Tag Archives: United Church Outreach Ministry

UCOM partners with Hydoz Water Purification to provide water to community

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A UCOM staff person checks out the new Hydroz purifying water filing station located in the organization’s lobby. The station is open to the public during business hours. (Supplied)

By Karrie Brown
UCOM

United Church Outreach Ministry (UCOM) recently partnered with Hydroz to provide a free purified water filing station in its neighborhood.  The station, installed last week, is in the lobby at UCOM, at 1311 Chicago Dr. SW Wyoming.  It will provide endless hot and cold purified water for those in the UCOM neighborhood.

The purified water filing station will be available to the community during UCOM’s regular hours, Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  and Thursday from 2 to 8 p.m. Hydroz has generously donated this station for the neighbors to enjoy clean, pure drinking water. Hydroz is a locally owned water purification company, certified by the Better Business Bureau and Local First. 

They filter the water using reverse osmosis to remove 98% of impurities from tap water. This includes lead, arsenic, chromium-6, mercury, PFAS, chlorine, and more. Hydroz uses a four-stage filter process to remove impurities from the water and then stores it in a stainless steel holding tank, waiting for neighbors to fill their bottles. The water at UCOM was tested prior to the installation and was found to be within normal range of solid particulates for city drinking water, with just over 130 part per million. However, after the installation, water coming from the system was tested again and had less than 15 parts per million. Also, according to staff, it also tastes great.

   

UCOM’s Culture of Health recognizes water is the best beverage for healthy living. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that drinking water helps your body regulate your temperature, protect your spinal cord, joints, and other tissues, and helps in all of your bodily functions. Drinking water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages reduces the amount of calories a person takes in and the amount of added sugars. With obesity-related diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease on the rise, drinking more water is a way to cut those added sugars and lower the risk of developing these diseases, according to the CDC.

In 2018, UCOM hosted neighborhood listening sessions. The UCOM team hoped to learn more about what people in the community enjoyed seeing at UCOM and also find out if there were things the community wanted to see done differently. One topic brought up by several participants was how proud they are of where they live and how sad they are to see empty water bottles or other garbage find its way into the streets, parking lots, and yards of the neighborhood. UCOM hopes that having a refiling station for water bottles will cut down on some plastic waste in the area and improve the beauty of the community we call home.

UCOM invites neighbors to stop in and fill their water bottles and help us thank Hydroz for bringing this service to our neighborhood!  Hydroz has a commitment to philanthropy and is proud to give back to this community. 

UCOM’s culture of health expansion leads to growth

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Karrie Brown

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org


United Church Outreach Ministry (UCOM) is pleased to announce that Karrie Brown has joined the organization as Development Director. She brings with her more than 10 years of experience working with non-profits advocating for social and economic justice for all community members.

“United Church Outreach Ministry has spent the past several years moving towards a new model of service for our community in southwestern Kent County.  Our Culture of Health has spread across all of our programs and has launched new initiatives.  In 2017 we expanded to include a low-cost Farm Stand which brings locally grown produce into our community.  With these new services for neighbors, UCOM needs to ensure that funding is available and that it grows to match the needs we meet.  Karrie  will be working on raising funds as well as community awareness of the good work our staff and volunteers are doing to end poverty and to improve the health of our neighbors,” says Dr. Bruce Roller, Executive Director of UCOM. 


Karrie most recently served as Executive Director at another Access of West Michigan Key Pantry, so she is aware of the mission and programs at UCOM as well as the need. “People are not just looking for resources; they are also searching for hope for a brighter future. UCOM walks alongside their neighbors to improve their quality of life.  I am excited to be a part of this wonderful team. I look forward to gaining additional funding for UCOM’s ongoing financial stability so that we can continue to serve the ever changing needs of the community,” says Karrie Brown.

For more information on the Culture of Health and other programs at UCOM, visit www.ucomgr.org

UCOM benefit concert a ‘great way’ to discover what it is all about, according to director

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, , , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

United Church Outreach Ministry, or UCOM, is the secret that is not a secret, according to its Executive Director Dr. Bruce Roller.

 

For more than 30 years, the organization has provided resources to those in the community who are low income, “trying to give them the hand that they need, whatever that hand is, to help them move to a better quality of life,” Roller said.

 

For the clientele, what UCOM provides is no secret. This has included providing food and clothing for immediate needs along with programs such as financial, health, and workforce development. One of those programs has been “tutoring and mentoring in public schools so that the children get the eduction they deserve and are able to move on in that next generation,” Roller said, adding that could include perhaps going to college, which for some may have not been an option.

 

However, for those not in need or having never needed services like what UCOM offers, the organization may seem like the “best kept secret in town.”

 

“I don’t really like to say that,” Roller said with laugh, “as it is my job that it isn’t.”

 

Julianne Howe-Bouwens, seen here rehearsing for a Grand Rapids Civic Theatre production, will perform at this year’s 14h Annual Friends of UCOM Benefit Concert. (Photo by now.wktv.org)

One of the best ways UCOM representatives have found to share with its community about its mission and work is through the 14th Annual Friends of UCOM Benefit Concert which is Sunday, March 12, at Plymouth United Church of Christ, 4010 Kalamazoo Ave. SE. Tickets are $25 with the event starting with a silent auction at 5 p.m. and a concert following at 6 p.m.

 

“This is a good place for people to jump in and begin to see what we do, Roller said. “They may begin to want to get involved in the work that is going on here.”

 

“This fundraiser, this effort, these people are so amazing,” said Julianne Howe-Bouwens, a local actress and singer who will be performing at Sunday’s Friends of UCOM Benefit Concert. “They help the community in so many ways by providing for people who are in need and it is such an honor for me to be a little part of that effort.”

 

Howe-Bouwens, who starred in Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s “Sister Act” last year, will be joined by the area’s longest continuing choir, The Schubert Male Chorus. The entire program is coordinated by Phil Pletcher, who has lended his expertise to all of the benefit concerts these past 14 years, according to Roller.

 

The Schubert Male Chorus

UCOM was started in 1969 by the women of Smith Memorial Congregational United Church of Christ. The group began with a food collection and hot lunch program for students at neighboring Hall Elementary School, now Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School. As the group learned about its community needs, the program expanded and changed to fit them, with UCOM becoming what it is today. UCOM is now located 1311 Chicago Dr. SW, Wyoming and is part of the All County Churches Emergency Services System (ACCESS), serving those in southwest Grand Rapids, Grandville, and Wyoming.

 

Roller said he hopes through programs like the benefit concert that UCOM will continue to expand its efforts to meet the needs of those it serves.

 

For more about the 14th Annual Friends of UCOM Benefit Concert or UCOM, visit www.ucomgr.org.

City of Wyoming, Metro Health & UCOM team up, provide healthy food

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, Community Health, Education, Food, Health, Local Food, , ,

farmmarket-recipes-h-439x215There’s much more than just delicious vegetables and beautiful flowers to be gained by gardening — it can also improve your mental and physical well-being.

 

And although gardening season is just about over, it helps to know that there are three entities in the area that are actively involved in providing food to the community as well as patients and hospital staff.

 

Founded in 2014 and measuring approximately 1,380-sq.-ft. divided into 11 raised garden beds, the Community Garden is a partnership between United Church Outreach Ministry (UCOM), Metro Heath Hospital and the City of Wyoming. Ten of the beds measure 4×8’ and one bed is raised up on legs, positioned near the front gate of the garden allowing mobility impaired gardeners access to fresh, healthy produce.

 

The Community Garden’s goal is to introduce fresh, organic produce into gardeners’ and their families’ diets. Over 150 lbs of tomatoes, radishes, lettuces, broccoli, collard greens, kale, spinach, carrots and beets are donated to UCOM’s food pantry each year, with much more produced and shared between gardeners, friends and family.

 

In addition to fighting hunger in the Wyoming community, UCOM helps neighbors build healthy lifestyles beginning with the food they eat. The organization operates one of the largest pantries in the city, Client Choice Food Pantry, located at 1311 Chicago Dr. SW in Wyoming.

 

People living in the UCOM service area are able to access the pantry once a month and receive a three-day emergency supply of healthful and delicious food. Committed to personal empowerment, UCOM has encouraged people to select their own food for over seven years.

 

Starting October 1st, 2016, the food pantry is open to those in need on Mondays from 9 am-12 pm, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 am-3 pm, and Thursdays from 2-8 pm. Office hours are Monday through Thursday 9 am-5 pm.

 

Metro Health Garden works with its culinary team, master gardeners and community volunteers to grow fresh fruits and vegetables to be used in Metro Café’s patient and staff meals. The garden boasts an approximately 4,000-sq.-ft. area of rich, productive soil located east of the Hospital.

 

After being harvested, the produce is weighed and recorded. This information is used to track yields and productivity, as well as food costs saved by producing food on campus.

 

community-garden“Gardening helps relieve stress and improve mental health,” said Dr. Diana Dillman of Metro Health Jenison. “It is also a great way to get outside and get active. And of course the fresh fruits and vegetables are a healthy, tasty result of all that digging in the dirt.”

 

All-organic seeds and transplants are used to ensure that the produce is of peak flavor, nutritional value and integrity. A drip irrigation system allows efficient application of water, greatly reducing water waste.

 

Cooking classes, community presentations, and tours of the garden are open to the public and staff of Metro Health Hospital. Visit the Events Calendar or like us on Facebook for the most up-to-date information.  If you are interested in volunteering time in the garden, please contact volunteer services.

 

The garden also offers educational opportunities for youth and community members. The teaching garden is located behind Metro Health Hospital, in Wyoming. To register for these classes, or any of the other free or low-cost Live Healthy programs, visit Metrohealth.net or call 616.252.7117.

 

The Metro Health Garden is managed by Metro Health’s Culinary Team and Master Gardeners.