Media

Media

May 2022 | As Chief Executive Officer at Fifth Wheel Freight (FWF), Reese Van Heck, is passionate about investing in West Michigan and giving back to the community. In collaboration with Affinity Mentoring, Van Heck encourages the development of self-esteem, social skills, and academics by mentoring K-8th grade students in Grand Rapids.

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April 2022 | Affinity appoints Sharalle Ankrah as new executive director.

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MiBiz Article

School News Network Article
March 2022 | Affinity Mentoring, along with several other local agencies, launch the MINT Collective. This collective's goal is to develop a tool, Junction, that will help nonprofit organizations facilitate collaboration while allowing non-technical users to easily modify, update, and automate their organization's day-to-day functions.

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January 2022 | Affinity is featured in Blue Cross Blue Shield's MI Blue Perspectives article for National Mentoring Month.

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January 2022 | Affinity Mentoring's Executive Director, Cassandra Kiger, resigns. Cassandra will transition out of her role in May, 2022

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November 2021 | Steelcase Foundation Awards Affinity Mentoring 2nd Multi Year Grant to support its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.


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September 2021 | Enterprise Holdings Foundation Donates $20,000 to Affinity Mentoring.

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July 2021 | El Vocero features Community Partner and Mentor, Sara Proaño Community Engagement Manager at Kent District Library, as she writes about her experience supporting Affinity Mentoring as an individual and through her employer's partnership program (article is in Spanish).

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April 2021 | Affinity's program assistant, Angela Reyna, on was named by West Michigan Works as one of the eight recipients of an annual award to recognize workers who go “above and beyond” and show integrity, passion and commitment for their jobs. On top of her full workload at Affinity, Angela is completing an internship at Bethany Christian Services, and is finishing her Bachelor Degree in Social Work at Grand Valley State University. We couldn't be more proud or grateful for her. Angela is a graduate of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools and attended Burton Elementary as a child.

ESA Winner Video

GRBJ Story

Mlive Story
March 2021 | Affinity Mentoring's statement against racist attacks and in support of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community.

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February 2021 | Last fall we Affinity participated in Steelcase's first global Equity in Education challenge. We were one of 15 concepts selected from 370 open innovation participants from 30 countries.

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January 2021 | MPWRD Influential Awards 2020 Leader Honoree - Monica Zavala, Site Coordinator at Affinity Mentoring.

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September 2020 | WGVU Public Radio interviews Burton Site Coordinator Rocio Moreno about virtual mentoring, equity initiatives, and the upcoming Cuentos y Comida Event.

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August 2020 | Women's LifeStyle Magazine features Affinity's Executive Director Cassandra Kiger as the "Everyday Athena" for August.

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June 2020 | Affinity moves its headquarters to downtown Grand Rapids.

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June 2020 | The Wege Foundation has awarded Affinity $50,000 each year over the next three years to support its operations, program capacity, and equity initiatives.

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June 2020 | Affinity Mentoring's statement of support for Black Lives Matter Movement.

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May 2020 | Affinity Mentoring names Cassandra Kiger as new executive director.

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Listen to WGVU Interview
April 2020 | Women's Lifestyle Magazine features Affinity in their list of 10 local acts of kindess.

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March 2020 | Affinity Mentoring's Executive Director, Laura Ward, resigns. Laura's last day will be May 28, 2020.

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Laura's Farewell Letter
March 2020 | Letter to parents of Affinity mentees regarding Coronavirus.

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February 2020 | Grand Rapids Business Journal features Affinity's new board leadership.

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February 2020 | Affinity Mentoring today announced several new appointments to its board of directors. John Robinson has been elected president of the board of directors and Adam Russo has been elected vice president. Jatnna Abreu and Veronica Bradford and Mia Jankowiak have also joined the board.

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February 2020 | School News Network features mentor match, Luis + Alex. Luis is a graduate of GRPS and returned to his alma mater to mentor.

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December 2019 | WZZM 13 features the 9th annual Bundle Up Burton Coat Drive with Mars Hill Bible Church, Affinity Mentoring, Kent School Services Network, and Burton Elementary School.

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November 2019 | School News Network showcases Affinity's new Godfrey-Lee ECC site.

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October 2019 | Affinity Mentoring wins "Nonprofit of the Year" at the 2019 EPIC Awards hosted by the Grand Rapids Chamber.

Women's Lifestyle Magazine

MIBiz

Grand Rapids Chamber

September 2019 | Grand Rapids Chamber chats with Executive Director, Laura Ward, and mentor, Brooke Corbin, on their latest podcast about the power of mentoring.

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September 2019 | Rapid Growth Media interviews Executive Director, Laura Ward.

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September 2019 | The Grand Rapids Chamber announced that Affinity Mentoring is a finalist for Nonprofit of Year for the 2019 EPIC Awards.

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August 2019 | Executive Director, Laura Ward, new Site Coordinator, Keyla Araujo, and Development Director, Rachel Lopez, join Shelley Irwin to discuss expansion, mentor recruitment, and back to school.

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July 2019 | Affinity will be opening its fourth mentoring site at Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center, this fall. To help celebrate this milestone, there will be a ribbon cutting event at Godfrey-Lee ECC on August 14, at 3:30pm.

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April 2019 | Grand Rapids Business Journal "Corporate Donation Expands Mentoring Program."

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April 2019 | Steelcase Foundation awards Affinity Mentoring $75,000 capacity building grant to expand to 4th site Fall 2019.

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April 2019 | Mentor Match, Maura and Angelita, share their 4 years of experience with Affinity and invite the community to join them on May 2, 2019 for Affinity's Better Together Benefit Dinner.

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January 2019 | Development Director, Rachel Lopez, talks with Shelley Irwin about National Mentoring Month.

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Affinity Mentoring is featured in the February 2019 Community Initiatives Spotlight.

February 2019 | Affinity Mentoring is featured as the Community Initiatives Spotlight, sponsored by the Grand Rapids Community Foundation.

Spotlight: Women's Lifestyle Magazine
March 2018 | Executive Director, Laura Ward, joins Shelley Irwin to discuss the need for mentors and how to sign up.

Interview: WGVU
November 2016 | "It could be simply providing a safe space to talk about what's going on inside the home or the neighborhood," says Laura Ward, director of Affinity Mentoring.

Feature Story: Rapid Growth Media
September 2017 | “We chose mentoring because we are not ok with these statistics, 22 percent of children in MI are living in poverty; 71 percent of fourth graders are not proficient in reading, etc. (Affinity Mentoring) sees mentoring as something that everyone should experience.”

Feature Story: The Collegiate
Working together with Community School Leadership Teams and the Kent County Mentoring Collaborative, Affinity is able to not only nurture students, but foster a positive environment where families feel comfortable, engaged and supported.

Feature Story: Heart of West Michigan United Way

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