Pictured above, the new 7,000 square-foot LEED-certified Blandford School sets a precedent for the Grand Rapids Public Schools. Not only does it feature the latest advancements in green building, Blandford also sets a new financing standard. With the lead $1.5 million gift from The Wege Foundation and other private donors … More GRPS’s Blandford School Raises the Bar »
If anyone else had announced one cold day in early 2004, “We have to save the Great Lakes,” The Wege Foundation staff would have gently nodded and gone about their business. But not when that “anyone” was Peter Wege. They knew him too well. Ellen Satterlee, now CEO of the … More A Rose By Any Other Name… »
Very few people know that the word “gilda” is actually derived from the ancient Latin term for “volunteer.” And if you read that with any skepticism, it’s only because you’ve never been to the free cancer-support home called Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids. This 12-year old welcoming place for anyone dealing … More A Linguistic Discovery Helping Cancer Patients »
Two years before the historic 1972 Clean Water Act was passed to fight water pollution, a concerned group of Great Lakes residents were already working on it. In 1970, a grassroots movement of good citizens formed the Alliance for the Great Lakes, now the oldest independently formed organization in the … More Great Lakes’ Pioneer Caretakers Gather »
On a chilly May day in 2006, Peter Wege dedicated Lloyd and Kathleen Flanagan’s 145-acre farm as Kent County’s second permanently preserved farm. Tom Howard’s 106 acre farm (pictured above), preserved the year before, was the county’s first. Since that day, 15 more working farms – a total of 1,987 … More Preserving Farmland Now is The Key to Michigan’s Future Economy »
Saint Mary’s medical staff and friends participate in the Bishop’s blessing of Saint Mary’s new guest quarters for families of patients from out of town. Sophia’s House is named for Sophia Dubridge Wege, the mother of the lead sponsor Peter M. Wege. On the far left, Michelle Rabideau, Saint Mary’s … More Sophia’s House Opens with a Blessing »
Grand Rapids Public Schools City High/Middle School recently hosted an all-day seminar based on Peter Wege’s two books, ECONOMICOLOGY I and II. City’s Economicology Expo focused on Wege’s advocacy for balancing the “economy” with the “ecology.” Forty-plus outside speakers gave programs in their particular areas of expertise. Their topics ranged … More ECO EXPO Takes Over City High/Middle »
An historic groundbreaking took place in May marking the first public school in Grand Rapids to be built with 90% of the $2 million-plus cost coming from the private sector. The new Blandford School will open early in 2013 welcoming 60 GRPS sixth-graders to the nature school’s first permanent home. … More Blandford School: A GRPS Gamechanger »
Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design held a dual celebration in May when the doors opened to its $31 million renovation of the old Federal Building. In addition to taking tours of the former courthouse and post office, guests welcomed Kendall’s new president and said goodbye to … More Kendall Presidents: Hail and Farewell »
