WYCE's Community Closeup (*conversations concerning issues of importance in West Michigan)

On this week's program, WYCE station manager Phil Tower welcomes Daryl Reece, co-founder, along with his wife, Debra Reece, of the Pieces of Reeces Foundation. Pieces of Reeces Foundation is again presenting the annual Piecing Together Unity Festival on Saturday, August 17, at Rosa Parks Circle and downtown Grand Rapids.  The festival runs from 1 to 8 p.m. It will feature several vendors and c...

On this week's program, host Phil Tower speaks with Noemi Gonzalez, Community Engagement Coordinator with Grandville Avenue for Arts and Humanities(GAAH). Grandville Avenue for Arts and Humanities is once again sponsoring Girls Rock! Grand Rapids. 2024 marks the 11th year of Girls Rock! Grand Rapids camp and the staff at GAAH are excited to continue the joy of creating music and empowering you...

In this week's program, Phil Tower speaks with Jennifer Kasper, assistant director with MobileGR. We covered a number of issues in our conversation, including some soon to happen. Parking increases at meters and city own parking ramps for the city of grand Rapids, we also discussed the use of bikes and electric scooters, as well as DAH Routes, riding the Rapid and the cities effort at creating...

On this weeks episode, we speak with John Gorney, Director of Public Works for the City of Grand Rapids The City of Grand Rapids has partnered with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), The Recycling Partnership, and Prairie Robotics to launch a six-month pilot project. This innovative initiative utilizes high-tech cameras, global positioning systems, and computers...

On this week's episode, host Phil Tower(in for Allison Donahue) speaks with Bruce Doll, Vice President of the Fallasburg Historical Society, and Bruce Ling, Musician/Band Leader, a long-time supporter of the Fallasburg Historical Society. The third annual Fallasburg Village Celebration will be held on Saturday from 11 AM to 8 PM in the historic Fallasburg Village. The festival will offer live...

On this week's program, Phil Tower speaks with Veronica Horsley-Pettigrew, the Community Outreach and Marketing Supervisor at Care Resources, and Karen Altom, the office manager with Care Resources Christmas, about their Christmas in July effort for older persons served by their programs. Care Resources is a West Michigan-based program for people 55 years of age or older that promotes healthy,...

This week, host Allison Donahue, program manager at The Rapidian, speaks with Maris Brummel, a Public Health Epidemiologist at the Kent County Health Department. The Kent County Health Department (KCHD) recently completed its latest Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), highlighting the most pressing health concerns as identified by county residents.             The 2023 CHNA revealed four top...

On this week's episode, host Phil Tower welcomes Bob Bernhardt, Pops Conductor, Grand Rapids Symphony and John VanderHaagen, Director of Communications for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Once again the Grand Rapids Symphony Will be appearing on three different evenings at the 5/3 Bank Summer Concert Series at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. We spoke with our guests...

On this week's episode, host Allison Donahue welcomes Jazz McKinney, MA, LLP. Jazz is the executive director of the Grand Rapids Pride Center. On June 21, 1988, the first Pride Celebration was held at the Monroe Amphitheater in downtown Grand Rapids. Over the last 35+ years, it has now grown into one of the largest one-day events in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids Pride Festival is an event that br...

On this week's program, host Phil Tower welcomes Missy Summers, Executive Director, Festival of the Arts, Grand Rapids. Mark your calendars! The Festival of the Arts is back, and it's happening from June 7th to 9th in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, MI. Don't miss out on this exciting event that brings together art, music, and food in one vibrant celebration! This year's Festiv...

On this week's episode, host Allison Donahue speaks with Amy Acton, CEO of The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors and Buses By The Beach President, Beth Smith about the upcoming bus benefit May 24-27 (Memorial Day Weekend) Bus Benefit is presented by Buses by the Beach at Smiling Acres in Trufant, MI. It is a fundraiser for the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors. Members of Buses By The Beach...

On this week's program, host Allison Donahue welcomes Dana Romero-Vogg, development coordinator for donor communications with YWCA West Central Michigan. The YWCA West Central Michigan exists to inspire hope and healing. Where racism and sexism give rise to domestic and sexual violence, staff at the YWCA West Central Michigan transform lives with expert services for victims, education to end t...

On this week's episode, host Allison Donahue speaks with Sasha Wolff, the founder and Executive Director of "Still I Run." Still I Run is a community of runners and mental health warriors determined to take control of our physical and mental health while also breaking the stigma surrounding people who live with a mental illness. Still I Run is the country’s only non-profit running co...

On this week's program, host Alison Donahue welcomes Thomas Gottschalk, food truck owner-operator and CEO of Collar Brass Solutions, and Lauren D’Angelo, also a food truck owner and operator as well as secretary of the Grand Rapids Food Truck Association. The Grand Rapids Food Truck Association is dedicated to the promotion and education of food truck culture in and around Grand Rapids and the...

On this wee's episode, host Allison Donahue speaks with   Cole Williams,  Executive Director of The Delta Project, and Joel Van Kuiken, cofounder of the Delta Project. The Delta Project began in 2017 with a desire to use simple human storytelling to help people see their circumstances from a different perspective. The Delta Project is committed to amplifying the stories of students caught in t...

On this week's episode, host Allison Donahue welcomes WYCE Station Manager Phil Tower for a conversation on why community radio is unique and the importance of listener donations during WYCE's spring on-air fund drive. As the region's only volunteer-run, listener-supported community radio station, fundraising is a critically important part of keeping the station on the air to support i...

On this week's episode, host Allison Donahue welcomes Austin McWilliams, Choir Director at Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids. Austin also serves as the Director of Choral Activities at Aquinas College and is the conductor of an upcoming performance at Fountain Street Church: The Bernstein Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers. The Bernstein Mass is being presented by the...

On this week's episode, host Allison Donahue speaks with Monk Mattheus, culture and training coordinator with The Grand Rapids Center for Community Transformation and organizer with the 1st annual Music Econ Summit takes place on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at the Grand Rapids Center for Community Transformation to support entrepreneurship and wealth generation for hard-working music creatives. T...

On this week's episode, host Phil Tower welcomes Mariah Malone, events coordinator with John Ball Zoo. The Grand Rapids Lantern Festival returns to John Ball Zoo on April 10 and is expected to be another record-setting event for the zoo. John Ball Zoo is the first and only place in Michigan where you can see these incredible works of art. The lantern festival features handcrafted Asian lantern...

On this week's episode, host Allison Donahue speaks with Gairen Tembreull, Director of Albatross Aviary in Grand Rapids. Albatross Aviary is a unique avian rescue and sanctuary dedicated to providing permanent care, shelter, and rehabilitation for companion parrots and other exotic birds when rehoming options are scarce.  Albatross Aviary is a bird refuge mainly focusing on exotic companion bi...

On this week's episode, host Allison Donahue, program manager at The Rapidian, speaks with Guest Amy Thomas-Mellema, Executive Director of Revive & Thrive Project. Revive & Thrive Project was founded by nutritionist and cancer survivor Wendy Borden. After learning about the Ceres Community Project, Wendy made a heartfelt commitment to model the program in Grand Rapids. Revive & Thr...

On this week's show, host Allison Donahue welcomes Guests: Meghan Distel, Broadway GR President and CEO, and Jennifer Pascua, Broadway GR Marketing Director. Broadway Grand Rapids was established in September of 1988 and opened the first season with  South Pacific The mission of Broadway Grand Rapids is to bring the very best of national touring Broadway productions to Grand Rapids. The audien...

On this week's program, host. Allison Donahue welcomes John Vanderhaagen, communications director at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. John spoke with Allison about the featured art exhibit at the gardens, as well as the always popular upcoming butterflies exhibition, the summer concert series, and the number of volunteer opportunities at Frederik Meijer Gardens Online: Frederik Meij...

On this week's program, host. Allison Donahue speaks with Zack Berends, the festival and events manager for Laughfest and Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids. Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids sponsors the 14th annual LaughFest from March 6 to 10. This year's event features comedians such as Tammy Pescatelli, Josh Johnson, Piff the Magic Dragon, and Demetri Martin. Comedian, actor, and author Tom Papa is se...

In this week's *program, host Allison Donahue (Program Manager for The Rapidian) continues her conversation with Rodney Brown, the founder of GRMIFI. (*The Grand Rapids Media Initiative & Film Incubator). During the program, Allison and Rodney discussed the utilization of film and media as a means to tell the untold stories of Grand Rapids and GRMIFI's role in cultivating the next gene...