Honoring Seniors in Kent County.

As program manager for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, she recruits and trains 150–200 IRS-certified volunteers each year and oversees 10–15 free tax sites across Kent and neighboring counties. Since 2003, her teams have helped more than 130,000 households secure over $130 million in refunds and credits—dollars that go directly back into the local economy. Brenda also cohosts an Economic Empowerment Conference with partners like Project GREEN and Young Money Finance, ensuring financial literacy becomes a family skill. She measures success in stories—parents who left a VITA site “beaming” after dignified, no-cost help, or a GRCC student she mentored from volunteer to coordinator to global accounting professional. Brenda builds confidence, capacity, and community—one accurate return, and one new volunteer, at a time. 

His team earned a Life Saving Award after locating an older adult with advanced Alzheimer’s, trapped waist deep in a stream on a cold night. 

Jack also bikes the Riverbank Run course to provide ham radio support, volunteers with Feeding America and a neighborhood Supper House, serves in a community garden, and works elections. He has climbed all 46 High Peaks in the Adirondack Mountains. He recently went skydiving to celebrate his victory over pancreatic cancer. 

Through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Aquinas College and Northview Seniors, his interests keeps growing. Jack’s message is simple: Life is an adventure. Enjoy it. 

She helped pioneer a client choice pantry designed with dignity and respect, grocery shelving, bilingual guides, shopping carts, and welcoming volunteers—now serving 750+ neighbors each month, including diabetic friendly options and fresh produce.  

Laura launched a Senior Pantry at Leonard Terrace Apartments that pairs staples with fellowship, and created the NE Supper House, a weekly community meal drawing 100+ guests to eat well and connect. She chairs the North End Wellness Coalition’s Healthy Eating committee and is collaborating to launch a neighborhood farm market providing fruits and vegetables. With a small staff and an army of volunteers and church partners, Laura extends kindness far beyond budget lines. Her leadership is steady, practical, and deeply human—meeting people where they are and lifting them together. 

Since then, SowHope has served more than 150,000 women across 25 nations, supporting lifesaving care, literacy, and microenterprise that ripple through families and communities.  

At home, Mary teaches graduate courses on nonprofit leadership at GVSU and mentors emerging changemakers in the Cook Leadership Academy. She also lifts local women’s leadership through public events—honoring community trailblazers on International Women’s Day and rallying volunteers across West Michigan. Mary’s throughline is unwavering: when women thrive, families prosper, and communities stabilize. She built a model others can replicate—and an invitation everyone can accept. 

Today, across three Grand Rapids homes, residents receive not just a bed but community: therapy, recovery classes, financial coaching, meditation, and everyday mentorship. By the time they transition, most have steady jobs, transportation, repaired credit, and savings. Julie measures success in names and next steps—like Ashley, a former resident who regained her therapist license, shares custody of her children, and now serves clients at Designed Future. A finalist for West Michigan Woman’s Brilliance Awards and author of A Course in Prosperity (with proceeds supporting the mission), Julie has helped hundreds chart a new path. Her belief is simple and radical: when you build around people’s possibility, they rise. 

She meets families in their hardest moments with calm, cookies, and care—helping them feel less alone. Leslee also lends her energy across the community: volunteering at Frederik Meijer Gardens (Children’s Garden, concerts, farm, and special events) and supporting Salvation Army Angel Tree so parents can choose gifts with dignity. She shares wonder with kids—teaching the butterfly life cycle or that a squirrel’s nest is called a dray—and shares honesty about her own mental health journey, using it to encourage others. Leslee’s superpower is presence: the right kindness, right when someone needs it, offered week after week, year after year. 

Her response became Kids’ Food Basket. What began with 125 sack suppers has grown, through volunteers and community generosity, to about 11,000 healthy meals each weekday across 62 schools in four West Michigan counties. A quadriplegic since a car accident at 27, Mary K. built a life around “what I CAN do”—from early service at God’s Kitchen and Disability Advocates to founding KFB, speaking in classrooms, and personally calling donors to say thanks. She is a published author (What I Can Do) and a Presidential Citizens Medal recipient. Ask the fifth graders at Zinser Elementary or the 137 member KFB Club at Forest Hills Eastern: Mary K. does not just end hunger today; she inspires the volunteers and leaders who will end it tomorrow. 

From marching in city parades to securing tickets and transportation to ballgames and concerts, he makes sure those who served get to feel the joy of belonging. His impact shows up in stories, like the family that arrived from Texas living out of their car; Reginald’s team secured emergency shelter, furniture, food, clothing, and a path back to stability. Today both parents are working, and the kids are in school. His philosophy is simple: you are never too old to live your dream of service—and to invite the next generation to step up. Whenever possible, Reginald reminds us: thank a veteran. 

A founding board member and past chair of the West Michigan Sports Commission, Deb has supported more than 1,300 events, generating 581,000 hotel nights and $737 million in regional impact. She now cochairs the $13M+ “Winning Streak” campaign to expand the Meijer Sports Complex—welcoming 200 additional teams each year and driving $1M in new annual visitor spending. Her service extends well beyond sports. At Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, Deb serves on the Guild and Board of Trustees, where she champions adaptive sports and rehabilitation for all individuals. Recently, a custom-made leg brace was created for a flamingo from the John Ball Zoo. Deb’s leadership may be quiet and steady, but her impact is bold: more inclusive fields, stronger health outcomes, and a community that thrives—together. 

Under her program leadership, UCOM pairs dignified food access with nutrition classes, a community garden, chair-based fitness, a community kitchen, and a free income tax program that serves 400+ families each season. She is also a talent spotter, inviting court ordered volunteers, community members and students alike to discover their strengths—and often to stay long after their required hours. Ask Marcelle: once a single mom facing legal and caregiving obstacles, she taught Guatemalan cooking classes at UCOM, featuring food from her Dominican Republic heritage, found her voice on local television, and eventually celebrated her U.S. citizenship—with Shawn cheering from the front row. Shawn’s approach is simple and powerful: build relationships first, and resilient communities follow. 

Now entering her second term as a Grand Rapids City Commissioner, she also leads the Girls Choral Academy, transforming it into a space where girls, especially black and brown girls—see themselves reflected in leadership and joy. Lisa directs plays centered on black joy, steps onto the stage herself, and builds programs that elevate confidence and voice. Her influence stretches across boards including YWCA, Circle Theatre, and Family Promise, and her mentorship is deep: one former academy participant is now a college educated counselor and entrepreneur partnering with Lisa to serve students. Guided by faith and her father’s advice to “keep living,” Lisa pairs grit with grace and invites all of us to dream bigger for our city.

—like connecting AARP teams with Meals on Wheels to strengthen routes and relationships.  

Appointed by the Governor to the Michigan Commission on Services to the Aging, Joy helps guide Older Americans Act resources and brings public hearings into communities to listen first. She launched an Aging Workshop at her church that other congregations now replicate, and she supports the United Methodist General Conference with detail rich hospitality. Named Michigan Older Adult of the Year (2024), Joy invites all of us—at any age—to find purpose, learn something new, and give back with a full heart. 

Hosted at New Community Church (and open to all), the gathering features homemade soups and sandwiches, warm fellowship, and a civic speaker lineup RJ personally curates: mayors, superintendents, police chiefs, business and nonprofit leaders, and organizers behind community traditions like the Amway Riverbank Run. RJ handles the details—shopping, cooking, volunteer teams, A/V—so guests can focus on connecting and learning. The luncheon traces its roots 69 years to a downtown professional men’s group; today it is a multigenerational, communitywide staple where friendships form and curiosity thrives. In a fastmoving world, RJ preserves a vital space for thoughtful conversation and neighborly care. 

She reframes a move to retirement community living as an act of love—helping older adults thrive while giving caregivers room to breathe. 

LouAnn also invests deeply in the next generation. She co-founded the Ada-Cascade Rotary Interact Club at Forest Hills Northern High School, where she has mentored hundreds of young leaders in Service Above Self and leadership. The student-led group has raised more than $25,000 for local and global causes. Through the Rotary Club of Ada-Cascade, where she is currently serving as President, LouAnn introduced a high school scholarship program that has awarded more than $18,000 to students who exemplify Service Above Self. 

Her heart for service extends globally as well. Eight years ago, she “adopted” a refugee family of 10 from Rwanda through Bethany Christian Services, walking with them through language barriers and complex systems to jobs, green cards, and ultimately homeownership. 

After stepping away from her role at Clark Retirement Community, LouAnn embraces her next chapter not as retirement but as reimagining her life. Her through-line remains constant: see the person, then serve the community. 

As the West Michigan executive for Michigan Women Forward, she expanded access to capital and coaching for women and minority owned businesses; pitch competitions and microloans became launchpads for growth.  

Through JA Welch Consulting, she pairs fund development and strategic planning with the priceless gift of connection. Judy also serves on the Clark Foundation board and chairs Leading Ladies, rallying multigenerational philanthropic action. Her favorite success stories are the founders who went from first pitch to national distribution—and the young professionals she mentored who now lead from the Csuite. Authentic, persistent, and generous with her network, Judy helps people claim their voice, their value, and their vision. 

She serves on the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team Citizens Advisory Work Group, cochairs the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network, and cofacilitates the National PFAS Contamination Coalition—supporting local groups with mini grants, resource fairs, media training, and legislative engagement. She has testified before Congress and, in 2024, addressed the United Nations on the simple truth that clean water is a human right. Closer to home, Sandy cofounded Wilson & Wynn Interventions, providing psychological and behavioral services for people with developmental disabilities and mental illness, and she serves on the Servants Center board, accompanying neighbors experiencing homelessness toward stability and care. Sandy brings science and compassion to every table—and reminds us to meet complexity with humor, patience, and grace.