Michigan residents have seen their economy sour, their livelihoods threatened and their auto industry ridiculed. What they haven’t seen is much help from anybody else. But nobody can help Michigan residents better than, well, Michigan residents. And judging from the outpouring of generosity by Pistons fans during Wednesday’s Pistons Care Telethon, nobody could do it better.

At the conclusion of the Pistons’ 116-111 overtime loss to the Knicks, the telethon had raised in the ballpark of $400,000, with more contributions still trickling in over the Internet. All proceeds will go to the organization Feed the Children, which will deliver truckloads of food to Michigan families in critical need.

“Really if we had done half of this we would have been doing back flips. To be doing this much is beyond belief,” said Pistons president and CEO Tom Wilson. “I just think there’s no bottom to the hearts of the people in this city.”

Last year the Pistons were the first professional sports team in Detroit to host a telethon. Feed The Children president Larry Jones hopes more sports teams follow the Pistons’ lead. “You’re the only sports team to step outside … to this magnitude,” said Jones, whose organization has frequently collaborated with the NBA and the players’ association. “The time in which we live merits this [giving], and I wish other teams would say, ’Hey, we need to step outside our normal thing’ because people are really, really hurting.”

The telethon filled every sight and sound at The Palace Wednesday, with donation envelopes on every seat, donation booths in the concourse and reminders to donate on PalaceVision. The Fox Sports Detroit broadcast included check presentations by sponsors and updates from the phone bank, which continued to buzz with activity well into overtime.

Quentin Richardson got caught up in telethon atmosphere, even though he was supposed to be focused on the court. The Knicks guard learned about the telethon by watching PalaceVision during a timeout. He then asked a Knicks public relations official to get an envelope.

“I worked with Feed The Children before, and coming from the situation where I was, I didn’t always have a lot of money,” said Richardson, who lost his grandmother, mother and brother all before his 13th birthday. “My family wasn’t as fortunate as I am right now. And I know God didn’t put me in this position just to take care of my family, I’m a position where I can help a lot of different people in different ways.”

Jones visited the Knicks locker room after the game to personally thank Richardson for his $1,000 donation.

Parked in front of The Palace’s Comcast Pavilion was a semi trailer emblazoned with the logos of Feed the Children and the Pistons Care Telethon. That truck will travel thousands of miles over several months delivering food to organizations like Orchard's Children Services and Lighthouse of Oakland County, ensuring the most desperate families receive the aid they need. The resources in one truck could help keep 400 families afloat for up to two weeks.

“The thing that really impressed me is that they’re not only concerned about Detroit, they’re sending food all over Michigan,” said Jones, who pledged an additional truck of food for every five trucks the telethon funded. Feed The Children’s numerous partners are able to stretch donations for maximum gain; $7,000 in donations fills one semi trailer with $30,000 worth of food and supplies.

Rock Financial and its partner company, Fathead, held a fundraising rally to finance two trucks - which it named “Big Rock” and “Fathead.” Previously the presenting sponsor of the Pistons, Rock Financial still wanted to be a part of the telethon, said Wendy Kemp, director of community relations for Rock Financial, which is owned by Livonia-based Quicken Loans. “It’s a great way to pool all of our money together so we can help more people in the community,” she said.

It’s the collaborative nature of the telethon that excites Jones, who has partnered with numerous organizations for fundraisers and distribution events since founding Feed The Children in 1979. The pledges came over the Internet and over the phone and from all over the state. And that made everyone who donated to the telethon a participant in something special Wednesday night, whether you were at The Palace or not.

“I came into town last night and I saw a billboard with Pistons and Feed the Children, and then I come in here and all the people are wearing Feed the Children T-shirts with Pistons Care on the back,” Jones said. “It says we’ll walk hand in hand with you for the common goal of feeding hungry children.”

Michigan demonstrated a charitable nature it doesn’t get enough credit for Wednesday night. It inspired the help of a Chicago native who plays for New York and an Oklahoma-City based organization whose reach extends around the globe. Yes, Michigan residents can take care of their own. But it’s sure nice to know we have some friends, too.