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State senators raising funds for Michigan National Guard members in D.C.

Posted at 6:50 PM, Mar 09, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-09 22:26:12-05

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two Michigan Senators, one Republican and one Democrat, are teaming up to help out our state’s National Guard Members who’ve been serving at the capitol in Washington D.C. since the January insurrection.

Adam Hollier (D) of Detroit and Tom Barrett (R) of Charlotte are both actively serving in the military as well, and they are partnering with Zero Day, a veteran focused charitable organization, with the hopes of raising $100,000. That amount, raised through GoFundMe, would be enough for a $100 gift card for each of the 1,000 Michigan members currently protecting the Capitol.

This comes as news spreads about the unacceptable dining conditions the National Guard members have been dealing with, so Senator Hollier says, this is the least they can do. The GoFundMe page notes the gift cards could be used by Guard members to buy food.

"I talked to folks, and you know, they had to go to the dentist, because they've bit into the food and it had something so hard that it broke a tooth, you know, more than 50 soldiers had to go to be treated for food poisoning, this is unacceptable. So you're in DC, it's not like you're in the jungle and there are austere environments, or you're in the desert, or the mountains where it legitimately couldn't get to you on time. You are on mission across the street from a restaurant or a convenience store,” Senator Hollier explained to Fox 17.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Senator Hollier said they had raised close to $70,000 thanks to corporate donors, but those numbers are not reflected on the GoFundMe page. If you are interested in helping, click on the GoFundMe page.