volunteered to serve on an advisory board for GAAH , and I am now in my third term as a member of the Board of Directors.

Thinking back to that first meeting in the cramped, 900-square-foot library, it is hard to believe how far GAAH has come and how much it has accomplished in the past ten years. We began by raising funds for the organization and planning for an Arts Academy where neighborhood children and young people could learn to express themselves creatively through art, pottery making, music, dance, performances and other activities. We continued to nurture the library and expand its collection and programming, which drew in growing numbers of children and their family members. As news spread about GAAH and its positive impact on the neighborhood, generous donors stepped forward to help us acquire land about a mile north of the library and to construct a modern, multipurpose building there, the Grandville Avenue Academy for the Arts. It opened in 2001 and quickly filled up with children, young people, and adults, who came there to learn to paint, draw, make ceramics, play music, dance, perform plays, and just have

fun. The mul-tidisciplinary, multicultural Arts Academy (now called the Cook Arts Center) also began an an-nual Summer Arts Camp and, work-ing with the public schools and other organizations,

started offering on-site and off-site arts classes to diverse audiences of young and old alike. While it serves primarily residents of the Grandville Avenue neighborhood, its reputation has spread and its classes attract a num-ber of non-residents as well. To help manage the ambitious and far-flung activities of GAAH, in January 2003 we hired an executive director, Marjorie Kuipers, and when

(continued on page 2)

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDGrand Rapids, MIPermit No. 153

644 Grandville Avenue SWGrand Rapids MI 49503

This October, Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities celebrated its tenth anniversary as an incorporated nonprofit organiza-tion. As one of the original board members, I’d like to reflect—and boast—a little on how far it has come.

I first heard of GAAH in 1999, shortly after moving to Grand Rapids to be Dean of Arts & Humanities at GVSU. A story in The Grand Rapids Press about Mary Angelo of the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association and Sister Kathi Sleziak of the Dominican Sisters - Grand Rapids described their work with children and young people in the Grandville Avenue neighborhood, pro-viding after-school alternatives and introducing them to music, art, and reading. Since there was no public library in the area, in 1996 the RPNA and the Dominican Sisters had turned a small house into an independent Grandville Avenue Neighborhood Library, a safe haven where children could come after school to read, do homework, make friends, and hang out under adult supervision. To operate the library they had formed Grand-ville Avenue Arts & Humanities which was incorporated by the State of Michigan on October 21, 1999. Since I too was interested in promoting the arts and humanities to improve people’s lives, I got in contact with them to find out how I, and GVSU, might help this young organization.

Mary and Sister Kathi invited me and several other area community leaders, interested individuals, and potential stakeholders to a meeting at the library to hear about their vision for GAAH. We learned about the cultural richness of this ethnically diverse, low-income, and underserved neighborhood and the many daily challenges its residents faced, especially the children. We saw how Sister Joan Pichette, the first librar-ian, had forged relationships with key community partners and created a comprehensive children’s library where neighborhood kids felt safe and welcome, and how much of a difference it was making in their lives. We heard about their dream of a neighbor-hood Arts Academy to inspire more children and to celebrate the community’s multiethnic cultural richness. Along with several others at the meeting that day, I immediately

Gary D. Stark

Please join us as we honor Josie Cedillo-Guillen

and celebrate Grupo Tarasco’s 20th anniversary

At the Cook Arts Center

644 Grandville Avenue

December 19, 2009

2:00-2:30 - Performance by Grupo Tarasco

2:30-4:00 - Open House and Children’s Art Activities

The Past is Prologue: Reflections on the First 10 Years of GAAH by Gary D. Stark, Ph.D. Professor of History & Associate Dean of Faculty Grand Valley State University

Mission Transforming lives in the Grandville Avenue neighborhood through reading and the arts and by celebrating the community’s cultural richness.

Board of DirectorsAndy AngeloMarcia BorowkaMarie Brill, Secretary/TreasurerEmily GarcíaJorge Gonzalez, 2nd Vice PresidentDebb Kalmbach, Vice PresidentHenry MatthewsDick OrtegaLaura RadleJim RoderiqueGary StarkGary Walker, President

StaffMarjorie Kuipers, Executive DirectorAmy Brower, Arts Center DirectorSue Garza, Library DirectorMadeline Kaczmarczyk, Pottery Studio ManagerEdwin Campos, Library AssistantIrma Hernandez, Housekeeping

Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities644 Grandville Avenue SWGrand Rapids MI 49503Phone: (616) 742-0692Fax: (616) 742-5499www.gaah.org

Page 2 Page 3

GIFTS RECEIVED IN MEMORY OF JOSE NAREZO

Noemi ArellanoMary Lynn and Paul B. Belden, IV

Cascade Fine Art GalleryThomas E. Dancey, DDS

Ann Chapman DebesJoan and Gerald Ensley

Cal and Ann FoxKathy FreemanCinda L. Gibson

Gene and Tubie GilmoreGrand Valley State University

John and Gwen HibbardMark W. Hinshaw

Brian and Kathleen KellyMarjorie Kuipers

Laurie and Daniel LisukTom and Anne Logan

Karla and Bruce ManceHenry Matthews

Keith and Nancy ReameAnde Roeser

Roberto and Ana SaenzDorwin and Kathy Sheathelm

Sharon and Kurt StiansenVSA Arts of Michigan-Grand Rapids

Chris and Jill VanAntwerp

(continued from page 1)Sister Kathi i left at the end of that year, we added Amy Brower to direct the Arts Academy programs.

Meanwhile the small Neighborhood Library building, like a magnet, drew in more and more kids, who gathered there to meet friends, do homework, read, or use the computers. Under its second librarian, Sister Jeanne Marie Jones, it added more books and reference materials and expanded its programming with Tolly Time, a monthly storytime and craft event. Student volunteers from Calvin College and adult volunteers from the community helped these youngsters with homework, with English, and served as mentors and role models to kids who dreamed about one day going to college. Professional librarian Sue Garza was hired part-time in 2005; she introduced a number of new programs, such as a science club, a chess club, and educational field trips, which expanded children’s horizons still further. The Library proved so popular and its programs so successful that it outgrew its cramped original quarters. With more generous help of donors, GAAH was able to construct a bright, open new library building with 4500 square feet of space, room for fourteen computers, a general-purpose community room, and a special quiet room for the chess club, homework help, and other activities. The new Cook Library Center opened in Fall 2008; under Sue’s full-time leadership it is now open more hours and serves over 1500 patrons a month, cir-culates hundreds of books, and offers not only reading groups, story time, and help with home-work, but also a Career Day for neighborhood youth and English as a Second Language courses for neighborhood adults. It has become a home-away-from-home for many kids and a beacon of literacy, learning, and opportunity for both children and adults.

Few things over the last ten years have given me as much pleasure as being a part of the phe-nomenal growth of GAAH. And few experiences have been as heartwarming as seeing the enthu-siastic, talented kids and adults whose lives have been enriched and whose horizons have been broadened by the Cook Arts Center and the Cook Library Center. Without GAAH, this neighbor-hood and our city would be a bleaker, less hopeful place. Serving on its board has been a vitalizing and gratifying experience for me, and I’m proud of what we have accomplished together.

Jennifer Ackerman-HaywoodAlternative MechanicalAmwayAmway Grand PlazaJudy AndersonAndy and Mary AngeloAnonymousCynthia ArnoldArts Council of Greater Grand RapidsBaldwin FoundationJuanita and Robert BaltierrezTony and Gwen BarnesCarolyn J. BeckBelden Brick and Supply CompanyMary Lynn and Paul B. Belden, IVBill BennettJohn and Susan BerginJerry BertaFred and Gina BivinsJanet and Bert BlekeEdith BlodgettMarcia and Ken BorowkaMarie BrillAmy Brower and Eric DoyleAndrew and Janay BrowerBob and Kathy BrowerDianne Carroll BurdickAnna Moore ButznerCafé AromasCafé StellaCalvin College/Boer-Bennink HallMorgan Case and Tom WoolfCentury A&E CorporationJohn CoulterTracy and Floyd ChampagneKen and Marti ChildsJerry and Toni ClayCommunity Media CenterTina Conran-RothwellConsumers Energy CompanyPeter C. CookCooley Law School/Hispanic Latino Law SocietyAnn and Bob CooperEva Aguirre CooperDavid CopeAnne CoppsCraftServeJeff CransonMary and Joe DavisPete and Tuti DeMaagdPeggy DePersiaDesign One Salon SpaDick and Betsy DeVos FoundationDouglas and Maria DeVos FoundationLaura DeVosRichard and Helen DeVos FoundationBetsy and Stanley DoleDolinka, VanNoord & CompanyDominican Sisters – Grand RapidsRon and Dawn DucharmeRichard DuemlerKayem DunnJimmy Duty and Eileen Schwarz-Duty

Dyer-Ives FoundationEaton Charitable FundClaire and Steven EchtinawRepresentative Vernon J. EhlersEl VoceroDarin and Cami EstepTodd FettigFifth Third BankTommy FitzGeraldForest Hills Fine Arts CenterLinda Nemec FosterFounders Brewing CompanyTwink Frey and Jim McKayCharles and Mary FrydrychGant PhotographyOswaldo GarcesEmily GarciaThe Gardening AngelGary Family FoundationGerald R. Ford MuseumGene and Tubie GilmoreBeth GoebelJorge GonzalezGrand Rapids Ballet CompanyGrand Rapids Children’s MuseumGRCC FoundationGrand Rapids Community FoundationGrand Rapids GriffinsThe Grand Rapids PressGrand Rapids Public LibraryGrand Rapids SymphonyGrand Valley State UniversityAlynn GuerraHeerspink Family Advised FundKaren HenryJosé and Lynne HernandezDonald HeydensDirk and Vickie HoffiusMeegan HollandJohn HuntingHuntington BankWin and Kyle IrwinSue Ann JabinMichelle JeffriesJimmy’s RibsMike and Sarah JulienMadeline KaczmarczykDebb KalmbachNancy KeechBrian and Kathleen KellyKathy Smith KennedyKent Beverage CompanyHelen Kinsworthy Jack and Rita KirkwoodGeorgianna T. KleinKen and Hope KolkerSteve and Mary KretschmanSylvia and Abe KrissoffMarjorie KuipersLacks Enterprises, Inc.Doug LambourneLeo’sBridget LewakowskiSuzanne Butler Lich

Lighthouse Insurance GroupMike LloydLoeks Theaters, Inc.Tom and Anne Logan Jerry Lykins and Elizabeth Welch-LykinsMacatawa BankRoli ManceraMarco New American BistroNancy J. MartinSarah Lynne MartinShandra MartinezChet and Elaine MaternowskiHenry Matthews and Tim ChesterTerry McGovern and Carol Paine-McGovernThe Meadows Golf CourseMeijer, Inc.Hank and Liesel MeijerMercantile Bank of MichiganMichigan Council for Arts & Cultural AffairsMiller JohnsonGretchen MinnhaarMoss Telecommunications ServicesChristine and Patrick MuldoonMary and Jim NelsonNorthern Trust BankStacy OldenbergJeanette PaganelliMolly and Steve ParkerPepsi-Cola CompanyDavid and Cheri PerezJulie Denko PetrieErick PichardoPilgrim’s Run Golf CourseSanto PlacenciaKen and Diane PlasPresto Print, Inc.Public Museum of Grand RapidsLaura and David RadleJulio RamirezPam and Bill ReaJosé and Rebeca ReynaCharline and Allen RiceSandy RichJim RoderiqueRuperto and Barb RodriguezJoanne and Travis RoehmAnde RoeserRoMan ManufacturingHelen RossanoChuck and Stella RoyceSan ChezSue SchroederSchuler Books & MusicSebastian FoundationFred SebulskeSelect BankService Reproduction CompanyDenise ShankinFlorence SilversteinSlemons FoundationEd Spicer

Susan StackGary Stark and Kathleen UnderwoodState Farm InsuranceSteelcase FoundationSteelcase, Inc.Dolores SteinChuck and Jan StoddardSue StoddardJerome and Judy SubarJulie TaylorSteele and Mary TaylorCat and Roger TimermanisMarilyn TitcheLois and Matthew TomasiewiczUICAUniversal Forest ProductsDavid and Carol VanAndel FoundationSteve and Cindy VanAndel FoundationKimberly VandenBergVanderWeide Family FoundationKen and ChiChi VanDykeNorma and Lewis VanKuikenJohn and Gwen VarineauVarnumJon and Julie VoskuilWOOD TV 8Susan WalengaGary and Jan WalkerWege FoundationJoanne and Edwin WeisWest Michigan WhitecapsThe Williams GroupPhil WilsonMary WitkowskiRichard and Barbara YoungEd Zirnis

HONOR GIFTS:Maggie Molitor in honor of Kathy Smith KennedyMichael and Ruth Sklar in honor of Sue RemesMichael and Mary Stearns in honor of Paul MeyersMaryann and Will Warren in honor of Kathy Smith KennedyEdwin and Joanne Weis in honor of Gary Walker

MEMORIAL GIFTS:Carole R. Connell in memory of Tim JohnsonJohn and Mary Harberts in memory of Henry HarbertsErma Johnson in memory of John JohnsonRoberto and Ana Saenz in memory of Catalina Weisman

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!GAAH received cash or in-kind donations from these individuals, businesses, foundations, and agencies from November 15, 2008 to November 15, 2009. We appreciate the generous support of each and every one.

Please consider supporting the programs of the Cook Arts Center

and the Cook Library Center. A gift of any amount will go a long

way, for a generous donor will match fifty cents of every dollar of gifts up

to $1,000 from first-time donors, former donors, and current donors

who increase their donations.

Have you thought about making a bequest to GAAH?

Call Marjorie Kuipers at 742-0692 for the appropriate wording.