Sitting in a beautiful kitchen, two moms sip tea from their mugs and talk about how tricky it can be to get their toddlers to eat healthy. As the beautiful aroma of hot tea rises, it is replaced by the delicious smell of freshly cooked vegetables. The ladies sit in the learning and demonstration kitchen at the Community Action House in Holland with other people facing similar struggles as they all watch a volunteer nutritionist teach them the best ways to make healthy food at home for their picky toddlers, even if the budget is tight.
For these few moments, challenges are answered with solutions, isolation is replaced with a sense of belonging, and once sparsely filled cabinets will soon be full of healthy food.
With the help of Bekins, in partnership with Whirlpool, the Community Action House has improved its experience for those struggling with hunger in the Holland and Zeeland area.
The organization aims to provide “a place where struggle isn’t met with stigma, but with compassion, service and partnership.”
With that in mind they built a new location where they better achieve those goals.
It starts with a professional looking grocery style environment where Food Club members can bring their family with pride to select fresh and appealing food at their convenience.
The new building also includes a new Opportunity Hub which offers an inviting open space to sharpen skills, benefit from financial and housing assistance, or enjoy other resources needed to thrive.
Last, but certainly not least, it includes a beautiful learning and demonstration kitchen with appliances donated by Bekins, in partnership with Whirlpool.
"It was important for us to work with a local team which was responsive to our phone calls and our questions," Holland Community Action House Executive Director Scott Rumpsa said. "I'm not an expert in appliances. If something is to break down or we have a question on maintenance it's important that someone we trust, who cares about our community, is on the other end of that line and I feel we have that with Bekins."
How do the Appliances Help the Community?
When facing adversity, it helps to know you are not alone. Volunteer health coaches or dieticians will use appliances installed by Bekins in the demonstration kitchen to teach up to 12 members at a time tips and tricks for cooking healthy food. Rumpsa mentioned "Healthy Cooking on a Budget for a Picky Toddler" and "Healthy Cooking for Older Adults with Pre-Diabetes" as potential demonstration ideas. He also mentioned it is important to enjoy the companionship of other members facing similar challenges.
While the donated refrigerator, cooktop and wall ovens provide obvious benefits to cooking in a kitchen, the Whirlpool dishwashers enhance the dignity of the experience in a unique way. Rumpsa said the Community Action House historically used disposable cups for their coffee and tea bar, now members can use glasses and mugs.
The Community Action House team uses the donated laundry appliances to clean aprons, rags and cloths used by volunteers preparing the food for the grocery store. Cleaning the supplies in-house increases the team's efficiency.
"All of these appliances are helping us focus on what we do best," Rumpsa said. "Which is provide healthy food access and organize the broad spectrum of volunteers to help our neighbors."
Bekins Donated More Than Appliances
Rumpsa admitted building and designing kitchens is not his day job so he especially appreciated guidance he received from Bekins President Scott Bekins.
Bekins used his decades of experience hosting groups in the demonstration kitchens of his state-of-the-art, interactive appliance showrooms as a source for guidance to Rumpsa. Rumpsa said Bekins provided valuable insight about how to design the kitchen for groups of all abilities.
Scott Bekins said he was excited to be a part of the opportunity.
“BeKind is one of our core values,” Bekins said. “Not only has Bekins donated more than 10 percent of our net profits each year, additionally many of our employees have supported missions aimed at reducing area hunger and poverty over the years. We are thrilled to support the Holland Community Action House with this project.”
How Can I help?
You can donate money, volunteer, or host an event and advocate for the Community Action House. Click here to visit their website for more information about all the ways you can help.
Bekins Likes to BeKind
You know what else may inspire you to say "WOW!?" Click here to visit our BeKind page to see all the ways Bekins employees, and our efforts to recycle, improve our community.