News
Seidman Alumni Board hosts volunteer event during Community Outreach Week to support greater Grand Rapids community!
May 09, 2019
Community Outreach Week (COW) is a powerful example of the Grand Valley Laker Effect – a demonstration of giving back to local communities in the name of Grand Valley State University. It’s also a fantastic reminder of how our community works. We work together.
The Seidman Alumni Board hosted a COW volunteer project in March, where they were joined by their families, GVSU Alumni Association friends, and students at the Fulton Manor Family Emergency Shelter. The opportunity to help the community came together with the assistance of the Heart of West Michigan United Way, an organization that provides an easy and tremendous resource for connecting volunteers with the right type of project.
The volunteer group set up and serve dinner to some of the families on a Saturday evening. After cutting carrots and veggies to assemble salads, volunteers were able to help distribute the buffet style dinner. While families were enjoying their time with each other and neighbors, other volunteers worked to ensure everyone had enough to eat and drink. Additional volunteers moved on to sort donations of household items for families that are still in need of permanent housing. When dinnertime was over, the volunteers cleaned in that way, where everyone tried to make something better than when they arrived.
Since the COW event, nine organizations came together to work towards a solution to family homelessness. Fulton Manor Family Emergency Shelter opened in February, as a short-term solution, using Holland Home’s Fulton Manor location through December 2019. The location can provide emergency housing for more than 70 families. In addition to providing a warm, safe place to stay and services to assist families in finding a new home, the shelter provide basic needs, including meals. The food for meals is provided by Holland Home and Kids' Food Basket.
Community Outreach Week and Fulton Manor Family Emergency Shelter are two wonderful examples of organizations and people supporting each other, in effort to increase the success of our community! The Seidman Alumni Board was proud to partner with the United Way on this volunteer opportunity.
For more information on how to get involved with Seidman, visit www.gvsu.edu/seidman. Follow the Seidman College of Business on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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