By WKTV Staff
Quote of the Day (for baseball opening day week)
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.”
Maya Angelou
A sign of hope in time of need
A personal experience on the job for Kentwood firefighter and emergency medical technician Darryl DeVries drove him to start learning American Sign Language. Now, with the help of the local Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, he can speak to those who cannot speak in a time of emergency. Go here for the story.
A ‘hand up’ for our veteran heroes
Grand Valley State University’s Jill Wolfe is the university’s first military and veteran resource manager, a role which will provide support to military-connected students and dependents while expanding Grand Valley’s visibility, partnerships and career pipelines within the community. Wolfe has been serving as a mentor for the GVSU Michigan Veterans Entrepreneur Lab (MVE-Lab) and is a founding executive committee member of GVSU’s Veterans Alumni Association. Go here for the story.
A voice for the often voiceless
Humanity for Prisoners started in 2001 when Doug Tjapkes formed the organization driven by his relationship with Maurice Carter, who had been behind state prison bars for 29 years for a crime he did not commit. Two decades later, with HfP now led by Doug’s son Matt, the issue of treatment of prisoners — and prison reform — is no less important. Go here for the story and video.
Fun fact:
26.6 percent
According to the federal National Service Agency, 26.6 percent of the state’s residents involved in “national service” and do some community service or volunteer work in some capacity. That ranks the state at 26th in the county. National service refers to the Corporation for National and Community Service programs Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, the Social Innovation Fund, and other programs and initiatives. Participants in these programs address community needs in disaster services, economic opportunity, education, the environment, health, and veterans and military families. Source.
