A Place for Community

A program of TrueNorth Community Services, Camp Newaygo prides itself on being the community’s camp. Along with being a popular location for school trips, community meetings, and weddings, Camp Newaygo hosts events that allow our community to come together and enjoy the outdoors.

Not only do these events give families a fun outing, they also thrive on the community support of local businesses, organizations and individuals. This fall, Camp’s annual, 3-day Halloweekend Festival will come together thanks to donations from local farms of pumpkins and apples, groups decorating spooky cabins throughout October, and plenty of volunteers helping facilitate the fun during the event.

Camp Newaygo hosts Girlfriends’ Getaway – a 3 day retreat the first weekend in both October and May. Local women and folks from across Michigan come to enjoy a weekend of relaxation, activities and great food-thanks to Ridge Catering. Camp features local vendors and businesses by contracting with massage therapists, artists and local fitness instructors – all adding to the experience of the retreat.

With talented staff and excellent facilities, Camp Newaygo also partners with other, local organizations for programs and events. For the second year in a row, Lang Lodge at Camp will be host to the Newaygo County Influential Women in Leadership Luncheon. With on-site catering and staff who excel creating phenomenal experiences, Camp Newaygo makes a great partner for organizations looking for a place to host events, parties and fundraisers. Partnering with the luncheon specifically also aligns with Camp Newaygo’s mission to “continue (their) tradition of supporting opportunities for girls and women.”

These are just a few of the many community events that Camp Newaygo hosts. If you are interested in getting involved in your community at Camp Newaygo as a community supporter, contracted vendor, or participant, you can learn more at campnewayg.org/events or contact Scott at slakin@campnewaygo.org.

Matthew Secures a Healthier Future

“It’s impossible when you’re in a car,” says TrueNorth Housing Resource Center participant Matthew about managing his health issues while living in his car. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I had any chance of getting any apartment anywhere.” Thankfully, Matthew did find a place to call home after working with TrueNorth Community Services. Receiving guidance and encouragement throughout his housing journey enabled Matthew to be where he is today – safely housed and looking forward to a brighter future.

November is Homeless Awareness Month – raising awareness to help people just like Matthew who face homelessness and housing insecurity. Matthew had been living out of his car for over a year after he left his past place due to it not being accessible for him. With the current rise of housing needs in addition to the decreased availability of rentals, he was unable to find another place to call home.

Matthew eventually went to a medical rehabilitation facility after a hospital visit because of his poor health. He has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, stage 3 kidney disease, prostate cancer and type 2 diabetes. At the facility, Matthew worked with TrueNorth and his rehabilitation caseworker to help find him safe housing for when he was ready to be discharged. Matthew spent about six weeks at the facility getting his strength and overall health back on track. When it was time for him to be discharged, he unfortunately still did not have a place to go even after putting in multiple applications for income-based and senior housing.

The next day, however, TrueNorth found a local hotel willing to participate in our hotel voucher program. Matthew describes how he felt getting out of his car and staying in the hotel: “I felt great, but at the same time I felt that this was temporary. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to spend the rest of my life there.” Thirty days later Matthew found his new home. While he was excited at first to have his own place, he was hesitant to go because he didn’t know how he could afford rent and all his medical bills. With guidance from TrueNorth, Matthew felt comfortable moving into his new apartment that will ultimately set him up for a healthier future.

Today, Matthew is living in his senior apartment where he can focus on his health. He is set up to receive Meals on Wheels and even received a box of healthy food from TrueNorth thanks to their Farm to Home Boxes program. Along with these resources, Matthew is receiving physical therapy and has nurses checking in on him. Now, Matthew can focus solely on his health without his previous stress and anxiety from not having a place to call home. “I call it a miracle,” says Matthew when reflecting on his housing journey.

You can make a difference in the lives of people like Matthew. Whether you donate, volunteer, advocate or help in any way you can, you can help those in need find the safe, affordable housing they need to thrive. Click here to “GET INVOLVED” to ensure the health and well-being of our community during Homeless Awareness Month and beyond.

Looking Forward to Fall Programming

As summer approached, Trevor’s parents were looking for positive and meaningful experiences for Trevor and his two siblings. Twelve-year old Trevor had already attended White Cloud’s Project FOCUS Rural Grit program last school year, and with the program offering a summer session, his parents knew this would be a good fit for their kids. After Trevor’s mom told him he would be attending summer programming, he was even more excited for summer to begin.

“I’d heard really good reviews about it from other kids,” Trevor said. “I think it’s cool, because we get to do these really fun experiments… like, I heard next week, we’re going to get to go on our computers and code drones and fly them!” Trevor really likes summer programming because he gets more time in the day to do fun and cool things. He loves arts and crafts and enjoys wood carving and whittling. Trevor was particularly fond of a craft project they did this summer where they collected rocks, sticks and other natural material from outside and used them to make sculptures.

He’s also looking forward to school-year programming this fall. Since Trevor has made several new friends this summer, he is looking forward to continuing those friendships throughout Project FOCUS. Trevor credits the homework help and tutoring time at Project FOCUS for helping him turn his grades around from 5th grade to 6th grade. He said, “The only real reason I passed math this year was because of the help I got!”

Empty Bowls Helps People Like Jackie Thrive

“If it wasn’t for TrueNorth I don’t know what I’d do. You guys have been lifesavers on more than one occasion,” says TrueNorth Hunger Prevention participant Jackie. Having a multigenerational, 11-person household with the continued rising cost of living has made making ends meet challenging for Jackie and her family. But, through the resources from TrueNorth Community Services, Jackie’s family has received the food and support they need to move forward.

Jackie has been participating in TrueNorth’s Hunger Prevention programs for over 10 years. From coming to the Food Center to picking up free summer meals for her grandchildren and great grandchildren that live with her, Jackie always makes sure her family is taken care of.

Jackie’s love for her family extends to others who are in a similar financial situation as her. She helps pick up food for eight other families who are not available during certain programming times and face transportation barriers, ensuring their families have food to put on their table. “You guys always help me when I need it. So, I try returning the favor to other people,” says Jackie. “I can’t see people struggle
because I struggle, and I know what that’s like.”

Living on her fixed income while taking care of her family has been challenging for Jackie. However, she knows how to use her resources to make the most out of what she has. Receiving meat and fresh vegetables from TrueNorth’s Food Center has helped Jackie’s family tremendously since purchasing those
items for 11 people is unaffordable.

Besides coming to the Food Center and picking up summer meals for her family, Jackie also participates in TrueNorth’s Senior Thanksgiving Luncheon and receives a Senior Harvest Basket. Being able to come and socialize with community members at the Senior Thanksgiving Luncheon has helped Jackie feel a part of TrueNorth and her community.

“Words can’t say how much I appreciate you guys,” says Jackie when reflecting on her overall experience with TrueNorth. “TrueNorth helps a lot more people than they know. I hear everybody talk about ‘well TrueNorth helped me here’ or ‘TrueNorth helped me there.’” You can help people just like Jackie by making a gift to TrueNorth’s Hunger Prevention programs. Your support means our neighbors will have
peace of mind knowing they have reliable access to the nutrients they need to thrive.

We need your help to reach our $25,000 goal. Without compassionate people like you, many in our community would go hungry. You can also make an impact by attending TrueNorth’s signature Hunger Prevention fundraiser, Empty Bowls. This event brings caring community members like yourself together to help our neighbors who struggle with food insecurity. Join us for a simple lunch of delicious soup and
bread and take home a hand-painted bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in our community. Empty Bowls will take place on Thursday, October 3 at the TrueNorth Service Center in Fremont and on Friday, October 4 at the VFW Post 4249 in Newaygo. Soup will be served between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm at both locations.

Donate today and register for Empty Bowls to make a difference right here.

Summer Meals

In its second summer of partnership with Holton Public Schools, our Hunger Prevention Programs have distributed over 46,000 meals to area youth as part of the Meet Up and Eat Up initiative.

Local resident Scott Raterink is grateful for the meal support: “It’s been real helpful. I’m 65, we’ve adopted five kids, the youngest is 12 and I’m on disability. This [program] really helps out a ton.”

The summer to-go meal packs are assembled at the TrueNorth Service Center and distributed weekly every Thursday morning. Each child in the household received 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and a gallon of milk. Many children go hungry during the summer when access to school-day meal services is unavailable. Filling the summer hunger gap is important because hunger is linked to summer learning loss, also known as summer slide. Stopping the “summer slide” among kids from low-income families could save up to $50.6 billion in reteaching costs, equal to approximately 10% of the current U.S. spending on K-12 education. The final distribution for summer 2024 took place today.

“We are deeply thankful for the opportunity to partner with Holton Public Schools in delivering this remarkable service. It is striking the difference this program makes in improving the lives of families every week” said our Hunger Prevention Director, Mike Voyt.

New Connections

Both Community Connections and Camp Newaygo work to build connections and resilience through shared experiences. Combining these two programs at an intergenerational event this month created a fun, unique experience for participants and campers.

Campers and staff from Camp Newaygo’s Spanish Immersion Day Camp came to TrueNorth to gather together for a meal of Mexican street food with Community Connections participants. The campers also shared a camp song in Spanish with the group, showing a snapshot of what they had learned during the week.

Having the Day Campers join Community Connections’ participants for a meal made an impact on everyone involved. “When you spend seven days a week eating alone basically, it’s nice to have somebody to actually eat with–have a conversation,” says Community Connections participant Cindy.

For day camper Lauren, she had fun sharing a meal with new people and the friends she made at Camp Newaygo. While she was nervous singing in front of others, overall she enjoyed the new experience.

“That was really cute…having the kids sit at the different tables so you could actually converse with them, that was cool,” says Cindy about the event. “I think it’s a wonderful idea because some kids don’t have the opportunity to, you know, be around their grandparents.”

Engaging with new people from different generations helps broaden horizons and form new relationships. This event partnered between Community Connections and Camp Newaygo allowed participants, young and older, to connect and learn from one another for a fun-filled, engaging experience for all.

Be a Mentor. Pass it On.

At its core, Mentoring is simply about building a relationship with a child and being available to listen and support. It’s as easy as taking them fishing, window shopping at the mall, or playing catch in the park. With eleven local children currently on the waiting list, we have a great need for adult mentors. We hope our “Be a Mentor. Pass it On.” campaign can help fill this void.

“There is overwhelming evidence of the positive impact having an adult mentor can have on a child,” said Serena Lafferty, TrueNorth’s Youth Mentoring Specialist. Due to the importance mentoring plays on the life of a child, TrueNorth is committed to mentoring programs and has offered mentoring services since 1976. Today, operating under TrueMentors, we offer a variety of one-to-one, and group mentoring programs to Newaygo County youth.

If you, or someone you know, might be interested, please contact Serena today at (231) 924-0641, ext. 174 or slafferty@truenorthservices.org. You can also help us by spreading the word and sharing our campaign messages on social media.

Tools for School Helps Ashley Find Community

“It just helps out,” says Ashley Shields, about TrueNorth’s Tools for School event. “Just to get all the information that’s out there, the resources. There’s a lot more out there than what I anticipated.”

Ashley has participated in TrueNorth Community Services’ Tools for School event for the past two years. Ashley has two daughters, one going into second grade and the other going into third grade. From picking out their backpacks to seeing all the community resources available, coming to Tools for School helps set up Ashley’s family for success this school year and beyond.

Ashley says, “It helps a lot of families that can’t provide, you know, for their children. Because everything’s gone up.” With rising costs, getting these essential items for school helps relieve stress from Ashley and parents just like her. The convenience of having everything in one place from school supplies and community resources to haircuts makes a major difference as Ashley gets her kids ready for the upcoming school year.

Not only does Tools for School provide a number of resources to families just like Ashley’s, but it also fosters feelings of togetherness. Ashley says, “I like how everybody gets together too. It feels good, like safe.” Having families come together for the same purpose of preparing their children for school creates a sense of community. Not only does this help build excitement for the school year, but it also helps families just like Ashley’s feel seen and supported.

Help families just like Ashley’s by giving to Tools for School. Many in our community struggle to get everything their kids need for school due to the rising costs of living, but through your support, you can provide students with the tools they need to succeed both inside and outside the classroom.

You can level the playing field for over 1,000 local children. Your gift will not only supply the physical tools needed for school but will also provide access to resources that will help students and their families flourish. Click here to make a caring gift today and ensure the next generation thrives.