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Michigan Matters: Actress' Love Affair Helps Detroiters, Patterson-Peters' Extol GM's Virtues

By Carol Cain
CBS 62 Detroit

Actress Erin Cummings' love affair with the Motor City began when she moved here to film a TV show and continues on with an organization she launched called Mittens For Detroit to collect gloves for those in need.

It's became a global enterprise with donations coming from as far as Australia as the actress of hit TV shows loaned her celebrity to help the city she adopted.

"The city opened its arms to me and I feel like I am coming home again," she said during taping of "Michigan Matters."

So far, MFD has distributed over 40,000 pairs of gloves since it began in November 2010.

The actress, who lives in New York City, has appeared in shows like "Mad Men," Pan Am" "Nip Tuck," and "Detroit 1-8-7" which is the TV show that first brought her to Detroit.

She had never been to the Motor City before.

Cummings was inspired to create the group while passing out candy on Halloween with her cousin, Kathi Moss, who lives in Southfield.

Two little girls and their mother came to Moss' door trick-or-treating, and one of the girls was missing a glove and shivering. Moss invited the family inside and gave the girl a spare pair of gloves..

Seeing the impact it had led Cummings to come up with the idea for the group.

She had never been to Detroit until filming "Detroit 1-8-7".

"When I moved here, the first thing I did was throw out the first pitch as a Tigers' game," she said. "Your first experience feeds your perception."

She also met Jason Brown, public relations consultant who represented Just Baked Cupcakes.

They met when he dropped off Just Baked Cupcakes for the "Detroit 1-8-7" crew. He is among those helping the organization.

MDF has 75 drop boxes for gloves across Metro Detroit and just added a jewelry collection with the organization's logo they are selling online www.mittensfordetroit.org.

Patterson-Peters share kudos for GM:

Michigan Matters L. Brooks Patterson
Brooks makes his return to the Michigan Matters studio for the first time after his auto accident last summer. (credit: CBS 62)

It was talk about General Motors adding hundreds of new jobs at its powertrain plant in Pontiac that brought Republican Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Democrat Cong. Gary Peters to jointly sing the auto maker's  praises on the show.

Business woman Denise Ilitch also appeared on the roundtable.

The show marked the return of Patterson, a regular panelist since Michigan Matters began, after a serious auto accident last summer.

Patterson is still undergoing rehab and travels in a wheelchair. He hopes to walk unassisted in a few months.

Patterson is also going to deliver his annual state of the county speech on Thursday and talked about his message and tidings of the region.

Carol Cain is the Emmy winning Senior Producer and Host of "Michigan Matters." She writes about politics and business in Sunday's Detroit Free Press. She can be reached at clcain@cbs.com.

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