Families

A renovation is planned for Tanglefoot Park

Couple helps ensure Tanglefoot Park is a place where families make memories

Jess and Skylar Garrison are co-chairs of the Tanglefoot Park Transformation Capital Campaign, to raise the $200,000 needed to fulfill Spring Lake’s commitment to the renovation. They are looking forward to making memories at the waterfront park with their daughter, Rosemary.   

Latest in Families
The HCAC is offering swimming lesson scholarships.
Grant will fund swim lesson scholarships at Holland Aquatic Center

 A ‘Learn to Swim’ grant from the USA Swimming Foundation will allow the Holland Community Aquatic Center to offer nearly 200 swimming lesson scholarships. The funds will help HCAC make swimming lessons accessible for lower-income West Michigan families. 

Ottawa County United Way President Patrick Moran meets with other nonprofit leaders to discuss how to meet community needs.
Beyond poverty: Families struggled to make ends meet before pandemic

Those struggling to make ends meet aren't always who you think. The biennial ALICE report shows many were struggling to make ends meet before 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.

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.

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.

Rosa Chaidez wants to find affordable housing for her family.
Lakeshore housing initiatives focus on ‘missing middle’

Though wages increasing 5.2% in the past five years, the average home sale price shot up 64.5%, leaving homeownership out of reach for most moderate wage-earners — particularly those who earn $15-$20 per hour. Several Lakeshore nonprofits and trade associations are spearheading initiatives to help this “missing middle” navigate the path to buying a home.

Colby Tucker, 14, from Hopkins in Allegan County, is in his third year of collecting and cooking sap.
Turning sap to syrup makes spring the sweetest season of all

Making syrup from maple tree sap brings a sweet reward, but it takes a lot of work. Lakeshore syrup producers — large and small, young and old — are tapping trees, collecting sap, and boiling it down to just the right consistency. And they love it.

Bowerman Blueberries is expanding its original farmers market and bringing a restaurant to downtown Holland later this year.
Bowerman bringing blueberries to downtown Holland

Bowerman Blueberries is bringing its popular blueberry donuts, custard, and other new sweet and savory treats to the former Sandcastle for Kids toy store and AlpenRose cafe on the corner of Eighth Street and Central Avenue in downtown Holland.

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