By K.D. Norris
It would have been easy for Metro Health-University of Michigan Health to just dispose of the huge banners created as temporary building signs when the two health care providers joined in 2016. But that’s not their way of doing business.
So, when permanent signage was placed on the healthcare providers’s hospital, located at 5900 Byron Center Ave SW in Wyoming, the temporary signs were put into storage and discussions started on how to recycle them in some way.
That is when Metro Health Foundation’s impACT Board, and a burgeoning relationship with Mel Trotter Ministries, came up with the answer — make blankets to help the homeless in our area.
On Feb. 16, a total of 145 weather-resistant blankets, along with several bags containing personal care items, were delivered to Mel Trotter Ministries in the Heartside of downtown Grand Rapids.
“These blankets are going to be utilized by individuals and families here to help keep them warm during these cold winter months in Michigan,” Dean Herried, chief engagement officer for Mel Trotter Ministries, said to WKTV. “We are so thankful for our partnership with the impACT Board, with the University of Michigan Health Foundation, with Metro Health Hospital Foundation, for their generous donation of these blankets. We would not be able to do this without their help and assistance.”
The four original banners were made to be weather-proof — they hung on the hospital for more than six months and took a lot of beating — and, with the addition of the felt, the blankets now can provide some protection from the cold as well. Some of the material was also turned into bags to be filled with a blanket and other personal needs, also to be given out to the homeless through Mel Trotter Ministries.
“This really helps Mel Trotter fulfill our mission of showing the compassion of Christ through programs of restoration and rescue in our community,” Herried said.
In a different way, the donation — and the work put into turning banners into blankets — fulfills the mission of Metro Health-University of Michigan Health.
“This donation really came about as a result of us having a long history of sustainable practices at the hospital,” Trevor Mier, Support Services administrator for Metro Health-University of Michigan Health, said to WKTV. “We hated to think about these temporary banners being thrown away once we are done with them. So we came up with the idea of recycling them into something, but we were not exactly sure what that was going to be.”
The healthcare provider had some discussions, decided it would be a good idea to establish a relationship with Mel Trotter Ministries, through the impACT Board, to support the ministries’ efforts to help the homeless. And the idea was born.
“What if we took those banners and turned them into blankets for the homeless at Mel Trotter?” Mier said. “So we reached out to a vender we had used before in the past, and they cut up the banners into 3(foot) by 5(foot) sections, sewed a little bit of felt onto them, and turned them into these great blankets for those in need downtown.”
The goal of the Metro Health Hospital Foundation’s impACT Board, according to its website, is “Mobilizing community through change-makers, who use their skills and careers to drive vital change. … Many people want to make a difference, but turning good intentions into tangible impact can be hard. With the Foundation impACT Board, professionals and community do-gooders become the most effective change-agents they can be by taking on community health projects, volunteering at organizations with like causes and building a strong network of brand ambassadors for Metro Health Hospital Foundation.”
For more information about the Metro Health Hospital Foundation’s impACT Board visit here.
