Project Description
Community Impact Day 2023 was a day of tremendous service hosted by the West Coast Chamber. More than 950 volunteers went out en masse to a wide variety of organizations across our lakeshore. The City of Holland was one of 60 organizations that partnered with the Chamber to host volunteers. We were proud to lead +260 volunteers across volunteer sites serving our municipality.
Holland’s Parks Department spearheaded projects at two parks that were in need of some critical updates and a little TLC. Moran Park volunteers completed a full playground rebuild that replaced a 30-year-old playground with a safer, more inclusive playscape. While volunteers at Kollen Park, a key location during peak tourism season, repainted over 200 feet of barrier fencing along Lake Macatawa. Overall, this afternoon of volunteerism is estimated to have saved our municipality nearly $300,000 while simultaneously building connections with our residents.
Is your project easy to replicate in other communities (clear in its impact and execution for other communities)?
Community Impact Day, while simple in format, is tremendously impactful and easily replicated by other communities that work cooperatively with local municipalities, nonprofits, and community members. The City of Holland actively works towards a “vibrant, world-class community where people work together, celebrate community, and realize dreams”.
It starts with identifying needs of organizations who might not otherwise have the tools, resources, or “hands and feet” to get important projects completed – and then banding together to ensure that all of our residents feel, see, and realize how impactful “together” can be.
What is the Community Wealth Impact (based on one or more of the categories you selected) of your project?
The City of Holland takes pride in creating a “vibrant world-class community” where we recognize the history of our community, but celebrate what our community looks like today! This includes creating accessible and inclusive programs and services across our municipality. Community Impact Day is the very first of its kind when it comes to local municipalities working with Chamber of Commerce’s to create volunteer opportunities and make an impact in their communities. Our Chamber strives to be trailblazing with this program and hopes that other communities will adopt similar innovative models of service.
Not only does this project showcase the missions of +60 organizations all with their own histories, cultures, and services, but it also bands all kinds of people together toward a common goal. We encourage families, students, companies – everyone – to participate in this day of service, because anyone can make a difference in their community. In addition to the service day, the Chamber puts on a blood drive for those who might not be able to help physically, but can still save lives. This kind of camaraderie is the lifeblood of a community – it shows we all play a part in making Holland a great place to live, work, and play!
Describe the creativity and originality of your project.
This project is the first of its kind in building connections between community members and the organizations that serve them. Not only does Community Impact Day create some financial relief for the organizations hosting volunteers, but it also builds the social heartbeat of our community. A month later, we are still hearing stories of impact and connections that were built that day. It’s the little things of the day that really showcase the tidal waves of impact and originality in this project. Our volunteers hosted at Moran Park replaced a 30-year-old playground with a new type of playscape that encourages more accessible play for everyone. While at Kollen Park, we had a group of charter students join us to help paint the barrier fencing along CEO’s and companies who had closed down for the day to volunteer. There were even volunteers helping with administrative tasks at a local summer camp for children with downs syndrome and volunteers doing arts and crafts with local residents of a nursing home. The creativity and originality behind this project lays within the word “Impact” – it means something different to everyone. Seeing the massive diversity in our volunteers and the projects they completed is what makes this such a remarkable project!
