The Holland Memorial Day ceremony will happen without a parade this year due to COVID-19. File photo 2015.

Memorial parade canceled, ceremony still on

To protect aging veterans and others who usually attend the Holland Memorial Day parade, the event has been canceled. However, a socially distanced ceremony is still planned.

Goats have returned to Ottawa County Parks this spring, taking on the “job” of chowing down on invasive species.
Baby goats are baaaaack at Ottawa County parks

Goats have returned to Ottawa County Parks this spring, taking on the “job” of chowing down on invasive species. These kids’ all-you-can-eat work helps parks staff keep plants like bittersweet, honeysuckle, and buckthorn — even poison ivy — in check.

A year after COVID-19 made The Momentum Center’s 2020 Prom with a Purpose impossible, the popular event and fundraiser returns May 21 with both in-person and virtual options. 
Prom with a Purpose returns with in-person, virtual formats

The Momentum Center fundraiser is back after having been canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. Funds raised at the May 21 event will help the center support its clients, break down barriers of separation, and work toward creating a stigma-free community.

Charles Elwood
Entrepreneur uses his ‘why’ to find what he needs to do next

Charles Elwood, who left the security of a corporate job to start his own business and use his knowledge to help the next generation, is aiming to make a “huge impact.” He kicked off that vision by forming — with others — a group that distributed more than 60,000 pieces of PPE early in the pandemic.

A worker adds installation in a new Jubilee Ministries mixed-income housing project being built in Holland.
Community Foundation invests in Jubilee housing with line of credit

A $250,000 line of credit from the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area will allow Jubilee Ministries to invest in property over the next five years.

Good Samaritan Ministries is administering the MSHDA COVID-19 eviction diversion program. Pictured (from left) are Good Sam team members Virgenmina Calo, Jessi Christensen, and Andrew Zokoe.
Hundreds kept housed during COVID by eviction diversion program in Ottawa County

Good Samaritan Ministries has worked with landlords and tenants to help hundreds maintain housing during the COVID-19 pandemic. It takes work on both sides.

Ready for School CEO Donna Lowry gives a book to a soon-to-be kindergartener.
Guest editor Dr. Donna Lowry shares stories of possibility and potential

As an obstetrician and mother of three boys, Dr. Donna Lowry has long been surrounded by possibilities and potential. As guest editor, the Ready for School CEO shares stories from The Lakeshore of those awaking possibility in others.

Steve Harryman
How hope and joy can be found in the darkest times

Lakeshore resident Steve Harryman recounts his late wife’s cancer diagnosis with a grim prognosis and the way participation in a support group with those on a similar journey replaced her grief with joy and compassion for others.

Joyanne Huston-Swanson, community relations for the Kent District Library, works with a wi-fi hotspot that is available for checkout at the library. Patrons have used the hotspots to access telehealth appointments, among other needs.
Telehealth expansion has made health care more accessible during the pandemic – but not for everyone

Michiganders who are older, live in rural areas, or have income challenges may have trouble navigating, accessing, or affording the technology they need to keep their telehealth appointments.

Judge Juanita Bocanegra on the bench
Teachers play prominent role in judge’s journey from migrant work to court bench

As a child, Juanita Flores Bocanegra spent growing seasons in Holland. The 58th District judge is grateful for her parents’ support of her education, and spotlights three West Ottawa district teachers who inspired her to do quality work and reach for academic excellence.

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