Promotions at FROM: Congrats Kelly & Lauren!

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We’re excited to announce two well-deserved promotions to team members here at FROM!

First is Kelly Glas, who is now our Program Manager! Kelly joined FROM in 2020 as our Healthy Food Program Coordinator and was recently promoted to Program Lead prior to this most recent promotion. During her time at FROM she has grown her impact in the Food Pantry, building on the strong foundation created by so many volunteers. She has built long-lasting partnerships to support the pantry, launched the Farm Market, and supported the development of the transportation program (Ride To & FROM). Last year she led the entire Christmas Distribution (Christmas Toy Store & Food Basket) for the first time. Kelly’s consistent leadership and dedication have clearly demonstrated her readiness for this next step. She also does an outstanding job representing FROM at the county level. Thank you, Kelly, for your continued dedication to our community!

 

 

 

 

Lauren Johnson is being promoted to Store Director. Lauren joined our FROMily in 2022 as Store Manager and has been instrumental in partnering with volunteers and staff to grow store sales more than $350,000! Over the past four years, she has brought structure, direction, and strong leadership to the store operation through collaboration with both volunteers and staff. As is often the case, great work leads to greater opportunities 😊. In addition to her current store responsibilities, Lauren will now oversee the Volunteer Coordinator role. This change creates natural synergy, as many of our volunteers support the store operation. We are excited to see Lauren continue to grow in this expanded leadership role.

Please congratulate both Kelly and Lauren on their promotions!

Livin’ on a Prayer: FROM Cuts the Ribbon on New Main Street Housing Campus

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Last week, we cut a ribbon ten years in the making.
More than 200 friends and neighbors joined us to celebrate the opening of new affordable and supportive housing right here in Lowell. It was the culmination of countless prayers, an unwavering community, and a whole lot of faith that the path forward would eventually become clear, even when it didn’t look like it would.

The Bon Jovi song “Livin’ on a Prayer” kept coming to mind while preparing remarks for the event. It fits. We prayed for the right partner, and found ICCF Community Homes, whose expertise in housing development filled the gap we couldn’t fill ourselves. ICCF connected us to Eastbrook Homes, who brought the designs to life. Layer by layer, the right people showed up.

Ray Duimstra of Mercantile Bank, who has walked this journey nearly from the beginning, said it well: “FROM didn’t have to do this. They could have ran into these obstacles and shrugged their shoulders… they were relentless.”

Senator Thomas Albert noted the project will help the area “one family at a time.” And Carly Swanson, representing the Governor’s Office, left us with a phrase worth keeping: it takes a village to build a village. Lowell has always been that kind of village.

In the coming weeks, families will move in, decorate, and start building memories. That’s what this was always about.
We prayed, we trusted, and God delivered. Thank you for being part of it.

Want to help welcome our new tenants home? We’re assembling welcome baskets and would love your help filling them. Check out our Amazon Wish List to get involved.

 

 

Lowell’s First Look: FROM Expands Food Pantry Services to Fill Community Gaps

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Neighbors to the west of Lowell are now eligible for food assistance from one of the community’s most charitable resources.

Flat River Outreach Ministries recently expanded its food pantry service area to serve families who may not have access to nutrition assistance elsewhere. All who reside in the 49331 area code as well as areas of Ada, Alto, and Forest Hills can now request to utilize FROM’s pantry twice a month.

Kelly Glas, FROM Program Lead, said the expansion was made as a result of gaps in the areas that local pantries were covering.

“There’s these areas that we call ‘dead zones.’ It just means that the folks living within that zone didn’t have a pantry to go to, and we felt that we had the bandwidth to expand a little bit outside of our area in order to have a quality pantry that people could (use),” Glas explained.

Though FROM is confident it has the space and staffing to accommodate the expansion, they still need support from the community for the food itself. FROM Executive Director Wendie Preiss said it may take a bit of time to make the new expansion area aware of their services and gain the needed support from local businesses and churches.

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Level Up: See You Later Christy!

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Last weekend, Flat River Outreach Ministries gathered to celebrate and send off one of our own: Christy Baldwin, who has given five incredible years of service to this community.
Christy and her husband are heading north to Gaylord, MI, where he has an exciting opportunity to work closely with Habitat for Humanity.
While we are thrilled for them and the lives they will impact in their new chapter, saying goodbye was not easy.
To honor Christy the way she deserved, we threw a Super Mario Bros-themed “See You Later” party, and it did not disappoint.
Wendie pulled off the surprise of the afternoon, showing up in a full Mario costume that had everyone laughing.
And she was not alone, as several other volunteers arrived sporting Mario mustaches in solidarity.

Christy, thank you for five years of showing up, serving well, and pouring your heart into this ministry.
Your dedication has left a mark on this organization and on the people we serve together.
You will be deeply missed in these halls, but we know the road ahead of you is full of purpose.
This is not goodbye. It is “see you later.”
Level up!