Diana R. Sieger is the president of the Grand Rapids Commmunity Foundation. For more information, visit Diana's President's pages or view her biography.
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feed sourceRecent Posts
- 08/13/08 - Spirit of GR - Part 2.5!!!
- 08/13/08 - The Spirit of Grand Rapids - Part 2!
- 07/28/08 - The Spirit of Grand Rapids - What's the Future - from 1989 to 2008!
- 06/30/08 - Deja vu all over again!
- 06/23/08 - "Cushy" - "retiring" - hardly!
- Archived Posts
Other Blogs of Note
- Philanthropy 2173
- Tactical Philanthropy
- Singh around the World
- Stanford Social Innovation Review
- White Courtesy Telephone
- Chronicle of Philanthropy: Give & Take
- Open Hands
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President's Point of View: Deja vu all over again!
June 30, 2008
The other day I was digging through my files in my office and lo and behold there was a file that held the notes from a presentation I wrote back in 1981! (Yes - I am a pack rat … I better start clearing out files NOW before the big push to move to our new home.) The presentation was to an audience of United Way planning and allocations staffers who were struggling with what to do when the unemployment numbers and rate (this is Michigan!) were soaring. I worked at UW at the time.
The name of the presentation was “Creative Strategies in a Difficult Economy”! Well does this sound like a timely topic … . standing the test of time 27 years later?!!! Back then General Motors was laying off employees and we had started a program called the Care and Share Food Program for GM workers and others. We organized an effective program in Grand Rapids.
Gleaners was a new organization in our community at the time (now is Second Harvest Gleaners covering a huge area of Michigan) but the need created by the Care and Share Food Program helped get it on the map! We created boxes of food for a family of four for distribution every week. This went on for months - plus an emergency program to help with utility payments as well as the blossoming days of what is now “411”. Plus so much more. The Emergency Needs Task Force was created by Ev Vermeer the then Director of the Kent County Department of Social Services now the Department of Human Services which led to various task force groups that exist yet today!
So now it is 2008 - - - and even after the energy crisis of the 1970’s that led to building smaller cars for a short period of time, we saw the rise of SUVs and trucks. Now with gas prices hovering around $4.10 a gallon, hybrid cars are looking quite good!
The stock market is shaky however I am hopeful! I’m dusting off that presentation - after 27 years it is just as important as it was back then. I’m sorry that it has remained a relevant presentation!
