Highlights from Women’s Service Day 2022!

We’re still buzzing from the success of this year’s Women’s Service Day and wanted to share some of the stories about our incredible volunteers! Below is just a sample – if you have any special moments from your experience as a volunteer, we’d love to hear! Send an email to womensserviceday@gmail.com.

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Harvest Stand Ministries

“I just wanted to share a story with you from this last week. We absolutely loved having the volunteer group here and they were wonderful to work with. They served doing things that are not the most fun things to do and they did it with a smile. The ladies asked a lot of questions and we loved the opportunity to meet them and share with them about our mission. One of the things that they asked was what items we have the greatest need for, they noticed working in the pantry that we have a lot of some items but hardly any of others. I shared with them that we are often low on things like pasta sauce, cooking oil, snacks, breakfast items, condiments, etc. When I came in on Saturday to get ready for an event, we had entire cases of these items on our shelves. Now I don’t know if these ladies dropped the donations off, but it was such a blessing to us either way. I wanted you to know that THEY were such a blessing to us. Thank you”

– Jessica Starks | Office and Communications Coordinator

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Kids Food Basket

Our incredible volunteers packed packed 741 meals for that evening PLUS 626 meals for the following night in one session! Way to go!

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Nestlings

The morning crew at Nestlings set an agency record for the most diapers wrapped in a session: 14, 412 diapers total! Our agency contact stated that they usually can wrap about 20,000 in a week, but our volunteers nearly hit that number in just a few hours!! Way to go!

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The Period Project

The Period Project was very happy with the collection of personal care products–nearly everything was suitable for their purposes! Thanks to all of your donations, we donated 4 large boxes of supplies for girls in need.

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Eighth Day Farm

The Eighth Day Farm team was so appreciative of all volunteers and for the donation from the charity fundraiser, which was matched by MillerKnoll Cares and equaled $4875.86 in total! 

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Community Action House Kitchen

The leftovers from lunch were sent to Community Kitchen. Their chef was so grateful! We donated two large pots of chili, sugar, flour,  garlic, dessert, etc. Enough to feed quite a few.

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Thank you again to all who donated, participated, and showed up to support Women’s Service Day 2022! You are the reason we are able to help so many in our community!

Here are a few more shots from that day:

Thank You for an Amazing 21st Women’s Service Day!

Yesterday wrapped the 21st Women’s Service Day and we wanted to extend a HUGE thank you to our volunteers, participating agencies, and all who attended any portion of this incredible day of service!

130 volunteers across 13 agencies

(To see our historical numbers of hours volunteered, funds raised, and gifts in kind donated, visit our History page that highlights two decades of philanthropy from our community.)

This year was a beautiful, sunny fall day that featured 130 volunteers registered to serve 13 agencies in the morning and afternoon. Many participants and agency representatives joined us for our networking and charity lunch to benefit Eighth Day Farm.

We are thrilled that our volunteers raised $2875.86. Along with a match and bonus from the MillerKnoll Foundation, the grand fundraising total was $4875.86! Plus, volunteers donated a several boxes of feminine products for The Period Project.

Stay tuned for the full story with event 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 supporting your community!

– The Women’s Service Day Organizing Committee

Nancy Corvers, Harris Hof, Marcia Davis, Cindy DeGraaf, Sue Gadbois, Alison Lechner, Lois Maassen, Carolyn Maalouf, Angie Martin, Jill Ryan

What to Expect on Women’s Service Day 2022 (10.6)!

We are so excited for your enthusiastic participation on Women’s Service Day this year!

Here’s what to expect:

Volunteer Crews

• Please review your SignUpGenius communications to be sure you know what clothing or equipment might be helpful to your specific assignment.
• For a morning or all-day crew, plan to arrive at your worksite in Holland at 8:30 a.m (or 9 a.m. if volunteering with Kids Food Basket). 
• For an afternoon crew, plan to arrive at our lunch location by noon for a celebration lunch. If you are unable to attend the luncheon, please arrive at your worksite by 1:30 p.m.

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Lunch Details

Our lunch celebration will be from 11:45 a.m. 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). 

Note that Pine Avenue is closed for construction from 10th Street south. Enter 10th Street from the east to park on the street or in the church parking lot, or park in the west lot (furthest from the building) of the United Methodist church, just north of Hope Church between 9th and 10th Streets. Overflow parking is available in the back lot of the Methodist Church across the street from Hope church. Please do not park in the front lot of the Methodist Church.

A $10 donation will cover your lunch, with any surplus to be donated to Eighth Day Farm.  

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

More details on lunch and the charity fundraiser can be found here.

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Donation Drive

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

1. Summer’s Eve Cleansing Cloths (individually wrapped wipes)

2. Always Radiant Teen Pads

3. Tampax Radiant Tampons regular absorbency, unscented

See the full wish list of items here. Please bring your donations to lunch! We’ll have boxes ready to collect them. 

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Last-minute change in plans (sickness, business crisis, etc.)? Please update your registration in SignUpGenius or email us as soon as possible. To contact event organizers the day of the event, call or text Angie at (616) 283-3341.

Follow the day through photos on Facebook and Instagram (@womensserviceday) and updates on Twitter (@womenserviceday). Share your experiences with the hashtag #WSDHolland!

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Looking forward to seeing you Thursday!

The Women’s Service Day Organizing Committee

Nancy Corvers, Harris Hof, Marcia Davis, Cindy DeGraaf, Sue Gadbois, Alison Lechner, Lois Maassen, Carolyn Maalouf, Angie Martin, Jill Ryan

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.

Thank you for being the change you want to see in the world!

This year was WSD’s “sweet sixteen” birthday, and how sweet it was! More than 180 of you showed up ready to be the change that you want to see in the world. Thank you!

Here are the non-profits that benefitted from your hard work:
– Center for Women in Transition
– Benjamin’s Hope
– Eighth Day Farm
– Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity
– Nestlings Diaper Bank
– Pathways of Arbor Circle
– Hope Pkgs
– Holland Area Arts Council
– ACTS
– My House Ministry
– Kids’ Food Basket
– Holland Rescue Mission
– Community Action House

By participating in our lunchtime raffle, you help raise over $3,200 for the Center for Women in Transition to support costs associated with providing activities and safe spaces for children whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence.

You also donated 3,284 diapers and 11 packages of wipes for the parents and children served by Nestlings.

In the next few days, we’ll post a full recap of the day along with photos that show how we got the work done. You can also check out the photos on Facebook and Instagram.

Finally, we’d like to know what the WSD experience was like for you. How can we make it better next year? Please take this quick survey so we know — http://bit.ly/WSD2017Feedback

Thanks and see you next year!

What to expect on Thursday, October 5

We’re looking forward to serving women and children in our community with you on Thursday, October 5! If you have any last minute changes, please make sure you make that change on Sign Up Genius.

For morning assignments, plan to arrive at your work site at 8:30 a.m.; afternoon assignments will begin after lunch adjourns, between 1:15 and 1:30. Dress for the weather, as we’ll do everything possible rain or shine! (Our weather luck has been mostly good over the years, but you never know!)

Our lunch celebration will be held 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). We request a minimum of $5.00 for lunch, an amount that has remained steady for over 10 years. Any additional dollars you can give will help defray continuing increases in food prices! (Cash will be collected upon arrival at the church.)

We’ll also have a raffle of wonderful handmade items and fabulous donations from local businesses during lunch. Proceeds will go to the Center for Women in Transition, which will use the money to defray costs associated with providing activities and safe spaces for children whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence, with some portion covering minor event costs. Bring your checkbook, credit cards, or cash, and your generosity!

During lunch, we’ll also be collecting disposable diapers (especially sizes 4, 5, and 6) for Nestlings Diaper Bank, a clearinghouse that provides diapers to low-income families and babies. (Or you can donate directly to Nestlings online.)

You can follow the day through photos and updates on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and tweet or post your own experiences, too, using the hashtag #WSDHolland.

Questions? Concerns? You can always contact us via e-mail! See you soon!

Center for Women in Transition Will Receive Funds Raised at 2017 Raffle

Our annual raffle is one of our favorite parts of Women’s Service Day because everyone has fun and we raise money for a great cause. So remember to bring your checkbooks! Once again this year we’ll have two raffles featuring fabulous donations from local artisans and businesses, and designated by white and red tickets:

• Red raffle tickets are $5 each or 3 for $12
• White raffle tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25

Check out this sneak peek on Facebook of a few of the items you can win. Money raised this year will benefit the Center for Women in Transition (CWIT).

Specifically, the money will be used for costs associated with providing activities and safe spaces for children whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence.

Last year, CWIT served 77 children in its emergency shelter (Ginny’s Place), 38 children in its Supportive Housing program, and 30 children in its Children’s Therapy program. In addition, CWIT provides free childcare service and dinner during support groups. This allows the parent to focus fully on sharing their experience, establishing a support network, and taking steps towards a healthier future. The agency embraces a holistic approach to healing, walking alongside the families it serves and providing assistance to both parent and child as needed.

Funds from the raffle will support a variety of activities, including day passes for educational/entertainment opportunities for the children living at the shelter; upgrades to spaces at both CWIT’s emergency shelter and its Holland program office to make them more child-friendly and trauma-informed; the purchase of new, age-appropriate and therapeutic toys and games; and needed safety improvements to its playground.

We’re excited to support CWIT in this important work!

Save October 5 for WSD!

Our fifteenth anniversary was a huge success, with more volunteers (180) working hard to be the change we all want to see in the world. And we raised more than $3,000 for continuing renovations at Pathways. Go, us! But we’ve never been one to rest on our laurels–and we figure you aren’t, either! So please save Thursday, October 5, for Women’s Service Day. That’s all you need to do for now. Watch this space for details. And watch this video to get inspired!

Women’s Service Day Volunteers Are “A Dream Come True”

“This is a dream come true!” said a Community Action House volunteer supervisor, as she surveyed the pantry that Women’s Service Day volunteers had spent the afternoon sorting through and reorganizing.

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SEE MORE 2016 EVENT PHOTOS ON FACEBOOK

As you can see from the slideshow, the pantry was just one of many projects that 180 Women’s Service Day volunteers took on during the 15th year of the annual event, held on October 6. At Eighth Day Farm, volunteers put the vegetable gardens to bed for the winter, while at Pathways, Michigan, they did landscaping, painted an entryway and other areas, assembled kitchen cabinets, and laid flooring.

Women volunteering at the Center for Women in Transition put together coaching kits for the Girls on the Run program; those at Camp Sunshine worked on a mailing that will go out to potential counselors.

Other activities included painting at two My House Ministry locations, and cleaning and yard work at a third; sorting donations at The Salvation Army; assembling meals for children at Kids’ Food Basket; cleaning and sorting donated books at Ready for School, and bundling diapers at Nestlings Diaper Bank.

As in previous years, volunteers enjoyed homemade chili at Hope Church, while they watched anniversary video (generously produced by Rasikas Films) and waited for raffle winners to be announced. The raffle and sale of volunteer-produced pigs in blankets raised just over $3,000 for continuing renovations at Pathways, MI, and “a mountain of donated diapers and wipes” will go to the parents and children served by Nestlings.

For the organizing committee, this was a year of celebration and reflection. As she painted the ceiling in the basement at one of the My House Ministry’s houses and listened to the other volunteers chat, Marcia Davis, one of the original organizers of the day, realized that she was seeing a microcosm of the entire event. “We were having fun, doing some good in the community, learning something new, and meeting new people,” she said. “Those were all the goals we had set out for Women’s Service Day from the very beginning.”

Thank you!

We are overwhelmed by your generosity—and so are the agencies we served!

Every year we think it can’t get any better. And every year, all our volunteers prove that it can, and it does. This year more than 180 of you–a record since Women’s Service Day began–showed up with willing hearts and hands and did more than ever before. What a way to celebrate our 15-year anniversary! Here are the nonprofits that benefited from your hard work:

• Center for Women in Transition for the Girls on the Run program.
• Eighth Day Farm
• Holland Rescue Mission
• Kids’ Food Basket
• Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity
• My House Ministry
• Camp Sunshine
• Community Action House
• Nestlings Diaper Bank
• Pathways, MI
• Ready for School
• The Salvation Army

The lunch raffle fundraiser was a huge success, raising over $2305 for Pathways MI. You also donated a mountain of diapers and wipes for the parents and children served by Nestlings.

Stay tuned for the full story–with photos–to see all you accomplished in just one day! For now, here’s our anniversary video. Thanks to each of you, to the hundreds of women who have participated over the years, and to Rasikas Films for producing a video that captures our “can do” spirit.

Also, for those of you who wish you had ordered a commemorative T-shirts (or two), good news! We’ve decided to re-open the campaign. Order by October 19! Proceeds will still benefit Pathways, which works to improve life for children and families by providing services like counseling, foster care, and education. Visit https://www.booster.com/wsd-2016 for full details and to place your order.

Finally, we’d like to know what the WSD experience was like for you. How can we make it better next year? Please take this quick survey so we know.

Thanks and see you next year!