Students from across West Michigan are joining area business leaders to celebrate local members of the Armed Forces – past, present and future – during the 2nd Annual West Michigan Armed Forces Thanksgiving Appreciation Luncheon at the JW Marriott in Downtown Grand Rapids on Friday, May 5th. Military members will be in attendance for this event aimed at strengthening awareness and dialogue on the contributions our military personnel have made and continue to make on behalf of their families, their friends and their country.

The Grand Rapids Public Library invites the public to celebrate African American month with a fun-filled Sunday afternoon.

This celebration showcases African American history, art, music and FOOD from 1:00pm - 4:30pm. Bring your family for this free popular event at on Sunday, February 19 at the Main Library located at 111 Library Street NE in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Call: (616)988-5400 or visit: www.grpl.org/tasteofsoul for more information.

With a new year underway, the Humane Society of West Michigan (HSWM) is looking back and celebrating another successful year. In 2016, HSWM helped more than 3,700 animals find their forever homes – a record-setting number for the organization.

The new record surpasses the more than 3,000 adoptions that took place in 2015. The increase in adoptions can be attributed to community support of adopting shelter animals, families embracing multiple shelter animals, and the variety of ages and breeds of animals up for adoption at HSWM.

“We cannot thank our team of staff and volunteers, as well as our generous donors, enough for another successful year,” said Trudy Jeffers, Executive Director of HSWM. “They are the backbone of our organization and we are blessed to have them assist HSWM with saving lives, raising awareness and educating the community.”