Remembering the Forgotten

By guest poster Bryan Harr (#241912)

In December of 2016, I saw a story on FOX 14 News that touched my heart. One of the caregivers at St. Ann's Home in Grand Rapids, Michigan had posted a comment online about how disheartening it was to watch one of their residents go without any kind of holiday mail. The comment was liked and shared, and St Ann's was soon flooded with mail addressed to the woman. The overwhelming response was reported by FOX 14 News who also mentioned that there were other residents at the facility that rarely received mail, and that St Ann's would welcome letters and cards for them as well.

A friend of mine told me he thought St. Ann's was a small facility that provided care for approximately fifteen people. Based on that misinformation, I wrote a letter to St. Ann's committing to provide each of their residents with a handmade Christmas card each year. One of the facilitators, Sister Gabriela, sent an enthusiastic reply informing me that they had 150 residents at St. Ann's. I admit being completely unprepared for such a number, but I still wanted to honor the commitment I had made--even if I was unsure how. 

Soon after, I was admitted into the Calvin Prison Initiative--a joint venture between Calvin College and the Michigan Department of Corrections that offers a select group of prisoners, at Ionia's Handlon Correctional Facility, the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree in Ministry Leadership. The graduates of this program are meant to use their education to positively influence prison culture. However, even as students, many have begun to look for opportunities to make a difference in the community today. And it is with thanks to those individuals that I was able to honor this year's commitment to St. Ann's. CPI freshmen, sophomores, and juniors alike came together to donate their time and talents to the "Remember the Forgotten" card project, and the result of more than 600 volunteer hours was 150 handmade cards that will be delivered to St. Ann's Life Enrichment Director, Gregg Sanborn, the week of December 17th. 
My fellow students have fully embraced "Remember the Forgotten" as an annual responsibility, and many of them are excited to expand the project to include other facilities such as hospitals and shelters. They realize that they can make a difference--even by an act as simple as gifting a card to someone who may otherwise be forgotten.