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Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins and Farm Bureau Insurance Cut Ribbon on Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center's New Media Roo

August 24, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Grand Rapids Griffins and Farm Bureau Insurance on Monday revealed their $15,000 media room makeover for the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center (GRCDC), which was chosen in April from 46 elementary and middle schools throughout Kent County as the winner of their inaugural Media Room Makeover Contest.

The school, a K-5 public school academy located in a 93-year-old building in the heart of Grand Rapids at 409 Lafayette Ave. SE, also received improvements to its library as part of renovation work that has occurred during the last two months.

Several dignitaries spoke at the outset of today's event, including Farm Bureau Insurance vice president of marketing Vic Verchereau, Griffins president Tim Gortsema, Grand Rapids mayor George Heartwell and GRCDC principal John Robinson. After the ribbon-cutting, more than 20 GRCDC students and their parents received their first look at the school's new media room and had the chance to meet Griffins right wing Mitch Callahan.

Work on the GRCDC's media room began in early July, when a host of volunteers - including 55 from Farm Bureau Insurance and 12 from GRCDC - descended upon the school for a full day of demolition, painting and landscaping. Over the last six weeks, the makeover has been led by the efforts of Mike Case of Case Construction, Justin Cavanaugh of Automated Electric, painter Tyler Sprague, Carrie Hull of Custer/Steelcase Design, Farm Bureau Insurance's IT department, and Steve Ritsema of the Griffins. Additional project support was provided by Seven's Paint and the Griffins Youth Foundation.

"Partnership is how we get things done in Grand Rapids," said Heartwell, who has served as Grand Rapids' mayor since 2004. "Sometimes they're public and private partnerships, sometimes they're private and private partnerships, and sometimes they're public and private philanthropic partnerships. This [makeover] brings the best of partnership together...two great organizations, Farm Bureau Insurance and the Grand Rapids Griffins.

"We figured out in this community how to do things together smarter, better, and more powerfully through partnerships, so I'm very grateful for this," he added.

Through this makeover, the GRCDC's media room received new flooring, carpeting, furniture, paint, lighting, computer networking, wallcoverings and window treatments.

Each of the other two finalists of the Media Room Makeover Contest - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Belmont and the Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center in Wyoming - has received $500 toward upgrading the amenities of its current media room.

The mission of the GRCDC is to continuously expand the potential of children, the experiences of educators and the involvement of parents within the diverse community of Grand Rapids. The school believes education is built on relationships to others, to ideas and to the environment and the larger community, an approach based on the Reggio Emilia method that encourages curiosity, discovery and connectedness. While the Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) is its charter authorizer and compliance overseer, all GRCDC facilities, finances and operations are separate from GRPS. The school offers a free education to 260 students, more than 52% of whom are considered economically disadvantaged.

Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan, beginning its second year as a Griffins corporate partner, was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why they are known as Michigan's Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau Insurance agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services-life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement, Lake Estate, and more-protecting over 565,000 Michigan policyholders.

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