GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — WOOD TV8 and the Connecting with Community Partners are excited to announce this year’s finalists for the Connecting with Community Award!
Immigrant Connection
Mill Steel Company & D.A. Blodgett – St. Johns
Ronald McDonald House of West Michigan
ACE Project
Love INC
Rethinking Dementia
Community Repair Days
Pathways to Policing
Immigrant Connection is a non-profit that provides low-cost legal services and consultations along with citizenship classes to help eligible immigrants on the complicated and expensive process of obtaining citizenship. Since 2015, Immigrant Connection has helped 1055 clients and counting.
Mill Steel Company partners with D.A. Blodgett – St. John’s to provide a workplace mentoring program called “Youth in Business,” that partners local high school students with employees at Mill Steel who become their mentor.
Ronald McDonald House of West Michigan provides hospitality housing options for families seeking mental health treatment in our city, to which families come to know for regionally and nationally recognized programs.
The ACE Project was designed to address issues for students with mental disabilities to give them early job opportunities and sustainable employment. ACE would provide a Career Coach to work with the Transition Coordinator, developing business partnerships where students could train and try out jobs in hopes of leading to competitive permanent employment.
LOVE INC of SE Ottawa County and the City of Grandville partnered with Fellowship CRC in Grandville and The Deborah House to address the difficulties of young single mothers in our neighborhoods on issues of affordable housing, childcare, food insecurity.
Clark Retirement Community partnered with Holland Home started Rethinking Dementia: Accelerating Change to work on improving the lives of people affected by dementia through promoting better access to quality supports and services.
Home Repair Services of Kent County and Disability Advocates combined forces with the members of the Home Builders Association of Greater Grand Rapids and the Home Builders Association Foundation, to assist some of our community’s most vulnerable members facing special housing needs through Community Repair Days.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Grand Rapids was started by the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) and today continues to have a strong relationship with GRPD. They started a program to help influence those in the Boys & Girls Club to think about joining the police force in hopes of diversifying the predominantly white police force. These officers guide, mentor and provide programing to the members daily.
The winner of our Connecting with Community Awards will be announced at an Awards Celebration in May. Keep checking back to learn more about these organizations and their influence in their community.
