Tag: Donor Stories

Anonymous Donor Uplifts Staff

March 2021

This week our team was surprised with a generous gift from an anonymous donor who recognizes the challenges, sweat equity, and care our team puts into programming and equity based barrier reduction work. We are extremely grateful for this gift and the letter brought our team to tears. Thank you <3

“Dear Affinity Staff: I am a community member acquainted with the work of Affinity and the work that you do is impressive. I have kept up with the updates from your organization over the years, and know how big of an impact you have made in the local community. 
I know that, in general, working for a nonprofit can be both extremely rewarding, yet challenging. I can’t imagine how much harder it would be to work at a nonprofit in the midst of a pandemic. I admire the way all of you at Affinity have not only been able to pivot, but also be successful as a nonprofit during this difficult time. It is more important now than ever that nonprofits doing the work that you do continue. With school being so different this year for students, we can never fully know the impact that having a constant caring adult will have on their future.

I know each of you are very dedicated and passionate about the work that you do, which can oftentimes be under appreciated. Communities often show what is most important to them by where they put their money; I value the work that you do every day and believe it is of utmost importance. I want to take this time to say thank you; thank you for your hard work. Thank you for always being willing to learn and grow. Thank you for teaching. Thank you for all of the paperwork and emails and phone calls that no one ever sees. Thank you for the home visits, porch drop offs, and reminders. Thank you for making an impact in the lives of students and families, even though you may never see the results of that impact. This is an incredibly fierce group of people and if you can make this much of an impact in the face of a pandemic, then I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Affinity Mentoring.”

Board Member, Mentor, and Donor: Maddie’s Story

Board Member, Mentor, and Partner: Maddie’s Story
By Rachel Lopez

A big smile and bigger heart, Madeline (Maddie) Aguillon is a long-time mentor, donor, and board member for Affinity. She has a long history of empowering and engaging the local Hispanic community in Grand Rapids.

During her time as a student at Grand Valley State University, she along with 6 friends, founded Sigma Lambda Upsilon | Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority Incorporated. Maddie and her friends felt their college experience was lacking the community they wanted, so they created their own. It was a place to belong, celebrate their heritage, and give back.

After graduating, she longed to stay connected to her roots and continue giving back to her community. While working at Gordon Food Service she came across the opportunity to mentor. She jumped at it because “it was a way to integrate my passion and work.”

Now, Maddie and Meylin have been meeting for the past 3 years. “Meylin is a free spirit. She likes to be funny and lives by her own rules. Sometimes she can be misunderstood. She wants to be part of the cool crowd, but doesn’t know how to fit in. We both look forward to this hour together. It’s a time for me to do something I’m passionate about and a time for her to be herself and not have to worry about trying to fit in or impress people.”

“Meylin loves the free play. The mentoring room always smells like nail polish because of us. She likes each nail to be a different color,” Maddie laughs. “My favorite thing is to see her improvement in reading in English. At first we only spoke Spanish to each other. Now she’s reading English and she’s excited to read (even if it’s just for the prize).”

She regularly talks to Meylin’s parents, “it’s like an extension of family.” They talk about church, challenges at school, and family. Maddie’s 3 year old daughter, Carmen, loves to play with her. “They hang out at all of the picnics and go on the rides together.” Meylin often jokes “My mom likes you, but her favorite is Carmen.”

“[Mentoring] has helped me not to forget my roots. The obstacles and everything it took to get to where I’m at.” Maddie grew up in the Southwest side of Grand Rapids. Her parents, resilient and very giving, worked a lot, usually 60-80 hours a week. They worked seasonal jobs, like railroad construction, to provide a comfortable life for Maddie and her two older brothers. “They would give you the shirt off their back, even if it was the last thing they owned,” she explains.

“I get it. I know what these kids are going through.” Her family lived on Crofton, down the street from where she would later mentor. Each week is something new, she’s learning right along with her mentee. “When I sit with Meylin she says she wants to be mentor. To be able to have that impact has been amazing. I learn so much from her.”

This past year, Maddie joined our Board of Directors. She serves as the board secretary. “Being a board member allows me to witness first hand what each individual contributes to the organization at every level. We all truly keep it going.” She not only donates her time as a board member and mentor, but she also sponsors a monthly match, “It’s fulfilling to know that my donation goes directly towards such an important and much needed program in the community. No matter how big or small the donation, knowing that it could contribute towards a new mentor/mentee match or a new board game in the center for the students to enjoy, makes it all worth it.” Maddie is a committed and passionate community leader that understands it truly, takes all of us.

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If you’d like to make an impact in your community sign up to become a mentor or support mentor matches by giving monthly.

 

Mentor, Donor, and Partner: David’s Story

Mentor, Donor, and Partner: David’s Story
By Rachel Lopez

“Richy has a soft heart, a real soft heart. I love this kid,” smiles Dave. Over the past 7 years they have developed a deep bond, “We did a little bit of academics and a lot of playing – he’s a pretty self-motivated kid. He’s probably better at math than I am,” he laughs. Dave has gone to a lot of Richard’s family events, and Dave invited him to his daughter’s wedding this summer.

On the books their mentorship ended in 2016 when Richard, transferred to City Middle School. However, they’ve remained close, “We still keep in touch. I see him 4-5 times each year.” Now an 8th grader, Richy is starting to think more about college, “I’m looking forward to helping him navigate his college aspirations. I told him him when he graduates college I’ll take him to any soccer game in the world.”

Dave has worked at Gordon Food Service (GFS) for 27 years. Over the years he has been a mentor, donor, and partner. Originally Dave, heard about the opportunity to become a mentor and jumped at it. Later on he began recruiting more GFS employees too, “It started with info sessions, but it’s a cool community here. There are lots of hearts to serve so it wasn’t hard to get mentors.”

No longer a formal mentor, he sees himself as an advocate for Affinity Mentoring, “I don’t mind getting people in touch with senior leadership. It’s a ministry I believe in and want to support. I know it takes money to run and support the staff. I want to see [Affinity] be maintained and grow.”

He had a vision to grow the partnership. He brought the idea to Cliff Charles [the former Director of Diversity and Inclusion at GFS] and asked if he could “provide the horsepower to do it.” The team along with passionate mentors, like Will Holland, ran with it.

The partnership with GFS now boasts over 60 mentors and it’s still growing, “Our [company] culture is reflective of our values. [Affinity Mentoring] ties in closely with the values of GFS – the Gordons are an amazing family, there are hearts to serve at various levels.”

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Contact us if you’re interested in becoming a mentor or starting a partnership with your organization.