Lunch Fundraiser – Preview Items You Could Win!

Women’s Service Day is just 23 days away! Are you signed up yet? We still have spots available!

In addition to morning and afternoon volunteer sessions with this year’s nonprofit organizations, the WSD hosts a networking lunch and charity fundraiser, which will benefit Eight Day Farm in partnership with Community Action House. This lunch is your opportunity to meet other folks in the Holland community and a chance to bid on some amazing prizes!

Items You Could Win:

• Coral Yeti 45 Cooler
• Gift Card to Engels Jewelry in Grandville
• An original artwork by local artist Erin Drews
• Gift Package from Harbor Health & Massage 
• Seating from both Herman Miller and Haworth
• Kitchen appliances and home décor
• Plus many more!

Bring your checkbook, credit card, or cash, and your generosity! Proceeds from our charity fundraiser (tickets are $5 or 3 for $12; or $10 or 3 for $25) will support Eighth Day Farm in providing donating fresh, locally grown produce to Community Action House and their Food Club.

A few more notes about lunch:

Our lunch celebration will be from 11:45 to 1 p.m. at Hope Church, centrally located at 77 West Eleventh Street in Holland (between River and Pine Avenues, just south of downtown Holland and west of Centennial Park).

A $10 donation (cash collected upon arrival) will cover your lunch. Any additional dollars you give that exceed food costs will be added to our group donation to Eighth Day Farm!

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As a reminder, Women’s Service Day is October 6, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Please help us stay in touch with women whose email addresses have changed. Forward this email to friends and colleagues, and opt in to our email communications with your preferred email address to be certain.

Questions? E-mail the Women’s Service Day Planning Committee. Or visit our website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for more information. Let’s keep making a difference in our community!

WSD 2022: It’s Time to Sign Up!

 

Join us as we celebrate our 21st year! Women’s Service Day 2022 is planned for Thursday, October 6, and it’s time to sign up! To be a part of this West Michigan day of volunteering and networking, please register by September 27.

New this year! If you’re on the east side of the state, consider joining the Southeast MI sister event! Read about it and register through this link.

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How to Register

We’re again using online registration by Sign Up Genius, which allows you to choose specifically where and when you’d like to volunteer on Women’s Service Day. Volunteer opportunities are limited; they’ll be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Safety is our priority! We follow CDC and State of Michigan DHHS guidelines for recommended protocols

Please keep two things in mind: Most agencies require that volunteers be 18 or older; look for notes on the few that are available to younger volunteers. And because some of our volunteers have physical limitations, please choose options that align with your capabilities.

If you’re not familiar with Sign Up Genius, just follow these four easy steps:

1. GO TO THE FORM: Click here to go to the WSD 2022 Registration Form on Sign Up Genius.
2. CHOOSE YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Click on the green “Sign Up” button next to a volunteer opportunity you’d like to do. To volunteer all day, choose both a morning and an afternoon assignment.

• If you have a physical limitation and don’t see an appropriate task for your abilities on the list, please contact us at womensserviceday@gmail.com. We definitely have a place for you!
• Once you’ve picked your assignment(s), click on the big purple “Submit and Sign Up” button.

3. SET UP YOUR ACCOUNT: Create a Sign Up Genius account (or log in if you already have one). This will allow you to get email reminders and other important messages about the event.

• Complete the remaining questions on the form and click the big green “SIGN UP NOW” button.

4. MARK YOUR CALENDAR: You’re now all set for WSD on October 6! We’re counting on you, so make sure you add your assignment(s) to your calendar.

• And by all means, please invite your friends to sign up — the more the merrier!

Pleasenote that we may add more volunteer activities in the next few weeks, so feel free to check back and see what’s new.

Once you sign-up, you’ll receive confirmation that we’ve received your information, and you’ll be on an email distribution list for future event communications. Remember, we’re counting on you! We plan our agency projects based on the number of registrants, so please be sure it’s on your calendar.

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What to Expect on October 6

We are so excited for your enthusiastic participation on Women’s Service Day this year. Here’s what to expect….

For a morning or all-day session, plan to arrive at your worksite in Holland at 8:30 a.m (or 9 am if volunteering with Kids Food Basket). For an afternoon session, plan to arrive at our lunch location by noon for a celebration lunch. A $10 donation will cover your lunch.
 

We’ll hold a raffle to support Eighth Day Farm. Proceeds from our raffle (tickets are $5 or 3 for $12; or $10 or 3 for $25) will support Eighth Day Farm in providing donating fresh, locally grown produce to Community Action House and their Food Club. Bring your wallet!

We’ll also collect items to donate to Period Project 49423. Here are the items they need the most:

1. Summer’s Eve Cleansing Cloths-individually wrapped wipes

2. Always Radiant Teen Pads

3. Tampax Radiant Tampons regular absorbency-unscented

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Watch for additional details about our event in future blog posts!

Questions?

E-mail the Women’s Service Day Planning Committee or visit our 2022 Event page. Or visit our website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for more information. Let’s keep making a difference in our community!

Participating Agencies at Women’s Service Day 2022!

This year’s participating agencies are here! Women’s Service Day is October 6, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Here are the agencies we will support with our volunteer efforts that day:

• Eighth Day Farm
• Nestlings
• Community Action House
• Lakeshore Habitat
• Resilience
• Arbor Circle
• Hope Pkgs
• Gateway Mission
• Benjamin’s Hope
• Children’s Advocacy Center
• Renew Equestrian
• Kids Food Basket (note later start time at 9:00 am)

Sign up starts on September 6th so be sure to check your email that day to have the first pick of your favorite agency. 

Join us on Women’s Service Day to support these vital local agencies!

Please help us stay in touch with women whose email addresses have changed. Forward this email to friends and colleagues, and opt in to our email communications with your preferred email address to be certain.

Questions? E-mail the Women’s Service Day Planning Committee. Or visit our website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for more information. Let’s keep making a difference in our community!

Save the Date! Women’s Service Day is October 6!

Aaaand we’re back! This year marks 21 years of Women’s Service Day, a one-day volunteer event for nonprofit organizations that support women and children in Holland, MI. We have an exciting lineup of agencies to volunteer with in person, but there will also be great opportunities to help with fundraising or donation drives for participating nonprofits that are doing amazing work.

Mark your calendars for October 6, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as we look forward to providing service opportunities for you to support nonprofit organizations in Holland. 

Now is the time to recruit your friends and colleagues! There will be more communication throughout the summer about Women’s Service Day, including a registration email – so feel free to forward this announcement to anyone who might be interested. We will be sharing the date on all of our social media accounts as well (details below). 

Please help us stay in touch with women whose email addresses have changed. Forward this email to friends and colleagues, and opt in to our email communications with your preferred email address to be certain.

Questions? E-mail the Women’s Service Day Planning Committee. Or visit our website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for more information. Let’s keep making a difference in our community!

A WSD Satellite in SE Michigan!

Building networks among women has been a goal of Women’s Service Day (WSD) since the very first event in West Michigan 20 years ago. That network is now paying off in an unexpected way! 

In late summer, the WSD planning team was contacted by several women who work for Yanfeng in West Michigan and in Novi; they’re a part of the Women’s Resource Network at that company. Several of them had participated in the West Michigan WSD event; others had heard about it from coworkers. 

They didn’t want to miss out, and they saw an opportunity for women to come together on the east side of the state to do the same kind of good our volunteers have accomplished here! They’ve worked with local-to-them agencies to identify volunteer opportunities, and are ready to launch this first satellite WSD event this Thursday, October 14. Agencies supported are:

• Earthworks, where volunteers will do seasonal garden maintenance
• Crossroads in Michigan, where they’ll package condiments for the soup kitchen
• First Step Domestic & Sexual Violence, where they’ll beautify the area outside of the shelter
• Food Gatherers, where they’ll sort donations and pack food boxes
• Michigan Council of Women in Technology, where they’ll pack bags for high school students

Like the “mother” event, the SE Michigan event is using SignUpGenius so volunteers can select the opportunity that’s most appealing, and one or two half-day crews. This event has been publicized within Yanfeng by the Women’s Resource Network; they welcome friends, family, and colleagues from other organizations. 

Available opportunities are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that the Women’s Service Day Planning Team has put these protocols in place for in-person participation:

• Mask wearing is required indoors regardless of vaccination status
• Mask wearing is required outdoors when social distancing is not possible
• Follow CDC and State of Michigan DHHS guidelines for recommended protocols 

How can you help launch this SE Michigan event? Spread the word! The initiative to create this event demonstrates that our networks extend across Michigan and beyond.

From “Sangry” to SO GOOD: What One Woman Can Do

The coronavirus pandemic certainly paralyzed many of us in ways we had never expected—stay-at-home orders and restrictions on businesses, fellowship, sports, performing arts, and other activities. Changes in how we work, learn, socialize, and grieve. When the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “The only constant in life is change,” most of us probably never expected a year-long rollercoaster ride that affected every aspect of life for people around the globe.

Many people felt helpless during this time, not being able to visit loved ones, tend to the sick and dying, or participate in our regular community building activities.

The Women’s Service Day team adapted by forgoing our annual in-person event and, instead, promoting Women’s Service Season—invitations offered each month from August through October—to help women and children in our community during a pandemic: by safe in-person or at-home volunteering, giving financial or in-kind support, or joining or amplifying nonprofits’ events. 

Several of our regular volunteers took Women’s Service Season to heart, driven by their passion to serve others. Lisa volunteered at the Community Action House Food Pantry. Alyssa shopped for foster kids to fill “first night” bags in support of Hope Pkgs. Virginia cleaned up the grounds at Benjamin’s Hope, a community residence for adults with developmental disabilities. Joanie orchestrated a garage sale in her neighborhood to benefit Community Action House.

These examples show how we can really be creative even during challenges like a global pandemic. But sometimes the drive to serve is so strong, you just have to engage your friends. And coworkers. And so on.

“Despite being so grateful for my considerable blessings—a roof over our heads, lots of good food, kids who are healthy, oh, and toilet paper—the joy that often flows from gratitude escaped me,” said Joanie, who lives in West Michigan. “I felt an intense collision of sadness and anger over COVID-19, compounded by issues of social injustice and seemingly cavernous political divides. And I have been, at times, disheartened and paralyzed because it all seemed so big and out of my reach.”

She got so antsy to just do something that would have a positive impact—something within her reach that would make a difference beyond what she could do alone. “I did not want to stay in that place that teetered on despair and immobilization,” said Joanie.

“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African proverb

Joanie reached out to the Community Foundation of Holland/Zeeland (CFHZ) to learn more about the Community Stabilization Fund, designed in 2020 to address the most urgent needs in our community resulting from this sudden and essentially unparalleled pandemic: financial stability, health, and education.

She contacted some of her former coworkers and invited them to make a commitment in matching gifts, up to $4,100. Then she learned Herman Miller Cares (Herman Miller’s Foundation and Global Giving Program) offered to contribute another $5,000 toward the match. It spread like wildfire: Herman Miller Cares and CFHZ communicated the initiative internally and through social media.

Here is the outcome—from one woman’s idea that persuaded 50 community members to participate: $29,000 raised.

This funding has the potential to support:

• 58 individuals/families with direct cash assistance of $500 to help pay for rent, utilities, food, and hygiene supplies
• 250 more individuals with alcohol and drug addiction treatment supported by Ottagan Addictions Recovery (OAR)
• Retooling of programming to help our most vulnerable students avoid slipping behind in school through Ready for School, Outdoor Discovery Center

Read about the impact of this fund in CFHZ President Mike Goorhouse’s review of 2020. The organization reported over $1 million raised specifically for this fund.

Joanie went from “sangry” (sad + angry) to feeling SO GOOD. Joining and rallying others is an impactful way to make a difference during a difficult time like the coronavirus pandemic—and a way to build community when we can’t be together in person.

“In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it.” – Marianne Williamson, author and activist

Thank You, Volunteers!

Even after 18 years, we are amazed at the generosity and hard work demonstrated by Women’s Service Day volunteers!

In one day,180 volunteers registered to serve 16 agencies. Many of them joined us for lunch where we held a fundraiser for Hope Pkgs and raised over $3,000. And, volunteers donated a number of items to Community Action House:

• 44 toothpaste tubes
• 17 toothbrushes
• 130 rolls of toilet paper
• 6 rolls of paper towels
• 71 shampoo bottles
• 43 deodorant containers
• 60 body wash/lotion bottles
• 2 shaving creams/1 razor
• 75 bars of soap
• 116 panty liners
• 180 tampons
• 303 maxi pads

Stay tuned for the full story–with photos–to see all we accomplished in just one day!

For now, we just want to say thank you for opening your hearts, pulling on your work clothes (and mud boots), and sharing your love!

Save the Date! Women’s Service Day is October 3

Think about the number 18. If you’re a parent, it’s the age your children become adults. If you’re a Women’s Service Day planning team member or volunteer, it’s 18 years of serving women and children in West Michigan.

Where did the time go?

Join us as we celebrate our eighteenth year and mark your calendars for October 3. That’s the day we’ll be helping agencies in the Holland/Zeeland area. We’ll also hold an auction and raffle for Hope Packages, which provides “first night bags” of essential items like pajamas and a toothbrush for kids entering foster care. A number of you have assembled those bags during Women’s Service Day.

And, as in past years, we’ll lead a donation drive. This year we’ll support Community Action House, which provides area families and individuals with food, clothing, shelter, and skill-building opportunities to achieve stable and prosperous lives. We’ll gather donations of toilet paper, deodorant, shampoo, body soap, toothpaste, and feminine hygiene products. While you’re out and about this summer, it’s the perfect time to look for bargains on items for the donation drive and shop ahead!

Registration will open right after Labor Day. You can share information about the event via Facebook and Twitter. You can also send their email addresses to the Women’s Service Day Planning Committee; we’ll add them to our mailing list. If you’d like other information to help spread the word, such as newsletter announcements and posters, let us know. And if it turns out that the group you have in mind can’t volunteer on the day of the event, think about organizing a group donation of the things listed above. Every little bit helps!

We hope to see you—and your friends—at Women’s Service Day on Thursday, October 3!

Year 17 was prime!

It was a topnotch year, even by our high standards! It wasn’t just the 175 volunteers who cheerfully spent time organizing, raking, cleaning, cooking, grooming, sewing, and many other acts of service, or the hospitality of the agencies who welcomed those volunteers. It wasn’t just the $5,000 that we raised (with help from Herman Miller Cares) for new programming at Camp Sunshine, or the three large boxes of bras, panties, and p.j.s that you all donated for Holland Rescue Mission’s clients, or the way so many people contributed raffle items when we put out the call. All those things certainly made it a success! But for us this year, it was also the evidence we saw of the event’s ripple effect.

Here’s one example: A Community Action House representative called a donor not long ago, and discovered that the person had first become familiar with Community Action House through Women’s Service Day. She’d had a good experience and wanted to give it additional support. Now that person is a donor and a volunteer throughout the year.

We believe this happens a lot, but hearing about it was really exciting for us!

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Thank you for participating! Thank you for flexing when the circumstances required it–and for flexing muscles you may not be used to using. Thank you for your willing hearts and your enthusiasm. Remember: It’s October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so please consider giving just a little more, this time to the Breast Care Fund.

You’ve probably seen the video from that day, but if you want to see more photos, check out the album on our Facebook page over the next week or so.

We’re already looking forward to next year, and we hope you are, too!

Thanks!

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this year’s success (especially whoever order the perfect weather)! The final numbers aren’t in yet, but about 175 volunteers served at 17 agencies across Holland and, with support from Herman Miller Cares, raised more than $5,000 for Camp Sunshine! We also collected bras, underwear, and children’s pjs for Holland Rescue Mission. Your generosity in terms of time and money is overwhelming and inspiring, every single year!

How did the day go for you? If there’s anything you’d like us to think about for next year’s event, please tell us!

We’ll do a wrap-up post next week, but for now, here’s a sweet video from WSD paparazzi member, Kallie Spidahl.