At Baudville, we're passionate about supporting causes that are close to the hearts of our team members. It's why we got involved in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and why every person who achieves a year of perfect attendance gets to match their monetary award with a charity of their choice. There are also our relationships with D.A. Blodgett - St. John's Home, Equest Center for Therapeutic Riding, and Gilda's Club Grand Rapids that help support our charitable mission to improve the lives of children. And, every other year, we also raise funds for either breast cancer or prostate cancer awareness.

On the first day of the month, I saw a post in my newsfeed that said our main Grand Rapids Public Library would be closing permanently. My heart sank as I thought of that beautiful, iconic structure becoming obsolete—the place where I spent hours researching in college, the place where I tutored my ESL student every Monday night, the place that welcomed one and all to come through its doors to explore and learn. :sigh:

Thank goodness, it was later revealed to be an April Fool's Day joke! Not funny, I thought. But, I also thought: I hope it startled many people into remembering how important this free resource is to our community, and that it raised awareness that without public support, this joke could be a reality. 

As a creative writing major in college I was required to complete a semester-long internship in the writing field. There weren't many "creative" writing gigs in our town so I opted for grant writing, but at the Children's Museum – at least part of the job had to be fun. Getting a little glimpse into the world of not-for-profit for 8 weeks really opened my eyes to the invaluable gift that volunteers bring to these organizations on a daily basis. 

Volunteers have passion.
Volunteers hunger to make a difference.
                             Volunteers give.

Before I came to work at Baudville, I will have to admit that my volunteer experience was dismal. I had always fallen back on the excuse that I was too busy or just filled my weekend with other plans, as I am sure most of us are guilty of.