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STEAM Challenge
Out-of-School Time students display their talents
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| Marble roller coasters. Ferris wheels. An open art display. Handmade banners. A sweet-and-savory mystery foods challenge. Games.
All those activities were part of our seventh annual STEAM Challenge regional academic exhibition on Saturday, January 25, in Hesperia. STEAM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
The day's events, held at Hesperia Middle School and High School, exhibited the talents of more than 300 first- through eighth-graders from 14 schools in Lake, Muskegon, Newaygo, and Oceana counties.
The students taking part in the STEAM Challenge were from TrueNorth’s out-of-school time programs Engage! in Hesperia; REACH in White Cloud; and Project FOCUS in Baldwin, Hart, Holton, Muskegon, Muskegon Heights, and Walkerville.
Hesperia’s Engage! and White Cloud’s REACH programs are funded through grants from the Fremont Area Community Foundation. In Baldwin, Hart, Holton, Muskegon, Muskegon Heights, and Walkerville, Project FOCUS is funded by federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants awarded through the Michigan Department of Education.
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Climbing out of povertyCircles Newaygo County provides direction
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| Krista didn’t grow up in poverty. But she and her husband, Devon, were mired in it.
They struggled with their blended family of seven to make ends meet on Devon’s paycheck, with Krista battling health issues and looking for work. They found direction through Circles Newaygo County, a TrueNorth community service with an approach to end poverty one family at a time.
“If you’re going to get out of the situation you’re in, you need support,” Krista said. “With Circles, it’s the power of group empathy and positivity.”
As a Circle Leader participant in the program, she found one-on-one support from her volunteer Allies, Denise and Gary. The pairing has meant gaining motivation from Denise and a listening ear from Gary.
“With the two of them, I get the best of both worlds,” Krista said. “They’ve been holding me very accountable.”
Krista has made some changes, giving up smoking and receiving needed medical and dental care.
“I think she’s in a much healthier place, both physically and mentally, where she can go out with confidence,” Denise said of Krista.
Circles is funded by a grant from the Fremont Area Community Foundation. To get involved with Circles as a Circle Leader participant, as a volunteer or in another capacity, call (231) 924-0641, ext. 220, or email circles@truenorthservices.org.
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Daddy Daughter Dance and Dinner
Camp Newaygo delivers heartwarming setting on snowy evening
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| On a snowy Sunday evening, more than 200 made the wintry trek to find a heartwarming atmosphere at Camp Newaygo’s annual Daddy Daughter Dance and Dinner.
Lang Lodge was the setting for fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, and uncles to spend special time with their girls at the pre-Valentine’s Day event on February 9. The activities for the night in Newaygo included creating valentines, cookies, photos, and dancing to music by a disc jockey.
Next month is Camp Newaygo’s Mom & Me Stomp and Dinner for mothers and their sons and daughters on March 15.
Enjoy dancing, refreshments, cookie decorating, crafts, and photos for the stomp, at $7 per person from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Ridge Specialties offers a catered pasta buffet dinner with 5:15 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. seatings and a cost of $14.95 per adult and $9.95 per child.
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| Our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on January 20 recognized King's legacy while also incorporating community service at the TrueNorth Service Center in Fremont. Our MLK Day guest speaker was Phyllis Loudermill, president of the NAACP Lake-Newaygo Branch. During her energetic discussion, she issued a call to action: "Do your very best in your community. The challenge is to make it work." Also, a handful of Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial volunteers assembled nutrition-filled Weekend PowerPacks for Newaygo County students and made stress balls for Harmonized Healing Counseling Services.
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2020 Census: MI Voice Counts
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- Leinenkugel's Presents 2020 Dam to Dam Ice Fishing Tournament, February 15
- Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Services (VITA) for West Michigan, February 17-April 15
- Friday Piano Showcase, February 21
- TrueNorth Community Services 2020 Annual Meeting, February 25
- Feeding America West Michigan Mobile Food Pantry, February 26
- Circles Big View Meeting: Meet Your Legislators, March 5
- Show Me the Money Day, March 13
- Mom & Me Stomp and Dinner, March 15
- Friday Piano Showcase, March 20
- Feeding America West Michigan Mobile Food Pantry, March 25
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