Timothy Craig, 6, of Lapeer, did his part Saturday and held a sign to advertise the reduced gasoline prices offered at the Marathon gas station at Court and West Genesee streets.

Maple Grove Christian Church of Lapeer Township and Marathon gas station owner Steve Shango teamed up to help people save a few extra dollars at the pumps by knocking 22 cents per gallon off the regular price. Those who braved the long wait got to pay $2.67 per gallon, originally at $2.89.

"(Shango) also gave away free coffee," said Dean Craig, guest services director for the church. "We pumped the gas, offered to wash windows. No one had to get out of the car the whole time. We had traffic backed up the whole time. Everyone was calling their friends on their cells."

Between 100 and 120 motorists are estimated to have taken advantage of the money-saving deal. Through donations, the church paid for $300 of the gasoline total of 1,500 gallons of fuel. They paid 20 cents per gallon, while Shango chipped in two more cents.

Maple Grove officials decided it would be nice to give back to the community during the holiday season. They contacted Shango, the Marathon owner at Gas and Tobacco Palace, who was excited at the idea.

"It felt like something nice to do for the season," Shango said. "People have been struggling with the economy the way it is. It's a way to give back to the community."

Roughly 20 volunteers from little kids holding signs promoting the offer to adults handing out coffee and directing traffic were on hand Saturday. Craig remembers seeing the surprised look on people's faces.

"Everyone couldn't believe what we were doing," Craig said. "We were just trying to do something to help the community. It was a random act of kindness.

"We didn't get anybody that didn't want it," he laughed. "A couple people went home and got their second car, and filled it too."

Craig also noted that some of the competing gas stations lowered their prices during the allotted time period, but only as low as $2.81 from what he observed.

With such a major response, both Shango and Craig said they would like to do this again in the future.

"We talked about this after we were all done, me and my partner and some employees," Shango said. "Actually doing it every few months to help things out, get things moving, and bring an interest in the business as well. It was kind of an eye-opener on how successful it was."

Craig added they would like to do it again in the spring, but at a random time.

"It's kind of a thing to do to say thanks to the community, and do what we can to help out," he said. "It's very fun to give away money."

Jeff Hoard can be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8127

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