GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — There may have been times when Daybreak anchor Teresa Weakley quieted the crowd at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. Or a few times when eightWest digital content producer Morgan Poole roped off hole No. 4 at Blythefield Country Club so the players could get by. There may have even been a Bill Steffen sighting at the hospitality tents on the 18th green.

All week, WOOD TV8 team members have been volunteering for the 27th annual Nexstar Day of Caring.

“Giving back through the LPGA Meijer Classic for Simply Give is a two-fold community initiative for our team. It affirms our commitment to service in West Michigan and aligns with our continued efforts to fight hunger in our community,” WOOD TV8 community affairs director Casey Jones said. “When we host our Football Frenzy Food Drive in the fall, all of the pantries we visit mention how critical the Simply Give campaign is to keep food on their shelves and in the bellies of our hungry neighbors.”

By the end of the four-day tournament, nearly 60 WOOD TV8 members will have volunteered over 250 hours. In their second year helping in this way, they have become a small piece in an operation of over 1,300 volunteers that it takes to run such an impactful weekend.

“They’re the lifeblood of the tournament. Without these volunteers, this tournament doesn’t run,” Ellen Bruinsma, chair of the volunteer committee, said. “It takes everybody and we just appreciate TV8.”

  • WOOD TV8 staff members volunteer at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Nexstar's Day of Caring. (June 16, 2023)
  • WOOD TV8's Bill Steffen and Carly Munoz volunteer at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Nexstar's Day of Caring. (June 16, 2023)
  • WOOD TV8 sales employee Vanessa Maher volunteers at the Meijer LPGA Classic as part of Nexstar's Day of Caring program. (June 16, 2023)
  • News 8 report Kyle Mitchell volunteers at the Meijer LPGA Classic as part of Nexstar's Day of Caring program. (June 16, 2023)
  • WOOD TV8 staff members volunteer at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Nexstar's Day of Caring. (June 16, 2023)
  • WOOD TV8 sales staff member Jennifer Maksimowski volunteer at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Nexstar's Day of Caring. (June 16, 2023)

Station employees who were unable to leave the station and volunteer were able to create cards that will be distributed to veterans at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.

The Day of Caring was established by WOOD TV8 parent company Nexstar Media Group’s president, Perry Sook, 27 years ago as a way to enable Nexstar employees to make a personal commitment and make their communities better places for everyone. Over the next few days, colleagues from 200 stations across the country will do just that. Last year, 210 organizations across the country benefited from the 4,227 Nexstar volunteers that gave back 16,829 volunteered hours on Day of Caring.