Palermo Pizza owner Janice Vitale is holding a 50th Birthday Fundraiser on Oct. 14 at 735 36th St. SW Wyoming.
The fundraiser will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and consist of a bake sale, pop can drive and a portion (20 percent) of all orders that day will be donated to charity. Cake and refreshments will be served as well.
“Help me celebrate my birthday by doing what I love to do best; service,” Vitale said. “Together we can do more by giving back.
“Drop your pop cans off, maybe purchase some baked goods and have a slice of cake with me. Each year I sponsor a few graduating seniors. I pay for the cost of their caps and gowns, other memorabilia, and their senior all-nighter. I try to sponsor students in the foster care system, but never limited to. I know with your support we can help more students this year.”
Katie Pew Wolters admitted she thought raising $40,000 was a monumental task for the dream of having a model apartment that showcased how people with disabilities can live independently.
“Now they are raising $2.5 million,” said the former executive director of the Grand Rapids Center For Independent Living which became Disability Advocates of Kent County.
The $2.5 million is for the Disability Advocates’ new expanded headquarters which the organization celebrated the start of construction on Sept. 14. The 8,600-square-foot facility, located in the future Special Olympics Michigan facility, 160 68th St. SW., will including a new Occupational Therapy home accessibility center.
Kate Pew Wolters, the first executive director for Disability Advocates, said she remember the challenges of raising $40,000 for the organization’s first model apartment. (WKTV)
“The $40,00 we raised was for a model apartment which was a corner of our office,” Wolters said. “It is nothing like what is being planned now. It had a bed and a very small kitchen but it was designed so people with disabilities would learn about being independent.”
The new Occupational Therapy home accessibility center builds on the initial concept that Wolters and her staff had in the early 1980s. (Diability Advocates was founded in 1981). The center will be a place where people with disabilities explore ways to renovated and retrofit their homes so they can be more independent. It will serve as a “test space” showroom where persons with disabilities, their families healthcare, and design professional and building contractors can explore options for a safer home, including models and adaptive equipment, something that is not offered anywhere in the region.
Disabilities Advocates Executive Director David Bulkowski said the center will be a national model where people can come “hang out and try new things to make themselves more independent.”
“The Home Accessibility Center is a response to a demonstrated need,” said Disabilities Advocates Development Director Peggy Helsel. “Often people ask, ‘What does that mean?’ When we talk about universal design and home, we are giving people a real-life model home to experience what a universally-accessible space can look.”
Through corporate sponsors and private fundraising, Disability Advocates have raised $1.75 million of the $2.5 million for the project. The organization launched its public campaign for the remaining $750,000 on Sept. 14. Bulkowski noted that they have received a matching challenge grant of up to $50,000 from the Frey Foundation to help get things rolling.
Disability Advocates of Kent County’s new headquarters will inline the Occupational Therapy home center. (WKTV)
“Dreams can come true even from 36 years ago,” Wolters said. “I am very excited about this opportunity. We knew we needed to keep going until we got it done.”
Disability Advocates will be one of nine disability organizations occupying the former South Christian High School, which is currently being transformed into the largest Special Olympics trading and inclusion center in the world. Special Olympics launched its own public phase of capital campaign in July to raise $20 million for the retrofitting and construction of the 127,000-square-foot facility that was once the South Christian High School.
Wolverine Building Group is the general contractor with Disabilities Advocates allocating 40-percent of its construction budget on engaging with local minority-owned contractors which include DHE Plumbing, Monte Christo Electric, and Grand Rapids Fire Suppression. Mathison l Mathison Architects is the architect. A move-in date has been set for April 22.
What better way to support the community than through listening to local artists, enjoying delicious food and drink and having the opportunity to win prizes.
On Sunday, April 9 from 4-10 p.m., Access of West Michigan is hosting the annual Feedback Concert, held at Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids.
The evening will feature three great local artists who also call Grand Rapids home. The Legal Immigrants, Conrad Shock and The Noise and the Honeytones will light up the stage with their unique sound and high energy.
Founders Brewing Co. offers a venue full of atmosphere and fun.
Access of West Michigan will be there with a 50/50 raffle for prizes to win. A silent auction, featuring cool merchandise from some great area organizations, will also raise support for Access of West Michigan.
Access of West Michigan is a nonprofit organization serving Grand Rapids in developing holistic solutions to poverty by cultivating equitable systems through education and collaboration. Since 1981, Access has been committed to serving those in need and promoting opportunities for access to good food.
Tickets for Feedback 2017 are $5, with all proceeds going to Access.
Come join Access and the community in celebrating and supporting holistic solutions to poverty!
The owner of Eastbrook Auto Wash and Eastbrook Oil and Lube, Paul Coffman is dedicated to this community; most especially to those families in West Michigan who are going hungry.
“Everyone should be able to have food on the table not just during the holidays, but all days of the year,” Coffman says.
As a result, Eastbrook Auto Wash and Eastbrook Oil & Lube are holding a month-long food drive and fundraising event for Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank. Now through November 30, these businesses will be collecting canned, boxed and bagged food staples, toiletry staples, pet food supplies and monetary donations to help offset the fight against hunger in West Michigan. And yes, there is hunger in West Michigan.
Each year it is estimated that over 492,000 people receive food from Feeding America West Michigan. Since 1981 this charity has served families in 40 counties by distributing 1,100 hunger-relief agencies.
“To be able to support this charity during a time when having food on the table has such a strong advertising message, yet others have nothing for their table, is not lost on us,” says Coffman.
To support the cause, Coffman decided that customers who make monetary or supply donations to Feeding America West Michigan during business hours (Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) will receive discounted car washes and oil changes. Every dollar donated to Feeding America West Michigan will be multiplied by the food bank by 10, turning the donation into four meals for someone in need.
The most needed items for the food drive include: jars of peanut butter, canned beef stew, tuna, chicken, fish and meat, macaroni and cheese, rice, pasta, canned vegetables and fruits, beans of all kinds and toiletries.
For more information about the event, contact Jana Schrier at eastbrookautowash@gmail.com or visit www.eastbrookautowash.com.
