tradition in the neighborhood — for a good cause.
This knock at the door on November 22 was just one of an estimated 12,000. For at least 60 years, Portage Northern has done this fundraiser — the Bread Lift. Students give you a loaf of bread in exchange for a donation to local charity.
In 2025, the record was smashed.
"I am so proud. I will tell you, I didn't think they could do it. I spent most of the week, trying to dumb down expectations. They really wanted to go for the record," Joey Wood said.
Wood is the Student Senate Advisor at Portage Northern High School. He says students raised more than $32,000 for the pediatric and oncology unit at Bronson.
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"It's really important to know, the impact that this truly has. Every other year, Portage Central and Portage Northern alternate which charity we give to. This year, Portage Central chose the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Department at Bronson Children's Hospital. In honor of a Portage Public Schools student who has utilized their facility. So every year, we try to keep it as close to the vest as possible," said junior Nic Bianco.
For students, this fundraiser is about taking care of your neighbors.
"I think it's really important to be involved in your community. Just, doing volunteer hours, and helping our your school is very important," said freshman Faith Ahn.
Students gather at "Breadquarters" — also known as the natatorium — and get to work.
"The process is kind of down at this point. The kids pick up where they left off the last year. We look at the maps, we make revisions," Wood said.
Every year, even alumni get in on the donations. Wood says one Facebook post alone raised an estimated $1,000.
A tradition of giving going back decades, this year hit another milestone — reaching $600,000 for the total amount raised through the history of the Bread Lift.
Wood estimates, with inflation taken into consideration, the number is closer to more than a million dollars in donations in total over the last 60 years.
"We do presentations to freshman, to tell them what Bread Lift is. So we really try to emphasize and engrain it's importance here," Omar Elghawy said.
Elghawy is a senior and Student Senate President.
If you're wondering how many students turn up — more than 200. It's enough to cover the whole neighborhood. The impact here is one that goes down in history.
"Wrangling 248 students on a Saturday morning in November is always a fun challenge. But any time you get get them off their phones, talking to people, going door to door raising money for charity, I'll take that any day," Wood said.
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