The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area (CFHZ) recently distributed $145,000 between four nonprofits; investing in efforts to increase the consistency of a healthy and caring adult presence in local children’s lives.

These grants were made through the Community Foundation’s proactive grant program which makes targeted investments across issue areas that were identified by nonprofit partners and community leaders as key priorities for a thriving community.

Few factors are more critical to a child’s current and long-term well-being than the consistent presence of caring adults in their lives and a physically and emotionally safe environment. However, many children in our community experience their parents or primary caregivers struggling to provide stability for reasons ranging from the financial and logistical challenges faced by single parents, to the difficulty of establishing and creating consistent family routines for parents who work multiple jobs or off shifts, the absence of a parent due to incarceration, or the difficulties of healthy parenting for individuals who experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in their own childhoods.

Yadah V. Ramirez, Director of Community Impact, said, “These grants are focused on supporting families in need of services and investing in prevention work to keep households stable and safe. Fostering healthy and caring adult relationships in children’s lives helps create a strong foundation for their development and ensure a brighter future where all in our community can achieve their full potential.”

The four nonprofit organizations which received funding from the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area are: Single MOMM; Arbor Circle; Midtown Counseling Services; and Radiant Roots Doula Network.

Single MOMM
Amount awarded: $60,000 over two years
Purpose: Establishing Comprehensive Support for Single Moms

This initiative is a continuation of work that began last year as the Traverse City-based nonprofit replicates their model for the Holland/Zeeland area. In partnership with Movement West Michigan, Single MOMM held intensive listening sessions to understand the needs of single mothers in our community and use their feedback to inform future programming. Three primary concerns emerged from those sessions: lack of awareness and advocacy regarding existing resources, waitlists and communication delays inhibiting needed support, and lack of community leading to unhealthy relationships and feelings of isolation. In response, Single MOMM will offer parenting classes, resource navigation assistance, and mental health support services for single mothers.

“Studies show that when single moms have a supportive community where they are receiving and contributing, their self-efficacy increases and their family’s flourish . We are uniquely positioned to offer this type of community. Formed by single moms for single moms, we meet women right where they are and bring hope and restoration to places of devastation and loss,” said Jennifer Finnegan Pool, Executive Director.

Arbor Circle
Amount awarded: $30,000
Purpose: Increasing Father Friendly Services in Ottawa County

Arbor Circle began developing focused engagement efforts for fatherhood programming in 2010, and by fiscal year 2023, 60% of its parenting clients in Ottawa were fathers. Their proposal, on behalf of the Fatherhood Coalition, aims to research, understand, and address the needs and barriers for engaging fathers and father figures, ultimately leading to the development of best practice tools, resources, and training to support them. This will help to address a significant gap in our community’s support services for male caregivers, resulting in healthier outcomes for children and families as a whole.

Leigh Moerdyke, Program Director of Arbor Circle’s Prevention and Advocacy Division, said, “We are so grateful for this opportunity to partner on an initiative specifically supporting fathers – the engagement of fathers and father figures is critical to ensuring families can thrive.”

Midtown Counseling Services
Amount awarded: $30,000
Purpose: Family/Parental Engagement in On-Site School Counseling for Holland Public Schools

Midtown Counseling Services works with students and families through their On-Site School Counseling Program at Holland Public Schools to provide counseling during the school day by therapists specialized in youth therapy and certified in trauma-focused therapy. This grant will help deepen the family and parental engagement in on-site school counseling by offering: free counseling to family members of the student being counseled, parenting classes offered by Midtown counselors, including an option for Spanish-speaking parents; art therapy; life skill groups where children and their caregivers practice different skills together such as cooking or gardening; and collaborative efforts with other local nonprofits to provide wraparound support to parents and caregivers.

Robert VanWyngarden of Midtown Counseling said, “With our 2017 initiative to bring trauma-focused therapy to Holland Public Schools, we discovered a key pathway to reach students on site during their school-day.  Now we are leveraging these student-counselor relationships to reach out to student families with new opportunities under the leadership of gifted Midtown counselors. We thank CFHZ for walking alongside us into this next chapter of providing mental health to our students and their families.”

Radiant Roots Doulas Network
Amount awarded: $25,000
Purpose: Doula Services and Community Birthing Classes

Radiant Roots Doula Network serves families during the time of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum by providing high-quality and culturally responsive services. Their affordable, direct assistance includes 2-3 prenatal visits, hands-on and emotional support during birth, advocacy for the client’s rights and priorities throughout the birth, and at least one postpartum visit to ensure the family is supported. The organization is expanding into Ottawa County in response to increasing requests for service in this area. This grant will help increase their capacity to offer doula services and community birthing classes. Helping new parents navigate their new roles and care for themselves and their babies is critical to the family having a healthy start to this new chapter and creating a solid foundation for the parent(s) to build on in the months and years ahead.

“We at Radiant Roots Doula Network are thrilled to be honored with this grant! It will be instrumental in our efforts to make quality prenatal and birth care accessible for those most at risk in Ottawa County,” said Allison Brito of Radiant Roots Doulas Network.

More information about CFHZ’s grantmaking is available at www.cfhz.org/nonprofits