Embracing the spirit of stewardship to which our Catholic community is called, the Holy Spirit Education Foundation has donated a portion of its recent auction proceeds to the Children’s Healing Center, a Grand Rapids organization that provides a clean place to play for children who have weak immune systems.
The Holy Spirit auction, held every two years, raises money for scholarships to help families enroll their children in Holy Spirit Catholic School. In addition, auction organizers choose a charity to support with a tithe from the event proceeds. For the 2017 auction, they chose to support the Children’s Healing Center with a $3,500 donation.
“We truly believe in children,” said Colleen Roth, a Holy Spirit Education Foundation trustee. “It’s evident within our auction that people truly believe in kids, whether it’s kids going through a tough period in their life and having a place to go, or a family that’s not able to afford a Catholic education and being able to apply and receive tuition assistance through the Holy Spirit Education Foundation. It’s important in my heart, and to our parents, teachers, and staff at Holy Spirit.”
“It’s actually really meaningful to us that there are people in the community that believe and see the value of the work we do and the services we provide for our kids,” said Children’s Healing Center founder and executive director Amanda Winn. “Even more so, it’s meaningful when it’s coming from another school, [from] kids and parents that are choosing to gift to other kids who are not able to go to school and have the experiences that the kids at Holy Spirit do.”
The Children’s Healing Center serves kids who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for infection, as well as their siblings and families. Children’s Healing Center guests participate in things like art activities, fitness classes, and simply playing, all in a social environment where they can be normal kids.
Many families the center serves often feel isolated because they can’t risk going in public places where there’s a risk for getting an infection. On top of that, many of the families also face high medical bills. So in addition to providing isolated families a place to socialize, the Children’s Healing Center provides its services free of charge.
Winn said it’s especially meaningful for Children’s Healing Center to receive this donation from the Holy Spirit Education Foundation because the donation is a portion of what was raised to help families at Holy Spirit Catholic School. “It’s really easy to give from excess, but when you’re giving a portion of what you’ve raised that would help your school, too, that’s even more meaningful,” she said.
“We truly believe in giving back to our community, because our community does so much for us,” said Roth.
Learn more about the Children’s Healing Center at this link.