People Helping People

Mission

PHP’s primary mission is to offer a hearty deli lunch to Isabella County residents at Max & Emily’s Eatery on Sundays, when the Isabella Community Soup Kitchen (ICSK) is closed. In so doing, we remain true to the late Tim Brockman’s original vision for PHP by striving to reduce food insecurities–one sandwich at a time–for ISCK guests.  

The PHP lunch features a hearty deli sandwich, a side of chips, an applesauce cup, and a fresh banana—nourishing food designed to support both body and spirit. It’s offered with compassion, dignity, and respect, making every meal an act of care and kindness.

Team Up With Tim

You’re invited to help keep Tim’s legacy alive by donating to PHP! Here is the impact you have the power to make:  $38 will provide lunch for a family of four for one week, and $158 will feed that same family for an entire month; $237.50 will feed the 25 children who typically come for lunch on an average Sunday, and $712.50 will feed those same children for three weeks; and $1000 will serve 105 Isabella County residents, roughly half of the ICSK guests who make their way to Max & Emily’s each Sunday.  Tim’s goal, however, was to reduce food insecurities “one sandwich at a time,” so please note that $10.00 donation will provide lunch for a single person. 

Please send your tax deductable donation to PHP, C/O  Blystone and Bailey CPAs, 619 South Mission Street, Mt. Pleasant, MI  48858.

Our Story . . . Our Impact

The late Tim Brockman founded PHP in January 2015 when he learned the Isabella Community Soup Kitchen was closed on Sunday, with no other social service agencies providing meals that day. 

In response, Tim filled this local “social-service gap” via the proceeds of his own business:  Max & Emily’s Eatery, a twenty-five-table deli located in Historic Downtown Mt. Pleasant.

By forging a partnership with the soup kitchen, Tim could identify Isabella County residents with food insecurities, invite them to the deli, and then respectfully serve them a hearty meal each Sunday at the deli—a “clean, well-lighted place,” to quote Ernest Hemingway, where everyone is treated with respect and dignity. Tim decided to call his new project People Helping People in honor of his good friend, the late Richard Parr. Whenever Rich and his family devoted time and energy in the service of others, he modestly claimed they were merely “people helping people.” This phrase deeply resonated with Tim, and it reflected, in his opinion, the spirit of this new, groundbreaking partnership with the ICSK.

After Tim’s unexpected death in 2017, the PHP legacy lived on, thanks in large part to the generosity, kindness, and loving support of two separate entities: Chris “Elmo” Walton and the Johnson Family Foundation.

He orchestrates all the food preparation, welcoming ICSK guests by name into the deli, and respectfully serving them a hearty meal.  Hats off to you, Elmo!  Tim would be proud of you, your hard work, and your community spirit!

In equal measure, PHP offers sincere thanks to the Johnson Family Foundation.  In memory of Tim and in tribute to the Brockman/Blackburn Family, the Johnson Family Foundation immediately pledged an annual gift of $20,000 to PHP at the time of Tim’s death.  This generous and compassionate gift helped to uplift Tim’s family in their time of grief, and it covered more than the lion’s share of operating expenses during not one or two years, but SEVEN YEARS, after Tim’s death. And then it was the Johnson Family Foundation that encouraged PHP leadership to seek out additional local funding, so that (1) the PHP story would be known and celebrated by the Mt. Pleasant community, (2) the operating budget would continue to grow, and (3) local food insecurity would continue to be reduced.  To date, the Johnson Family Foundation has gifted close to $200,000 to PHP, and Tim’s family will always be grateful, fully cognizant that PHP would have ceased to exist without their early, generous, and continued support. 

As the chart below attests, PHP’s impact has dramatically increased during our first nine years. In 2016 when Tim started the program, PHP served a total of 2,400 meals (an average of 46 ICSK guests each week). Nine years later in 2024, Elmo reported the annual meal count more than tripled in size to 8,305 (an average of 160 ICSK guests each week). In 2025, the weekly meal count will exceed 9,000!

As the chart above indicates, 2024 was a watershed year for PHP. Most importantly, we served over 8,000 Sunday lunches, breaking an 8-year record by nearly 10%.

Also significant in 2024, PHP began fundraising for the first time in program history. “Team Up with Tim!” was the first fundraising initiative, and it was quickly followed by successful grant awards given from the Mt. Pleasant Community Foundation, the United Way of Isabella County, and Rotary Club International of Mt. Pleasant. Two local churches–St. John’s Episcopal Church and Faith Weavers of St. Mary’s–are long-time and strong supporters of PHP.

Support our MPACF Endowed Fund

Thanks to the Donna and Richard Parr Family Foundation for their remarkable $40,000 donation to the PHP endowment at Mount Pleasant Area Community Foundation Fund! You, too, can support this endowment at People Helping People — #GIVE LOCAL

What is the Mt. Pleasant Community Foundation? The Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation seeks to enhance the quality of life for all citizens of Isabella County, now and for generations to come, by attracting and holding permanent endowed funds from a wide range of donors, addressing needs through grant making, and providing leadership on key community issues.

501(c)(3) Status

PHP has been a nonprofit organization with 501(3)(C) status since 2019.  The accounting offices of Blystone and Bailey submit the annual IRS filings.  Elizabeth Brockman is the PHP board president, with Chris “Elmo” Walton, Andy Brockman, Mike Brockman, and Gordon Bloem serving as board members.