Video Link!

Check out the great video of our Founder, Jenna Edwards, talking about the Foundation!

http://www.fastcompany.com/article/change-generation-jenna-edwards-for-a-day-foundation

Donation from Vonnie Sypkens

Vonnie Sypkens just dropped off a donation of BEAUTIFUL handmade pillowcases and fabric bags to be given away at our next event at Helen Devos Children's Hospital. Here is a sample of her work!

Thank you Vonnie!

Barnes & Noble Fundraiser

Look for us at the Barnes & Noble book store this month! We'll be wrapping your purchases

for a donation. We hope to see you there!

Yankee Candle Fundraiser

We've completed another successful fundraiser! Thank you to everyone who supported us. I'm sure you have beautifully scented homes for the Holidays!

Grand Rapids Firefighter For A Day!

Acticle below found here: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/11/photos_9-year-old_battling_bra.html

GRAND RAPIDS -- He sprayed a fire hose almost as big as his 9-year-old self, and got a sprawling view of downtown from atop a fire truck. All smiles, it seemed the last thing on Gerrit Baas' mind Friday was cancer.

Diagnosed with an aggressive terminal brain cancer about three weeks ago, Baas was invited to the Grand Rapids Fire Department's La Grave Avenue station through the Hero for a Day program as a patient of Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.

He will begin six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation on Monday and his day as a pint-sized fireman served as sort of a "last hurrah" before the tough treatments, said his mom, Kathy Baas of Holland.

Tufts of blonde hair sticking out of his blue GRFD baseball cap, Gerrit had full reign of the department Friday afternoon. He traveled 80 feet in the air on the truck's aerial platform, sprayed the hose and went on a ride-along with some of the firefighters.

"I felt like I might faint almost," Gerrit said. "It's been so much fun all day."

He likes video games and sports -- baseball in the summer when it's not cold. And at one point when he was "really little," Gerrit said he wanted to be a firefighter.

Members of the department showed Gerrit what that job was like, said Rob Pease, the department's strategic planning officer.

It was great to "make somebody happy showing them what we do," he said.

Jeremy Baas said his son had been "pretty accepting" of his health diagnosis and excited in the days leading up to the department visit.

"I don't know if he knew what to expect," he said.

It was nice to tell Gerrit about a trip to Grand Rapids that didn't involve going to the hospital, his mother said.

She's hoping for prayers as the family waits to see what will happen with her son's illness.

"We need a miracle for the cancer," she said.

As Gerrit showed off his armful of almost 40 silly bands -- his favorite in the shape of a rockstar -- he said he wanted to thank the firefighters who made it possible. He figures he may have a few more wishes up his sleeve.

"Probably there's a million out there," he said. "I just haven't discovered them yet."

Panopoulos Salon in Standale

Thank you to the great ladies at Panopouls Salon in Standale for becoming a Sponsor! You can visit them at 447 Standale Plaza NW 616-453-5438. A special thanks to Colleen for organizing the volunteers & donations of hair accessories!

Special Days Camp

Event date: August 9, 2010

Location: Special Days Camp at Camp Pendalouan

Queens: 35

Heroes: 25

The Grand Rapids Chapter hosted an event at Special Days Camp in Montague. We set up our makeover stations inside the dinning lodge and the Heroes stations were on a large deck overlooking the lake. We began our event at 3:00pm with the youngest campers getting makeovers & playing games with our local heroes from the Grand Rapids Fire Department. We had a delicious cookie decorating station with sugar cookies donated by Family Fare on Lake Michigan Drive in Grand Rapids. The make-up for our event today was donated by Jayne Keur. We applied tattoos, played Baggo, and completed crafts. The oldest group of campers was not at camp so we left the director goodies for them to return to.

We were blessed to have a great group of volunteers at our party. Brad Brown, Rob Pease, and Bill Baumer came from the GRFD. Our titleholders included Cassandra Cramer- Miss Jackson County, Mekeisha Alcock- Miss Pride of the Peninsulas, Morgan Lind- Miss GVSU, and two newly crowned queens from the Ionia Free Fair. Our hair styling station was organized by Colleen at Panopolous Salons and 3 stylists came to create a beautiful hair style for each girl (& even one boy joined in the fun!) Other volunteers included Julie McGraw, Robyn Besteman, Julie Sypkens, Heather Dewey, Stacy Ciolk, Peggy & Rob Tuttle.

Photography by Julie Sypkens

Thank You Jayne Keur!

Thank you Jayne for your generous donation of Make Up!

Spring 2010 Event at Helen Devos Children's Hospital

Spring 2010

The Grand Rapids Chapter of Queen/Hero for a Day hosted another great event at Helen Devos Children’s hospital. It was a low census day at the hospital but we still were able to reach 20 children.  We crowned 8 girls “Queens” and 5 boys "Hero" at our party. The Grand Rapids Fire Department along with Miss Outstanding Teen visited 2 children for about 15 minutes each. Miss Michigan 2009 also made her rounds visiting a few girls in their rooms. We sent up many goodie bags to children in isolation who were not able to have a visit.

Our young queens were treated to manicures with Keeki Pure and Simple nail polish. We applied make up and dressed them up with jewelry, boas, and a crown. Our craft was foam photo frames decorated with foam stickers. The kids loved to see their photo added to their frame. The boys played games with the firefighters, picked out tattoos, completed a foam- frame craft, and were given a firefighter hat & tee-shirt.

Our volunteers included four great guys from the Grand Rapids Fire Department, our sponsors from Keeki Pure and Simple,  Miss Michigan 2009, Miss Outstanding Teen, Miss Spirit of the State, Miss Jackson County, Miss River Raisin, Miss GVSU, Ionia Free Fair Queen 1^st runner up, as well as volunteers Stacy Ciolk and Mary Hefron. Also in attendance were three members of the Grand Rapids QFAD Board; Julie McGraw, Heather Dewey, and Brooke Ondersma

Keeki Pure & Simple

A big thanks to Keeki Pure and Simple for sponsoring our manicures! Visit Keeki at
http://www.keekipureandsimple.com/

First Fundraiser of 2010

A big THANK YOU to Younkers for allowing us to be a part of their Community Day Event!