Alpha Family Center

Signs of faithful volunteers are everywhere at Alpha Family Center. Colorful baby clothes have been carefully sorted behind the scenes and are now neatly displayed in the lobby. There’s the friendly face at the reception desk and a mentor meeting with a client around the corner.

“Volunteers drive our organization,” said Debbie Lamos, Executive Director. “We operate very locally and look to the community for resources. People think we use volunteers to save money, but that’s not the case. We use volunteers because it’s all about the community helping the community.”

The dedication and warmth of the staff and volunteers at Alpha Family Center can be a lifeline for clients seeking a beginning level of healing from sexual abuse or trauma or who are overwhelmed by an unplanned or crisis pregnancy.

Nicole Mollett’s volunteer mentor not only supported her throughout a difficult pregnancy but also continues to work with her on parenting classes.

Through a program supported in part by a grant from the Community Foundation, Nicole can earn “Alpha bucks” as she works with her mentor. She can spend them on items like the baby clothes sorted each Tuesday by volunteers.

“I thank God for Alpha every day,” Nicole said. “The people are genuine, and you know they’re here because they care.”

Experiences like Nicole’s are exactly why Rachel Bonga has been a mentor for 14 years.

“There is such a need in our community,” said Rachel. “I just want to show our clients that I care about them and that there is hope for their future.”

Roger and Becky Tuuk

Roger and Becky Tuuk both trace their motivation for giving back to their parents.

Roger’s parents sent four children to Christian school on a factory worker’s salary. While there may not always have been much left over, they still made generosity a priority. “They always said if you give your 10 percent tithe, it comes back to you,” said Roger.

Becky learned similar lessons from her own parents who routinely gave to the causes they cared about, especially education and helping underrepresented students go to college.

Throughout their life together, Roger and Becky put these lessons into practice: saving, living simply, and faithfully supporting the things most important to them like education, the arts, conservation, and human service organizations.

Roger was the Community Foundation’s first full-time accountant and Becky was a teacher. After retiring from the workforce, the Tuuks established a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation to enhance and continue their giving.

A donor-advised fund allows their initial gift to grow and ensures their support of the community will be permanent. “Now we can do more,” said Becky. “And it will continue after we’re gone.”

“We’ve been blessed,” said Roger of the couple’s commitment to the place they call home.

“And it’s true,” he remarked, remembering what he grew up hearing from his parents. “The more you give, the more comes back to you.”

Love INC and Mistie Wolfenbarger

Two years ago, Mistie Wolfenbarger reached a turning point. She wanted a better future for her family, but she had no support and had never been taught about finances. The challenges seemed overwhelming. “Sometimes you feel like you can’t get better,” said Mistie.

She found her way to Love INC and shared her story with Laurie Plakmeyer, Relational Ministry Coordinator. The care and acceptance she found was  the first step in what has become a transformative journey.

Mistie enrolled in Growing Hope, Love INC’s financial management and personal growth program. Funded in part by a Community Foundation grant, Growing Hope empowers participants to take positive steps toward self-sufficiency, to build skills, and to cultivate supportive relationships.

Mistie chose from a variety of personal growth classes on topics such as parenting and cooking on a budget. She also worked through the program’s 14-week financial management classes where she learned to track spending, establish a budget, and build savings. There were weekly homework assignments and mentors to provide accountability and support.

Nearing graduation from Growing Hope, Mistie can see its impact in almost every area of her life.

“I’m a better mother now,” she said. “I’m paying more attention to our finances, so I’m not as stressed.”

“It’s hard at first,” she admitted. “But when you let down your walls, you learn there are people who do care. It has been pretty life changing.”

Alyssa Greene: Possibility! Scholarship

Alyssa Greene, a graduate of Hesperia High School, received the Possibility! Scholarship from the Community Foundation in 2013. This special full, four-year scholarship served as a springboard to the rest of her life.

Now a sophomore at Central Michigan University, Alyssa has weathered homesickness and the adjustment to college life and is enthusiastically becoming more involved on campus. She has joined the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and is an initiate of an honors fraternity.

“It’s going great,” said Alyssa. “I have learned a lot about myself and who I am. I feel like I found my path.”

Alyssa credits her scholarship with helping to make it all possible. “It signified hope to me,” she said. “It meant I could do all the things I wanted to do with my life.”

With a major in criminal justice and a minor in psychology, Alyssa hopes to one day facilitate a juvenile rehabilitation center. She looks forward to mentoring at-risk youth next semester and plans to begin her career as a juvenile probation officer.

She is also determined to find a way to demonstrate what she calls her “undying gratitude” for the opportunities she has been given. “I want to give back to my grandma who raised me and to the community,” said Alyssa. “I want them to know how grateful I am. They helped me achieve my goals and dreams.”

Newt Dilley and the White River

Newt Dilley’s family shares a passion for enjoying the outdoors and protecting natural resources. As Newt’s son, Cameron, recalled, “We were taught to always leave a camp site cleaner than we found it.” Daughter Abby described carrying potato sacks on hikes so they could pick up trash along the way.

They are a family concerned with protecting the environment, and they have a special love for the White River that stretches back four generations.

Newt’s father bought property along the White River in 1931. The family built a cabin and spent nearly every summer weekend there. Newt and his wife, Ann, continued the tradition with their own children. Now their grandchildren learn to fly fish in the river.

At 91-years-old, Newt still makes regular trips out to the White Cloud cabin. Even in winter, he often spends an afternoon working on projects along the river. “There’s always work to do,” said Newt. “Rivers need our help—they’ve been abused for so long.”

In celebration of Newt’s birthday in 2013, Abby and the family started the A. Newton Dilley White River Fund at the Community Foundation. “He’s always been so dedicated to the White River,” said Abby of her father. “I thought this would be a great way to commemorate his 90th birthday.”

Newt hopes that grants from the fund will help to target erosion and stabilize riverbanks, ensuring that many more generations will come to love the river as he has. “People know the White River is here, but they don’t realize how much it contributes to our quality of life,” said Newt. “It is a very treasured resource.”

Jason and Kristin Brookhouse

For Fremont natives Jason and Kristin Brookhouse, creating a donor advised fund at Fremont Area Community Foundation was a way to demonstrate gratitude.

Both remember the early years of their marriage—when money was tight—with fondness. Over the years, Jason built a career in the automotive field at Hansen’s Collision and was astounded by the support he received. “People in the community supported [the business] and brought me their repairs,” he said.

When the business sold many years later, Jason and Kristin saw an opportunity to repay some of the generosity their family had received from the community.

The Brookhouses set up a donor advised fund as a way to give directly while also allowing their gift to grow into the future. They hope the fund will be part of a legacy of thankfulness carried on by their three children.

“The Community Foundation gave us the opportunity to give and to let our gift grow,” said Kristin. “There are so many opportunities to get involved and so much need. [Our children] can continue it. They can be deliberate about supporting things that excite them.”

Maggie Bailey and Hesperia Community Library

Maggie Bailey loves her family, pets, flower gardens, and the Hesperia Community Library. Although she is in her 80s and no longer a regular physical presence at the library, she has made a donation every month for the last 10 years.

“My kids were out of school, I was alone, and I wanted to do something for my community,” explained Maggie. “If I had [the means], why not?”

Maggie loves the friendly staff and the pride that the library brings to the community. “I think it’s the most beautiful building in town,” she said with conviction. “A town needs something like this, and kids need a library to come to.”

Originally from the South, Maggie moved to Detroit and then to Hesperia in 1958. “When I was little we didn’t have too many books,” she remembered. “But I always enjoyed reading.” She first began visiting the library when her children were in school and began her regular financial support around the time funds were being raised for the new building.

Equally generous and humble, Maggie sees giving as a privilege and a responsibility. “You do what you can,” she said. “It doesn’t always take money; just do something.”

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