DEARBORN — In a gesture that reflects the strength of community unity and the spirit of compassion toward low-income families during the holiday season, Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun succeeded last week in securing $25,000 to support the Dearborn Goodfellows, helping ensure that no child in the city goes without the joy and gifts of Christmas.

The contribution continues Baydoun’s long-standing involvement with the organization. The Lebanese American commissioner has volunteered with the Goodfellows for more than a decade. The group has carried out its humanitarian mission in Dearborn for over a century under its well-known motto, “No Child Without a Christmas.”

The funding was obtained through Wayne County’s Business and Community Impact Initiative. Baydoun, joined by several local officials and community advocates, presented the check to Goodfellows leaders in front of the Nativity scene at the intersection of Schaefer Road and Michigan Avenue in Dearborn. It’s one of the city’s prominent holiday displays, lit annually as a symbol of peace, generosity and community togetherness.

Among those attending the presentation was State Representative Alabas Farhat, who represents Dearborn in the Michigan House and praised the charitable mission of the Goodfellows, noting that its volunteers work year-round to provide toys, clothing and support to children during the holiday season.

Goodfellows officials emphasized that the donated funds would go entirely toward helping the city’s most vulnerable families at a time when many working households are facing growing economic pressure.

In his remarks, Baydoun stressed that the organization’s efforts “reflect the very best of Dearborn.”

“You are not just giving gifts — you are giving hope and restoring an invaluable feeling for families during this time of year,” he said.

He noted that culturally and religiously diverse Dearborn celebrates holidays such as Christmas and Ramadan as shared community occasions that embody unity and coexistence regardless of background.

“This is the real Dearborn that some extremists from outside the city are trying to distort,” Baydoun said, telling The Arab American News that his choice of the Nativity display in East Downtown as the location for the check presentation was intentional due to its shared symbolism and the way it brings residents of all backgrounds together. He emphasized that Dearborn continues to demonstrate, year after year, its ability to turn the holiday season into a communal space for compassion and cooperation, far from exclusionary rhetoric that attempts to undermine the city’s unique social fabric.

Baydoun added that Dearborn’s unity stands as proof that what extremists claim about the city does not reflect the reality of the city and its residents. He pointed specifically to last month’s protest titled “Americans Against the Islamization of America”, describing such efforts as baseless.

“The people of Dearborn form one united community,” he said. “No hate-filled message can change that truth.”

– Resilient Neighborhoods is a reporting and engagement series that examines how Detroit residents and community development organizations are working together to strengthen local neighborhoods. This story was originally produced and published by Model D Media and is reprinted in New Michigan Media newspapers through a partnership supported by the Kresge Foundation.