MEMBERSHIP // MEMBER STORIES
Storybook Blog
A Place to Believe In
My name is Cameron Pearce and I have been the Administrative Marketing and Development Intern for a few months now. I have had the privilege [...]
View PostDec
From A Father’s Perspective
My name is Brian and my daughter Ellory has been a regular visitor to the Children’s Healing Center for four years. My wife tried to [...]
View PostOct
Finding the Center
My name is Kaitlin and my son, Benjamin and I have been coming to The Children’s Healing Center for the better part of a year. [...]
View PostAug
Healthy Eating
This month’s blog is all about healthy eating and summer opportunities for healthy eating! Healthy eating includes eating at home instead of out, eating farm [...]
View PostJul
From a Mothers Perspective
In May we celebrate Mother’s day and this month we were able to sit down with Leena and learn more about her family, what is [...]
View PostMay
The Journey to Social Work
Hello! My name is Haley Nguyen, and I became involved with the Children’s Healing Center in June 2021. I am currently in the master’s Social [...]
View PostApr
This is Public Health
My name is Maggie Carey and I have been the Administrative, Marketing, and Development Intern for almost a year now! I have had the pleasure [...]
View PostApr
The Luck of the Center
March is the month of LUCK and we at the Center certainly feel like the luckiest of them all! We are so lucky to have [...]
View PostMar
Finding the Right Place for Me
Hi everyone, my name is Emma Clinkscales, the Behavioral Health Manager (or Social Worker) who recently became a part of the team. I joined the [...]
View PostMar
WE LOVE Project
The month of February is a time to celebrate the love we have for ourselves and those around us. This month we ran our “WE [...]
View PostFeb
The Perfect Place for Me
Hello! My name is Madisen Jacobson, and I became involved with the Children’s Healing Center in April of 2021. A friend of mine mentioned the [...]
View PostFeb
Outside Matters
The winter months can make going outside and being active difficult. Luckily, there are some winter activities and motivational tools that make it easy [...]
View PostJan
Joy During the Holidays
Joy is defined as the feeling of happiness and delight generated from good moments and memories. We encompass the feeling of joy through the Center [...]
View PostDec
Behind the Scenes
My name is Kristy Irwin and I have worked here at the Center for one year as of November 2021. I am the Financial Manager and complete tasks [...]
View PostNov
Everything I know about Godzilla
Everything I know about Godzilla I learned at the Children’s Healing Center. This giant, dinosaur-like creature breathes atomic breath and unleashes radioactive beams whilst battling [...]
View PostOct
Fieldwork Intern Fun
My name is Lex Russ, and I joined the center in November of 2020. I started off volunteering on Monday nights after being encouraged to [...]
View PostSep
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
Hi Everyone! My name is Clare DeVeau and I am one of the Pediatric Oncology Social Workers at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. [...]
View PostSep
My Program to Program Administrator
Hello! My name is Ella Beckett and I’ve been involved with the Children’s Healing Center in a variety of ways over the past four and [...]
View PostAug
Mental Health Awareness
Hello! I’m Laura Luchies, and I’m the Associate Director of Calvin University’s Center for Social Research. I have been the research and evaluation partner for [...]
View PostJul
My Time at the Center
Hello! My name is Emily Miller and I joined the Children’s Healing Center in December of 2020. [...]
View PostJul
My Experience as a Program Intern
It’s me, Annalisa Lascoe. A sucker for adventure and the finer things in life. I’m just an ordinary young adult who is learning and growing [...]
View PostMay
Ins and Outs of a Program
For 18 years I taught 3 and 4-year old’s in a preschool classroom. Averaging 30 kids a year that would mean I’ve worked with 360+ [...]
View PostApr
Opening New Doors to Good. Clean. Fun.
At the Children’s Healing Center, knowing how to have fun and help children heal through the power of play is what we do best. [...]
View PostMar
Mar
Strength In Sports
Hi, my name is Andrea Shaner, and I’ve been a committee member at the Center for a couple of years now. When I first became [...]
View PostFeb
Q&A with Intern Rachel Traxler
I am currently a senior at Western Michigan University graduating this spring with my bachelor’s in Child and Family Development. [...]
View PostFeb
Overwhelmingly Grateful
As I sat on the floor in the fitness area of the Children’s Healing Center, I was overcome with feelings of immense gratitude observing the [...]
View PostFeb
Healthy Habits
Hi, everyone! My name is John Kopec, and I act as a consulting physician for CHC. Some of you may know me from HDVCH, where [...]
View PostJan
These Kids Are Heroes
When I played basketball at Michigan State, I had the honor of meeting several children who were battling cancer. It always struck me that they [...]
View PostDec
A Ray of Sunshine
My name is Amanda Cohen, I am a student at Grand Valley State University with hopes to become a Certified Child Life Specialist (eventually). I [...]
View PostDec
A Better Version of Myself
My name is Taylor Wilson. Over the course of a year, I had the opportunity to fulfill different roles at Children’s Healing Center. It was [...]
View PostNov
An Interview with Teen Member, Jed Rose
I am 13 years old. I enjoy going sailing with my family and being outdoors. Right now actually, we are at the Sleeping Bear Dunes [...]
View PostOct
The Meaning of Friendship
Our names are both Kaitlyn. We are High School volunteers at the Children’s Healing Center. When asked by the Center to write a blog post [...]
View PostOct
Adaptability, Learning, and Growth
Hi! My name is Laurel, and I had the pleasure of being the Program Intern at the Children’s Healing Center this summer. This summer was [...]
View PostSep
Leadership Lessons
My name is Kate McCartney and I was a summer intern at Children’s Healing Center under Cheryl Raguse. I am going into my senior year [...]
View PostSep
Finding Purpose
Purpose. It’s a word that we hear a lot and something that we might spend our entire lives searching for. Like so many others I [...]
View PostAug
More Unknown
Three years ago in July my daughter Kate wrote a blog post titled ‘More Unknown.’ She had just had a bone marrow biopsy and learned [...]
View PostAug
Isolation, Uncertainty, and Fear is Our Every Day
While the outside world adjusts to this ‘new normal,’ not much has changed at the Center. We have been utilizing the recommended screening and cleanliness [...]
View PostJul
My Brother’s Legacy
Hi, my name is Mike Copeland. I am a Patient Advocate for the Sickle Cell Disease Association – MI Chapter (SCDAAMI). When I was asked [...]
View PostJul
The Healing Power of Art
In early 1999 I was looking for something “fun” to do, and maybe to earn a little extra money. So when my sister told me [...]
View PostJun
The Best Place to Have Fun
Today, my daughter’s physician asked me, “How do you envision your daughter’s death?” Let that sink in for a minute…. [...]
View PostJun
Insightful Internship
I came across the Center by accident. My university, Grand Valley, had shared the internship posting on their social media and it just happened to [...]
View PostMay
Funbusters
“My name is Liz Greer and I am the Volunteer Coordinator for the Children’s Healing Center. In addition to my work at the CHC, I [...]
View PostMay
The Power of Believing in Someone
“He believed in you and what you do at the Center.” Those were the words Randi Wilson said to me when I arrived at the [...]
View PostApr
Inclusive Friendships
Hi, my name is Mary Prindle. I am a 13 year old and a member at the Center. I have two incurable diseases [...]
View PostApr
Dodgeball or Jam Session?
If you could go back to your teen years, what would you change?. Teens are like squirrels (too indecisive to pick a direction). Not yet [...]
View PostMar
From Member Grandma to Volunteer
My name is Jan Burgers and my connection with The Children’s Healing Center began with a leukemia diagnosis for my little granddaughter, Becca, when she [...]
View PostMar
Bridging Gaps in Healthcare
My name is Amy Neumann and I have been a nurse for 15 years. I started my career in 2005 as a bedside nurse in [...]
View PostFeb
Not Alone in this Journey
My name is Mary Marek and my family has hit the “jackpot” twice in the last three years. My oldest, Lily, was diagnosed with coarctation of the [...]
View PostFeb
The Empty-Nester
After working for Mary Free Bed in pediatrics without kids of my own, I always wished I had held that job as a parent. I [...]
View PostJan
A Place of Healing
Tell me what you think is the success of our future? Name one thing more important than anything else. My confidence in this answer is [...]
View PostJan
Amidst the Chaos
Shortly after my daughter’s Neuroblastoma diagnosis nearly 10-years ago, I was grappling with how, and if, we would come out the other side. [...]
View PostDec
Friends By Heart
The Children’s Healing Center is for kids. It’s in the name. When I started attending story times and movement classes with my son, I expected [...]
View PostNov
A Post Treatment Future
As you may have noticed in our newsletters and recent communication, I have a new surname. [...]
View PostSep
Share Your Story
If you have a connection with the Center and wish to share your story, tell us here.