Latest news with #GraceChristianUniversity
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local college students give up spring break to give back
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — College students and staff from Grace Christian University spent time over their spring break volunteering to help fix up a home in southwest Grand Rapids. When it's ready, the home will be made available to a family in need who could rent and buy it through . 'We are pulling out carpet, ripping out cabinets, making sure all the flooring is down to the subflooring,' Kyle Bohl, associate vice president of student affairs and athletics at Grace Christian University, said. Racing simulator, indoor pool, 140 apartments: What's next for Fifth Third building in downtown GR The small college in Wyoming has worked with nonprofit ICCF to provide volunteers for years. Senior Jace Sitzema is among the students who have participated. He said it has been a great learning experience. 'Sometimes like plaster is coming down from the ceiling you got to watch out. I've pulled down some cabinets and fell over in front of everyone, stuff like that,' Sitzema said. Getting students to participate over spring break is not as hard as you would think, university leaders said. 'When students find out that we're having a great time listening to fun music, helping with a home demo or maybe doing some patchwork for drywall, students really do come out. They enjoy it,' Bohl said. ICCF Community Homes says the continues to grow. 'We've got between 700 and 800 properties that we rent and we do have homes that we sell. All for low to moderate income, it's all affordable housing. There's a huge waiting list right now,' volunteer and project manager Sheryl Baas said. Volunteers play a crucial role in helping keep ICCF's costs down. 'The cost to rehab a house right now can be anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000, and without volunteers we can't get that kind of work done,' Baas said. With properties in new land bank, Grand Rapids eyes affordable housing options The university hopes that giving up spring break to give back stays with the students. 'We're seeing Gen Z, Gen Alpha, wanting to be part of something bigger than themselves, and so what we're doing is we're giving them an opportunity to be part of a large group effort within the Grand Rapids area to really help homeowners get homeownership at a decent value,' Bohl said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Grace Christian University students face ‘Big Freeze' for tuition
WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — Students at a small Christian college in metro Grand Rapids took a dip in the cold Wednesday as the culmination of a fundraising effort to pay their tuition. Now in its third year, was held Wednesday afternoon at Grace Christian University in Wyoming. The 21 students who participated had to spend three seconds in an inflatable pool of cold water. 'However much money you've raised over the course of the event, you get to keep that and it goes straight towards your tuition,' Triston Murray, a senior and this year's top fundraiser, explained. 'It goes towards any of the tuition that you have to pay, s o any of your student debt, any loans that you have to take out for classes or on-campus housing or stuff like that.' The first 10 student fundraisers who reached $250 had those dollars matched by the university. The top 10 fundraisers got more scholarships from the university, ranging from $100 to $5,500. The Big Freeze funds totaled $21,475 this year: $13,475 raised by the students and $8,000 in fundraising matches from Grace Christian. Murray raised $3,910; Tommy Perrotta came in second with $3,400; and Stacy Delgado raised $2,248. Tuition at Grace Christian costs $19,500 for the fall semester. donations may still be made online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
