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United Way Marks National Volunteer Week
On Thursday, April 15, Greater Ottawa County United Way presented 2010 Volunteer Star Awards to the Shape United Way committee in recognition of their successful efforts to increase volunteerism in Ottawa County by launching a “Shape Volunteers!” Campaign in conjunction with their 2009 United Way campaign. It resulted in 90 Shape associates donating 2,478 hours of volunteerism to their communities since last July. Pictured in the photo, left to right, are Shape associates Chuck Michele, Sandy Charon (committee chair), John Boese, Danielle Schmidt, Eric Farr, Sonya Warber, Joe Wisniewski, and Peg Buehler. Also honored but not pictured were Gwen Moeggenborg, Jamie Burton, Matt DeGram, Angela Baum, Ruth Ann Mays, and Frank Tobin.
Greater Ottawa County United Way will commemorate National Week of Volunteerism (April 18-24) in several ways, including recognizing citizens who have been nominated as Volunteer Stars and by launching a new volunteer event for high-school students.
According to Shannon Morton, Director of Volunteerism for the local United Way, 4,305 Ottawa County residents have volunteered in the past year through one of several United Way volunteer initiatives. These include United Way’s Volunteer Solutions, an online service that matches volunteers with opportunities; United Way events such as Day of Caring, Rake-a-Difference, and Beach Sweep; the many volunteers who assist United Way in its campaign, community investment process, and on various boards and committees; and, finally, high-school-age students who volunteer through United Way’s Student Service Learning program, which has been adopted by six high schools in Ottawa County and next year will be introduced in five more. From April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010, these 4,305 volunteers logged 36,177 hours of service to the community, and all that volunteerism equated to $712,687 in services that would have been paid for or done without if volunteers had not stepped forward to meet these needs, Morton said.
“Without volunteers, our nonprofit agencies would have to cut back on the services they provide to our neighbors in need. Many beaches, parks, yards and roadways would go untended, and in thousands of ways—both seen and unseen—we would be a less vibrant community,” said Morton. She said that 129 volunteers will be recognized by United Way as “Volunteer Stars” during National Week of Volunteerism. These are volunteers who go “above and beyond” to serve their community, and were nominated by an individual or organization they serve for this special recognition. United Way will publish lists of Volunteer Stars in local newspapers throughout the week and each will receive a special certificate in the mail along with a letter explaining who nominated them.
In addition, United Way continues its tradition of “Red Ribbon Week” this week. Agencies, schools, churches and other organizations that rely on volunteers order thousands of red ribbons from United Way to distribute to their volunteers this week.
“When you see someone wearing a red ribbon, you’re looking at a local hero who volunteers in our community. Please thank that person,” Morton added.
National Week of Volunteerism 2010 also coincides with two special national events—on the same day. Thursday, April 22, 2010 is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day as well as Global Youth Service Day, and United Way will combine those two causes into one with an event that will bring high school students together from all over the county. Called “Ready for the World,” it is the first annual capstone event for Ottawa County teens enrolled in United Way’s Student Service Learning program. On Thursday, students will be bused after school to Pigeon Creek County Park, where they will enjoy snacks supplied by Family Fare and hear Grand Haven High School teacher and lifelong volunteer John Mauro give a keynote address entitled “Stop Waiting on the World to Change.” One lucky senior student will win a new laptop computer, donated by Sam’s Club, in a special drawing, and then all the students will work together to rid Pigeon Creek Park of garlic mustard weed, an invasive species that threatens native species, before being bused back to their respective schools.
“This event helps students from diverse communities and backgrounds to get acquainted through their common cause of community service, and the project they will complete together is one that most SSL students can relate to. They are a generation passionate about serving their communities and caring for the environment,” said Morton.
For more information on volunteering through any of United Way’s programs, click “Volunteer” on the home page.
Campaign Goes over the top
Greater Ottawa County United Way has completed its annual community campaign, and Thursday night (March 25, 2010) it announced campaign results and honored outstanding campaign companies, nonprofit community partners, and volunteers at its annual Celebration Dinner. One of the highlights of the event, held at Grand Haven Golf Club, was the announcement of a successful campaign, with a total raised of $1,885,917.
“Our goal was $1.8 million, and we are thrilled to bring the campaign in at nearly 5 percent above goal,” said Campaign Chair Larry Koops. “We set what we believed was a realistic and achievable goal based on reduced employment in Ottawa County companies, and then hundreds of people worked really hard and thousands gave very generously to help us achieve –and ultimately exceed—that goal.”
[In the photo here, taken by Nick Devries, Devries Photo, Campaign Chair Larry Koops, with back to camera, celebrates as "Deal or No Deal" host Patrick Moran reveals he picked the right case, containing the campaign results. It was all part of the fun of Celebration 2010, which also featured performances by the Lakeshore String Quartet and the Grand Haven Choral Ensemble. To see more photos of Celebration, go to www.devriesphoto.com, click on web proofs, events, then United Way Celebration. ]
Highlights of the campaign include 233 workplace campaigns completed, with 46 percent of those showing increases or staying the same compared with 2009 results. For the seventh year in a row, United Way received a challenge from an anonymous donor who offered to match all new or increased leadership gifts (gifts of $500 or more from an individual or household) made by residents of the Tri-Cities, up to $30,000. Louann Werksma, United Way Director of Development, reported that 84 new or increased leadership gifts totaling $57,465 were received from Tri-Cities residents, handily meeting that challenge.
Retiree giving was up 23 percent over last year, as well, and four “beyond the workplace” events brought in nearly $4,000 since October. These included “Feel the Zeel of Giving” during December in Zeeland and a “Dine Out for Good” promotion, with seven restaurants throughout Ottawa County donating a percentage of sales on given days, in March.
United Way President Patrick Moran said, “Partnerships with local businesses and downtown groups not only help raise the funds needed to advance the common good in our community, they raise awareness of our work and the needs of our neighbors.”
United Way officials said that their work could not be done without the generosity of corporate partners and volunteers alike. A “bumper crop” of 44 volunteers comprised this year’s Campaign Cabinet, and 63 community members volunteered to work on community investment panels, to decide where the dollars that are raised should be allocated.
“All, in all, there is plenty to celebrate this year, because we surpassed our goal, and there are many positive signs that indicate we can build from here,” Werksma added.
Among the successes celebrated at Thursday’s event, United Way applauded individuals and teams for their hard work and ingenuity. Christina Smith of The Holland Sentinel received the Joe Martella Above and Beyond Award. This award is given to a company campaign coordinator who finds new ways to emphasize the importance of, and add excitement to, his or her company’s workplace campaign.
Four Ottawa County companies—AD Bos Vending Services and The Holland Sentinel in Holland, and JSJ Corporation and Anderson Technologies in Grand Haven--were the recipients of the major Cappon & Bertsch Community Builder Award. This award recognizes the companies that GIVE, ADVOCATE, and VOLUNTEER within the community and on behalf of United Way.
The prestigious G.W. Haworth Strength of the Community Award was presented to Jeffrey Beswick, a resident of Grand Haven and partner in the Grand Haven office of Varnum Law. This award recognizes the organization and/or individual that exemplifies United Way’s leadership spirit of volunteering, philanthropy, and community problem-solving. Beswick was honored for two decades of service to and leadership of numerous organizations in Ottawa County, including Loutit District Library Board, Grand Haven Area Community Foundation, Grand Haven Rotary, Tri-Cities Area Soccer Association, Hospice of North Ottawa Community, Junior Achievement, and United Way.
In keeping with United Way’s LIVE UNITED philosophy, the Celebration focused on more than just campaign success. Megan Bos, a Black River High School student who has volunteered more than 1,000 hours in her community, was named Volunteer of the Year. Community Action House, a United Way community partner agency, received the Pinnacle of Partnership Award. United Way Director of Community Impact DeLaLuz Vanderby updated Celebration guests on the progress of work on the Community Impact Model introduced last year, and President Patrick Moran presented the new Community Report Card.
“United Way and its board, staff, and volunteers can’t thank our Ottawa County communities enough for their generosity and continuous dedication to making Ottawa County a better place to live and work,” said Moran. “Because of the partnership between investors, volunteers, and programs, we are able to put in place the building blocks of a better life for everyone in Ottawa County.
Restaurants Serve Up Support for Community
Greater Ottawa County United Way partnered with restaurants in Holland, Grand Haven, and Spring Lake earlier this month to invite the community to “Dine Out for Good – LIVE UNITED.” From March 1 through 10, seven restaurants designated certain days and times when they agreed to donate 10 percent of their sales to the community campaign. The event raised nearly $2,000 to help support local nonprofit health and human service programs.
In addition to The Curragh and Crazy Horse, CityVu Bistro in Holland took part. In the Tri-Cities, Anthony’s Kicked Up Catering and Gourmet Deli, Culver’s, Morning Star Café, and Old Boys Brewhouse participated. In all, twice as many restaurants raised more than double what was raised in 2009, the first year the event was held.
“We know that the workplace has changed, and we have to find new ways to reach the citizens of Ottawa County with our message,” said United Way President Patrick Moran. “These wonderful restaurant partners don’t just help us raise money for the campaign, which is very important, they also help us to raise awareness of the reasons we raise money for the annual campaign and how we guide the community to wisely and thoughtfully invest that generosity in the 62 programs of our 42 local nonprofit community partners,” he added.
Greater Ottawa County United Way’s 2009-10 Community Campaign kicked off in September 2009 with a goal to raise $1.8 million. A LIVE UNITED Celebration will take place on Thursday, March 25 at Grand Haven Golf Club, during which the campaign results will be announced. For more information about ways to give, advocate, volunteer and LIVE UNITED in Ottawa County, visit www.ottawaunitedway.org
Glen Behan, Manager of The Curragh Irish Pub, and Amy Briones, Manager of Crazy Horse Steak House, took time out from St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations last Wednesday to stop in at Fifth Third Bank on Eighth Street in Holland with checks for Greater Ottawa County United Way, which they presented to Community Campaign Chair Larry Koops, Fifth Third’s Community President for the Lakeshore Region (center). The donations represented 10% of sales on designated “Dine Out for Good” days in March.
Jazz Singer/Composer Donates Part of CD Sales to Benefit Community
“Helping people in Haiti and other faraway places is important, but there are neighbors in need of food, shelter, and other assistance right here at home,” said Downie Hailstone, a jazz vocalist and recording artist who lives in Spring Lake. Hailstone will donate 10 percent of the sales of her new CD “Just Ask Me” to Greater Ottawa County United Way to benefit more than 60 nonprofit programs in Ottawa County.
Hailstone began performing classical, pop and jazz music in her teens, then went on to study vocal performance at Brigham Young University. When her husband’s job with Shape Corp. moved their family to Japan, she performed at Tokyo’s Four Seasons Hotel, Astro Hall, The Cotton Club, Birdland, Sheraton Bay View Lounge, Jazz Melody Line, and B Flat. Since moving back to Spring Lake in 2007, she has performed at select venues (most recently as Scott Vander Werf’s guest on his November 17, 2009 live studio jazz show on WGVU-FM) and wrote all the compositions for her latest CD, “Just Ask Me.”
The CD features six original compositions sung by Hailstone, accompanied by jazz musicians from Michigan who’ve gone on to make musical names for themselves worldwide. Three—keyboardist Darius Pimpleton, bassist Joe Ayoub, and drummer Jared Hunter—now live in California and are in demand as performers and studio musicians. Pimpleton, who grew up in Muskegon and graduated from Western Michigan University School of Music, has played with Manhattan Transfer and Bobby McFerrin. Ayoub grew up in Grand Rapids, graduated from WMU, and has recorded and performed with Liz Phair, Nikka Costa, Colbie Caillat, Sam Sparrow, Shantelle and others. Hunter hails from Detroit, studied at WMU, and has recorded and performed with Lauryn Hill, Darmon Meader, Charles Laster, and Liz Mikel, among others.
To hear a selection from the CD or download the entire CD for $5.49, visit www.downiehailstone.com. To purchase a hard copy of the new CD for $5.49, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . To hear more about Downie Hailstone and her new CD, go to http://www.wgvu.org/wgvunews/index.cfm?id=middetail&sty=6258 for a recent interview with Scott VanderWerf on WGVU-FM.
Hailstone is working with campaign volunteers and staff at Greater Ottawa County United Way to plan a benefit concert that will reunite “the boys in the band” with whom she recorded her CD. Concert and ticket information will be available at www.ottawaunitedway.org.
Nominations Sought for Volunteer Stars
Shannon Morton, Director of Volunteerism for Greater Ottawa County United Way, invites all Ottawa County residents to nominate individuals for Volunteer Star recognition in April. Anyone who goes above and beyond to give of his or her time and skill to an organization or an individual is eligible for nomination as a Volunteer Star, and anyone may make a nomination.
A Volunteer Star could be someone who volunteers in a nonprofit organization or human service agency, a school, hospital or nursing home, but a star could also be someone who quietly helps another, said Morton. “The person who shovels snow for an elderly neighbor or someone who drives another to medical appointments is just as eligible to receive a volunteer star as is someone who volunteers for an established organization,” she said.
Nomination forms are available at www.ottawaunitedway.org (on the home page click on “Volunteer” then click “Volunteer Recognition”) and at United Way offices in Holland (115 Clover Street, Suite 300) and Grand Haven (700 Fulton St.) as well as at public libraries and other community locations. Those without Internet access or the ability to pick up a form may call (616) 842-7130 in Grand Haven or (616) 396-7811 in Holland to request a form via mail or fax. Completed nomination forms are due by Monday, March 22.
Volunteer Stars will be recognized during National Volunteer Recognition Week, April 18-24, through local media and activities planned throughout Ottawa County. For more information, including how to locate or post volunteer opportunities on United Way’s “Volunteer Solutions” website, call Shannon Morton, (616) 396-7811 in Holland or 842-7130 in Grand Haven.
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