Three programs come together in time of need
What do a school system, a church and an arts council have in common? With schools closed and people struggling, here is the story of how three St. Johns organizations have come together each week, showing love, kindness and support to area children and families during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The St. Johns Public Schools, “Meet Up and Eat Up,” is an established meal program for students needing assistance during the summer months. The program is financed by the State of Michigan through the Federal Lunch program.
“We began this program here in St Johns in the summer of 2018 when we saw a real need to feed some of our students during the summer months,” explains Mark Palmer, St. Johns Public Schools Superintendent. “Once schools were closed in March due to the virus pandemic we knew that we had to restart the program early to fill an important need in our community. Last summer we served about 6,910 meals. So far this spring, we’ve given out something like 28,000 meals.”
The St. Johns High School kitchen staff prepares the meals – typically meals that can be refrigerated/stored to be eaten when the recipient chooses. The school gives out a breakfast and lunch to any child 18 years old or younger who asks for food. The meals are generally picked up by parents for their children.
The meals are distributed at St. John High School on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9:30-11:30 and also at Eureka Elementary School from 9:30-10:30 on the same days. Each child on Monday and Wednesday will receive 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches – on Friday, they will receive 3 of each meal. They will then have received 14 meals to cover every breakfast and lunch for the week. This program is serving around 525 students each day.
There are no registration or income requirements to participate in this program. For more information, please contact Edie Robinson at 989-227-4127.
“Compassion in Action” (CIA) has been feeding our mid-Michigan community for four years. Started by Mark and Denise Palmer through their small group ministry at Gracepointe Wesleyan Church in St. Johns, this program provided supplemental weekend food to students in need within the St. Johns School District.
“In our first year, 2016, we started by distributing 20 food backpacks twice a month at Gateway Elementary,” states Denise Palmer, program coordinator. “The need has increased through the years, and as of March16,, 2020, volunteers had distributed a total of 4,663 food backpacks to students throughout the school district over those first four years.”
Once schools closed in mid-March, CIA needed to find a way to reach even more students and families having difficulty purchasing food. That’s when “Compassion in Action” put their compassion into greater action by providing food bags to families on Wednesdays and Fridays each week. CIA has distributed 1140 bags of food, serving 443 families during the Coronavirus stay in place orders.
Gracepointe is the primary sponsor of this program, providing space for the program to operate as well as being the fiscal agent. Food is purchased through the Greater Lansing Food Bank at a minimal fee. The food bank also donates extra food for free.
In addition to the church and food bank, the SJHS “Youth Action Committee” organized a food drive picking up enough food to fill 225 bags for the program. Other local contributors include Mancinos, Dominos, Kroger, Little G’s, St. Vincent DePaul, Beacon of Hope, the Baby Pantry, CCRESSA’s 2nd Cup Café, Uncle Johns Cider Mill, St. Johns Youth Athletic Association, Gateway Elementary PTO and Rehmanns, along with many individual donors.
“There has been a huge outpouring of community support for our program,” continues Denise Palmer. “It is our belief that this kindness and support will empower and inspire those who receive food to know they are valued and cared for members of our community. Those receiving food may be the ones who pay it forward later in life.”
Food can be picked up at the church’s Southpoint Mall location on Wednesday afternoons from 12:00-2:00 and Friday mornings from 10:00-12:00. For more information, please contact Mark and Denise Palmer at: compassioninaction2016@gmail.com.
The Clinton County Arts Council (CCAC) is the common thread connecting the two food programs. Each Wednesday, Ruth Reynolds, the art council’s “Mobile Art Cart” program coordinator, delivers bags of art supplies to both food distribution centers to be picked up by children and families when they come to receive their food.
“The mobile art program originally started as part of the ‘Meet Up and Eat Up’ program in 2018,” explains Ruth, also director of the CCAC Art Gallery. The art supplies were an encouragement to students to have fun creating during the summer months. Hundreds of art bags were given to students each year.
When schools closed and the school district’s “Meet Up and Eat Up” program started early this year, Ruth sprang into action and started gathering supplies for an early start for the CCAC program too. She then heard that “Compassion in Action” was expanding their program this spring. This led to the expansion of the “Mobile Art Cart” program to include distributing bags at both food sites.
Ruth currently has distributed well over 300 of the “Mobile Art Cart” bags this spring, putting about 80 bags together weekly. “Families are specifically asking for the art bags each week,” says Denise Palmer of CIA. “This has been an incredibly popular program. We’re glad to partner with the Clinton County Arts Council at our Southpoint Mall site.”
The impact this program has on individuals was reflected recently when a visitor showed up at the gallery site while Ruth was assembling bags. “There was a little knock at the door,” Ruth began. “It was a mother and a little boy. I put my mask on and answered the door. The mom said that her son would like to speak to me. He said ‘Thank you. This is the first time I ever had paints before.’ I was so moved!”
The CCAC has a number of volunteers who help with this important project and who also donate supplies. The program also receives help from New Look Computer and Cedar Creek Hospital. If you would like to participate, donate or receive more information on the “Mobile Art Cart, ” please contact Ruth at: clintoncountyarts1@gmail.com.
All three programs are having a huge impact on our mid-Michigan families, as are many others. We thank all the donors, volunteers and organizations out there doing good work – everyone who’s involved showing love, kindness and support at this time.
The Fate Of Rodney B Wilson High School
by Maralyn Fink, Class of ’59
As some of you may or may not know, the Wilson Center has been put up for sale.
The St. Johns Public School Board received three bids to purchase the School, and they were discussed briefly during the virtual Board meeting on Monday night. I called around to get the link to said meeting and tried what I was told, to no avail!
I contacted a couple of Board Members. One did not answer and another one could not give me the information. I then tried another member, Kevin Kirk, who provided me with information. My sincere thanks to Kevin.
The bids were from Ken Harris who made an offer of $25,219.00 to restore historic building features, provide access for tours and provide housing at an average fair market rate, targeting tenants that appreciate the structure.
The second bid was from Jeff Deehan from a development company for $50,000. He proposed to continue to allow community use of the auditorium and gymnasium with a $1.00 per year lease plus the group handling their own operational expense and to provide up to 72 housing units – a mix between rate apartments, age friendly housing, multi-generational housing, and potential senior housing.
Clinton County offered $500,000 for the property. Under this proposal within 60 months the St Johns School District would be required to demolish the existing buildings and improvements at the district’s sole cost and expense.
At the virtual meeting, the School Board made no decision and said they needed two more weeks to think about it.
Kevin Kirk has asked why it should take two more weeks since they have known about it.
Needless to say, most residents do not know anything about this proposal. This is our Alma Matter and many do not want to see it torn down, another local landmark gone.
Any comments anyone would like to make can send them to me at maralyn@sjindy.com and I would appreciate having anyone do that.
Marlene’s Relay For Life of Clinton County fundraiser
With the recent developments of COVID-19 and based on CDC guidelines and in the interest of protecting the health of our survivors, caregivers, volunteers and our community, the American Cancer Society has decided to suspend of all events. Because of this, and an abundance of caution, we are postponing our Relay For Life event to a future date and we wanted to update you.
We plan to host the event once the risk associated with COVID-19 (coronavirus) has subsided. We are working with the City of St. Johns, Downtown Development Authority, and Emergency Management Teams to determine what our new date will be and until then, we appreciate your understanding as we work to balance concerns with the need to advance our mission.
Why I Relay
Cancer has affected so many people I know and love that it’s inspired me to join Relay For Life. This fundraiser is a community-based event, which means no two Relays are the same, but they all support the American Cancer Society’s mission.
Funds raised support cancer patient programs and groundbreaking research that can help save lives. This event also celebrates over 15.5 million cancer survivors nationwide. 15.5 MILLION. That’s huge. That’s why I’d love your support. Will you walk with me? And if you can’t would you be so kind as to make a donation?
https://www.facebook.com/donate/598525054093612/3108874942511353/
A Clinton County Arts Council reorganizes
The Clinton County Arts Council is on the move. The organization is in the process of reinventing itself as it strives to become more effective in its mission to promote, encourage and support the arts, artists and the cultural heritage of Clinton County. Simply put, they are working to raise the quality of life in our mid-Michigan community through promoting arts activities.
After amending its bylaws in November to allow for a larger 15-member board, the arts council welcomed 5 new members to the board at its January meeting. The new board immediately undertook the task of completely reorganizing its operating structure. For the first time in a number of years, the arts council is operating without an executive director.
Four committees were formed to run the organization:
The Activities/Events Committee, headed by Megen Hurst, is actively working on an online “virtual summer art camp” that will be comprised of a series of instructional videos creating art projects. The videos will be produced by members of our community and will be available on our CCAC YouTube Channel, which will roll out sometime in June. The committee is also working on a variety of live events that will hopefully take place in the fall.
The Fund Development Committee is being led by Clarissa Czubak. This committee is in the process of writing two grant proposals, while also looking at some additional fundraising ideas, coordinating their efforts with the Activities/Events and Membership committees.
The Marketing Committee is chaired by Jodi Parker. They are working hard on rebranding the entire organization. This includes everything from selecting a new logo, to developing a completely new web site, to also selecting a new name for the downtown Art Gallery. This is a huge undertaking.
The Membership Committee, led by Amy Bowen, is in the process of sending out membership renewal letters, while also planning the launch of a new membership campaign throughout the county. The committee refigured the membership giving levels and are discussing various sponsorship opportunities and legacy giving.
The arts council also has been fortunate to have Roy Davis, the St. Johns High School Band Director, join the board as an intern. Roy is completing his Masters Degree in Arts Administration from the University of Michigan and has been a great addition to the board.
Our “Mobile Art Cart” program has been greatly expanded. This program usually runs during the summer months, but a need presented itself when our schools closed their doors in March due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Headed by Ruth Reynolds, this program distributes bags filled with a variety of art supplies to families who come to St Johns High School and the GracePointe Wesleyan church each Wednesday, to receive food from both the “Meet Up and Eat Up” and “Compassion in Action” programs. Ruth has distributed over 300 bags to children so far this year. This program has had a great impact on many families during this difficult time.
Many things have been put on hold for now. The Art Gallery has been closed since mid-March. We’ve had to canceled several programs at the Wilson Center Auditorium this spring. The Railroad Museum had to cancel their big “March Tornado Anniversary” event. The “Concert in the Park” series has a full schedule planed and ready to go when it’s safe to do so. They will carefully open things up following the state guidelines. Stay tuned!
So, as you can see, the Clinton County Arts Council has been extremely busy since the first of the year, despite these challenging times. Be on the lookout for an exciting year once they get rolling. Please check the website for updates www.clintoncountyarts.org.
Michigan is flattening the curve, but it’s not business as usual
Last Friday the Governor lengthened her stay-at-home order through May 15, while relaxing restrictions so some businesses can re-open and the public can participate in outdoor activities like golf and motorized boating.
According to the Governor, Michigan cases are plateauing, which means that the “Stay home, stay safe” order is working. She went on to say that while lifting some restrictions is a step in the right direction, we all need to continue doing our part by staying home to help prevent a devastating second wave.
The Mid-Michigan District Health Department (MMDHD) has been working hard to help flatten the curve by closely monitoring all positive cases and following up with their close contacts. Communicable Disease Nurses monitor close contacts for 14 days from the last day they came in contact with the COVID-19 positive patient and ask them to self-quarantine at home for up to 14 days.
As of Wednesday, Clinton County has had 114 cases of COVID-19 and 9 deaths, Gratiot County has had 10 cases and 1 death and Montcalm County has had 33 cases and 1 death.
In MMDHDs jurisdiction, females make up the majority of COVID-19 cases at 59%. The age group most affected in MMDHDs jurisdiction is those 20-49 years of age (39%,) followed by those 50-74 years of age(32%), those 75 and over (25%) and those from birth to age 19 (4%). Additional information can be found at www.mmdhd.org.
“COVID-19 continues to circulate throughout Michigan,” said Marcus Cheatham, MMDHD Health Officer. “This means when we mingle with people, we will be passing on the disease. Therefore, opening up does not mean business as usual. It means some business and recreational activities can resume, providing strict social distancing is followed.”
Last week the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services expanded testing criteria. Those with minor symptoms and essential workers who are not showing symptoms are now eligible to get tested, with an order from a health care provider.
“Testing remains critical to our efforts to slow the spread of the virus,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHHS chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. “Increased testing helps us understand where this disease is so we can identify people at highest risk and make sure we are quickly implementing best practices for preventing further cases and deaths.”
The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough and shortness of breath. However, someone may have COVID-19 if they have at least two of the following symptoms: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat or new loss of taste or smell. Those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should isolate themselves to avoid spreading their illness to others and contact their healthcare provider for guidance.
If your healthcare provider is not available, you may contact the testing site nearest you at www.michigan.gov/coronavirus to see if you can get an order for testing. According to Dr. Khaldun, if you meet the testing criteria, and you’re told you don’t need a test or one isn’t available, it may mean that the testing site does not have the supplies needed to test. In this situation, you are encouraged to visit the online test site locator and call the nearest site regarding next steps.
The COVID-19 test is free for most people. Many insurance providers are waiving copays, and those with Medicaid or Healthy Michigan Plan also have no cost.
Everyone can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by practicing the following:
– wash your hands often for 20 seconds with soap and water
– avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth
– cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing
– avoid handshakes
– keep at least six feet apart from others when in public
– avoid contact with people who are sick
– stay home when you are sick
– disinfect commonly touched surfaces often
Per the Governor’s executive order, people are now required, not encouraged to wear face coverings in enclosed public spaces like grocery stores if they can medically tolerate it. People are reminded to reserve N95 masks for front-line workers, to send only one member of their family to the grocery store, to wear face coverings properly by covering the nose and the mouth and to observe the 6-foot social distancing rule even when wearing a face covering. The Governor’s latest executive order can be viewed in its entirety at www.mmdhd.org/novel-coronavirus.
For updated information, visit MMDHDs website at www.mmdhd.org.
Local agency selected as Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow today announced that 18 Michigan community mental health organizations have been selected as Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics.
Michigan will receive $54,452,014 in new funding for the clinics as a result of the passage of the Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Act by Senator Stabenow and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO).
$4,000,000 is earmarked for the Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham Counties.
This law established new Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, which are transforming the way behavioral health and addiction treatment services are delivered across the country.
These clinics are required to provide a comprehensive set of services including 24/7/365 crisis services; outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment services; immediate screenings, risk assessments, and diagnoses; and care coordination with emergency rooms, law enforcement, and veteran groups.
$200 million has been secured in the FY 2020 appropriations bill and $250 million in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the national Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Expansion Grants program. This program is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. To date, Senator Stabenow has secured over $88 million in funding for Michigan community mental health centers.
“The COVID-19 crisis has shown a spotlight on the urgent need to fund community mental health and addiction services. Now, more Michigan families who are struggling during this pandemic will get critical behavioral health services they need close to home,” said Senator Stabenow.