Love INC partnership highlights $386K in Community Impact grant awards

Love INC is creating new opportunities for collaboration and community impact by partnering with First Christian Reformed Church as the church transitions its recycling ministry to Fulton Street.

The move is supported by a $50,000 grant from the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation. It’s part of $386,500 in grants recently awarded across the region. 

Love INC is vacating the 1106 Fulton St. building but retaining ownership of the property and opening the space to First CRC, with plans to eventually welcome one or two additional local ministries.

The shared-space model brings services together in one place, cuts down on overlap, and makes it easier for people to get help, allowing ministries to work together more effectively to serve the community.

“We are thrilled about this partnership and proud to support the recycling ministry’s efforts to strengthen the impact they have on our community,” says Amy Moore, the Community Foundation’s vice president of grants and programs. 

The funding will improve efficiency and expand the reach of services.

Gaining space, efficiency

First CRC’s relocation to Fulton Street nearly doubles its available space and allows all recycling programs to operate in one location. Those programs include the church’s recycle, garage sale, appliance, and bicycle ministries, which focus on repurposing materials to support residents while keeping waste out of landfills.

By increasing the amount of scrap metal collected and sold, the ministry expects to generate additional revenue to reinvest in local programs and community initiatives.

Pastor Art Van Wolde says the program, which has recycled more than a million pounds of metal over more than a decade, has outgrown its current space. The partnership with Love INC, he says, will allow the ministry to expand its reach throughout the Tri-Cities area.

The grant will help cover relocation costs, renovations, and the establishment of a 10-year agreement to use the building, with the potential to extend beyond that timeframe.

Additional Community Impact Grants awarded include: 

Camp Blodgett, program expansion into Grand Haven and Tri-Cities Area ($30,000): 

Funding will support programs that provide affordable childcare and inclusive spaces. 

These programs are intended to empower youth by building self-esteem, initiative, empathy, and responsibility, prioritizing mental health. Programs include a Youth Builders afterschool program, where participants will learn to build guitars, longboards, and drums, and a Leadership Cohort for 15 seventh and eighth-graders that promotes community engagement through mentorship and service projects.  The grant will also support at least 20 local youth in summer residential programs, including the 105th season of summer camp, STEM Academy, and Young Leaders. 

Children’s Advocacy Center, hybrid group therapy room ($32,000): 

Grant money will transform an existing large room into a technology-equipped, comfortable, and private group therapy space for children, teens, and families healing from child sexual abuse. This project aims to expand access to therapeutic support by offering a hybrid service model that includes in-person and virtual group therapy and support sessions. This will allow the center to reach geographically isolated families throughout Ottawa County and significantly increase capacity to deliver support services to child victims and their caregivers. 

Loutit District Library, Waanders’ Maker Space and Art Studio ($71,000): 

With the help of a generous donation from the Waanders family, the Loutit District Library aims to create a maker space and an art studio. Foundation funding will support the transformation of existing rooms into fully equipped, collaborative work and play spaces, providing creative and educational opportunities for all ages, free of charge. 

Mary Free Bed, pediatric rehabilitation hospital ($50,000): 

Funding will support the building of a three-story, 67,000-square-foot hospital dedicated solely to rehabilitation for children. This will double the current number of pediatric inpatient beds from 12 to 24 and increase outpatient volume capacity by 20%. The plan includes outdoor therapy zones and family spaces; advanced technology and tools to elevate care and comfort for young patients;  and a range of services, including inpatient nursing and therapy, outpatient clinics and therapy,  orthotics, prosthetics, bionics, feeding programs, autism diagnostic services, and more. This grant is part of a combined $150,000 in Community Impact funding awarded to date for this project.

Out Side In, Inc., expansion of Heroes for Horses program ($36,000):

This grant will support Out Side In’s Heroes for Horses program,  which provides mental health services to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. This innovative approach to mental health care integrates therapeutic support with the rehabilitation of retired thoroughbred racehorses. The goal is to expand the program from four hours per week to 12 and to increase the number of veterans served from eight to 30-40. 

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, Pediatric Center of Behavioral Health ($75,000):  

This grant will support the creation of a 136,000-square-foot facility offering comprehensive, specialized care for children and families, including a pediatric psychiatric urgent care center, a high acuity inpatient unit, and two general inpatient units totaling 66 beds. The new facility will expand access to services for autism spectrum disorder, substance use disorders, and eating disorders, reducing travel burdens and wait times while improving outcomes. In addition, the center will provide partial inpatient hospitalization and outpatient and telehealth services. This grant is part of a combined $175,000 in GHACF Community Impact funding awarded to date for this project. 

Spring Lake District Library, sunroom project and new programming space ($42,500):

This grant will help fund the construction of a new programming space for educational and senior-focused activities. The addition includes a 1,200-square-foot indoor programming space that opens onto a new 600-square-foot patio, providing the flexibility to host year-round programming. Funds will also support parking lot improvements, landscaping updates, relocating the book drop-off, and adding access to the existing patio on the east side of the building. 

Photos courtesy of GHCF.