This year has been filled with adjustment.
We went from working on Zoom all day and rarely leaving the house to going back to the office, taking our kids to school and safely gathering in small in-person groups, thanks to vaccines and the work of health care heroes.
We all experienced the start of a new normal this year, and as we adjust, we can reflect on the moments that bring our community together.
We at Martin Waymire launched MW Gives a decade ago to help celebrate the real meaning of the holidays by recognizing people and organizations working to make our communities and state a better place. MW Gives is now our holiday tradition. Instead of gifts, we identify businesses and nonprofits in Michigan that we can support as a “thank you” for the services they provide to our community.
In past years, we’ve supported organizations that strengthen and beautify our community through creativity, that feed the hungry, provide shelter to families in need and the homeless, and deliver services to our military veterans. As a way to protect the First Amendment, a free press and real news, we’ve gifted hundreds of subscriptions to Michigan newspapers to residents across the state. We’ve also given to organizations helping survivors of sexual violence, children in need of health care, and women seeking economic self-sufficiency, among many others.
For MW Gives 2021, we’re supporting four different organizations that are uplifting families and children of all backgrounds across the greater Lansing community, helping them learn, grow and adjust to life almost two years into a pandemic while setting them up for future success.
- BCFI Building Child and Family Initiatives, which aims to strengthen families, encourage a love of learning and minimize educational achievement gaps across Lansing.
- St. Vincent Catholic Charities, which provides adoption services, foster care, counseling services and refugee resettlement services.
- Refugee Development Center, which serves as a link between greater Lansing newcomers and the established communities in Ingham County, assisting families and children with education and engagement.
- Lansing SAVE (Lansing Student Accounts Valuing Education), a school-based program through the City of Lansing, Lansing School District and the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) that enrolls every kindergarten student in Lansing in a savings account that can be used to further their education.
We are making financial donations to each organization and will be highlighting how you can also help them continue their vital work. We’re also bringing together leaders of each organization for a session where we can share some of our PR expertise with them and take them on a tour of a local TV studio. After a year of trying to adapt, saying “thank you” to these organizations for continuing to step up and help those in need is the least we can do.
At Martin Waymire, we work hard every day to make Michigan a better place to live, work and play. The organizations we are supporting this year are doing vital work in the communities we care about, that make this shared vision possible. MW Gives is our way of giving thanks to them and showing gratitude and appreciation for their tireless work.
Look for more information about these organizations in the coming weeks, and join us this holiday season by saying “thank you” to those in your network who have gone above and beyond to help families get through 2021.
