Posted on Oct 31, 2017 in
HOMETOWN HEROES
Michael Spiech.
By Joan Frances –
Fort Bend County is blessed to have an exceptional list of organizations dedicated to helping the less fortunate in the area. Mamie George Community Center addresses many of the community’s needs, with an emphasis on low-income residents and seniors. They provide food, rent, utilities, medication, financial assistance and support services aimed at returning individuals and families to self-sufficiency. One volunteer who tirelessly devotes his time to his fellow man is Michael Spiech.
Spiech is a retired chemical engineer who worked most of his career in the oil industry. He and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 48 years and are blessed with a wonderful daughter, Julie, and an awesome son, Chris, and a remarkable daughter-in-law. His job brought him to Texas from New Jersey in 1976, and he has been a resident of Sugar Land for 24 years.
Spiech began volunteering at the Mamie George Community Center in February of 2014. “My life has been filled with so many blessings that I wanted to give back to my God and my community by helping others whose lives have seen more short comings and serious issues. Mamie George Community Center helps all who are in need and treats them with dignity and respect. Whether a person needs help with rent, lacks food, wants to learn to be a better parent or just wishes to be around others for friendship, they are welcomed with open arms.”
Michael Spiech bagging groceries for the patrons of Trini’s Market at Mamie George Community Center.
For the past nearly four years and for two and a half hours each week, Spiech volunteers in Trini’s Market, where the community centers’ clients shop for food. “I bag groceries for the patrons, as well as stock shelves and help sort out food donations when they arrive from various suppliers,” shared Spiech. “The smiles that we can bring to a client’s face by simply showing them some items they might want, as well as getting to know them as friends, not just people, makes my day.”
The staff that Spiech works with are all kind, generous people donating their day to be there to assist in many ways. “They are caring, friendly, compassionate and great individuals who share their time with the Community Center as we help those who are not as blessed as we have been.”
Beth Zarate, center director, said, “We are so fortunate to have volunteers like Michael who choose to be instrumental in helping people have better lives by giving his free time so generously.”
In addition to Spiech spending time at the Mamie George Community Center, he is active in Sacred Heart Church in Richmond as a Eucharistic minister, a crossing guard for children’s religion classes and a member of the Knights of Columbus. As a member of the Knights of Columbus, he has worked with others to start a Lenten food drive that contributes 5,000 pounds annually to the Mamie George Community Center. With other knights’ assistance, Spiech sold artisan crosses to help persecuted Christians in the Middle East, distributed Christian magazine subscriptions to the Fort Bend County jail inmates and is currently working on a project to support military personnel in faith matters, as well as supplying their families a Christmas tree later this year. Spiech also served on the Board of Directors for the Pregnancy Resource Medical Center of Fort Bend for four years and helped develop business plans, which helped the organization achieve financial stability.
Thank you, Michael Spiech, for your humanitarianism and devotion to the people of Fort Bend County who may be forgotten or ignored. Your generosity is making the world a better place to live for everyone.
