MOSES LAKE — Serve Moses Lake Director Brandon LaBonte called it a “unique surprise” when the charity received a $5,000 donation from Moses Lake Industries as an end-of-year gift.

The check was presented by Hiro Era, Moses Lake Industries president.

Dennis Draleau, junior commodity manager for MLI, said the donation grew out of a proposed community service project that didn’t quite come off as planned.

Draleau is on an employee committee at MLI, he said.

“We were thinking of a service project we could do together for the community and I am familiar with Serve Moses Lake and the food bank, so I contacted Brandon,” he wrote.

LaBonte had a couple of suggestions, including preparing a mass mailing and assembling hygiene kits for people using the sleeping center on East Broadway Avenue. But there was a snag, Draleau said.

“I brought that information to MLI management, but MLI management has gone to great lengths to keep us from working closely together due to COVID-19, so they did not approve the project. I suggested a donation instead and they agreed,” Draleau said.

LaBonte said board members would discuss and determine how the money will be spent.

“Everything goes into operations,” he said. “Then we get to vote on where that goes.”

The other Serve Moses Lake projects were completed by volunteers from a local church.

“I also happen to be director of communications for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so seeing MLI was not able to help, I coordinated with our church to take care of the mass mailing and the hygiene kits,” Draleau wrote.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].