2023 Fall Pulse

P U L S E

We exist to extend God’s love and foster a community of care for adults with developmental disabilities.

Check out our Fall issue of the Pulse to see what we have been up to and to learn more about us.

20 23

DAVID'S HOUSE MINISTRIES

Make sure you donate to David's House this #GivingTuesday Last year we raised over $15,000; let's see if we can beat that this year! All gifts for this fundraiser should be turned in by the end of Tuesday, November 28, either online or by mail

Gifts in honor of:

Andy S.

Bekki K.

Becky L

Ben D.

Fred C.

Greg N.

Alexa T.

Jeff B.

Jill L

Joel M.

Jon S.

Julie K

Kim D.

Matt W.

Matthieu K

Tanis H

Terry H

Amy Woodruff

Andy Mast

Bob and Annette Yff

Dana Kauffman

Debbie Hartle

Don Reidsma

Douglas Prose

Jim and Marian DeVries

John Monk

Jon Vander Woude

Kerry Robleske

Glenn and Kevin Heys

Linda Wood

Richard Broekhuizen

Roger Harrison

DAVID’S HOUSE UPDATES| PRESIDENT CASEY KUPERUS

A message from our president…

Recently, as I was looking through the pictures from our recent Walk, Ride, Run event…..the above picture stood out to me This year ’ s shirts were light blue, and that’s what I saw in every picture except for this one This group brought their own shirts this year! These shirts were printed with “Team Jeff” and a picture of his own artwork on it.

In the month leading up to the event, Jeff would stop in my office several times a week to show me the updates on his fundraising paperwork. He would excitedly keep me updated as to who he thought might join him on that Saturday morning for the event I don’t think I’ve seen Jeff more excited than that morning when he showed us his own team!

Jeff is a member of many different “teams ” As a long-time resident in House 1, he is an important member of this team Jeff is often the first to volunteer to assist with any type of clean-up or set up of tables and chairs and is a constant and helpful presence anywhere in our community here in Wyoming Jeff works at Care-Linc several times per week and loves his teammates. He also volunteers at Calvary Church with some of his other friends as well. Jeff has an amazing support team of family and friends as evidenced by the picture above

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he writes the following in chapter 4:16;

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love (New Living Translation)

Typically, I read the NIV translation, but I like the words that New Living Translation uses here and believe it represents what we are doing here at David’s House Ministries. Our body of believers is not complete without EVERY “part” represented Team Jeff is just one of many parts that makes our body of believers complete, growing and full of love

Thank you for being a part of our team and supporting the work of David’s House Ministries

Casey Kuperus

President - David's House Ministries

Saturday, September 9 was a beautiful morning for the David’s House Walk/Ride/Run. Over 200 people gathered at our Wyoming campus to celebrate the month worth of activity that our staff and residents participated in

During the day, people walked a lap or two around our campus, played an assortment of yard games, mingled with other residents, families and friends and then heard about all the accomplishments of our residents.

The biggest award of the day was to the house that did the most walking throughout the month, this year ’ s winner is Pine Tree Lodge! They will get to keep the new shoe trophy, made by Casey Kuperus, our president, in their house for the next year!

This year, thanks to the support of all our generous sponsors and donors we were able to raise over $125,000! This money is such an incredible blessing which allows us to provide the best life possible for our residents!

New RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT

BONITA L. WILLOW TREE LODGE RESIDENT

Meet Bonita, David’s House Ministries newest resident! Bonita moved into Willow Tree Lodge in July and has been loving everything about it

Bonita loves living in a house with a bunch of other girls, she says there is always so much going on and she loves the activity She also attends all the LEAP (Life Enriching Activities and Programs) events she can. Her favorite LEAP activity is scrapbooking, which she used to do in her free time when she lived with her parents

When Bonita is not enjoying a LEAP event or chatting with her housemates, she enjoys playing with her sticker book and playing on her iPad She also enjoys going out for lunch with family members Once a week, Bonita has the opportunity to go to Friendship Ministry at a local church, she really enjoys that time.

If Bonita could have one superpower, she would choose to fly, being able to get around quickly would be awesome.

We are so glad that Bonita has found a home here at DHM!

If you are interested in becoming a donor, please contact Greg He will be more than happy to discuss the needs and goals of our ministry with you!

Want to donate from the comfort of your home? You can! Visit our website, www.dhmin.org, click donate, and fill out our online donation form

Contact us to set up a time to meet with our partners at the Barnabas Foundation Together, we will help you set up planned gifts to increase your impact, often while benefiting your family

CARLA FULTON

ONBOARDING AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATOR

Meet our Training and Onboarding Administrator, Carla Fulton Carla has worked at David’s House for over 11 years. She has done a wide variety of jobs while here including Direct Care, Shift Supervisor, Program Coordinator and she was instrumental in the development of our LEAP program.

When Carla started her job here, she was searching for a job where she would work with people By chance someone told her about David’s House. When she came in for an interview, she knew right away that this was a place she wanted to work!

In her current role as Training and Onboarding Administrator, Carla is responsible for onboarding and facilitating the training for all new and existing employees, she also oversees our LEAP program

Carla had this to say about her work at DHM, “I think it is pretty obvious that my favorite part of my job is working with the Residents They are truly a blessing and I feel so much gratitude to be able to come to work for a place that I love I also love to meet and work with new staff, helping them to feel a part of the DHM family. I love that David’s House feels like a family, both with residents and staff and I truly feel blessed that I get to come and be a part of it every day ”

Outside of working hours Carla is busy studying to be a nurse, so school takes up a good amount of her time Other than that, she enjoys reading, spending time with friends and family, and taking care of her needy and precious dog, Atlas.

The FY 2023 report shares some details on our expenses and revenues. Income received from Community Mental Health agencies to provide care for residents continues to struggle to keep up with inflation and the care staff payroll Despite this continued gap in funding, we are blessed by amazing support and once again we were able to finish the year covering all expenses Our team worked hard to keep our costs down, which also helped us come in under budget. Our 2024 FY sees yet another expense increase – A budget of $5.5 million and the need to raise about $1 5 million to cover the ongoing gap in funding. We are committed to being good stewards of our resources while serving 71 incredible people in West Michigan

*Expenses include utilities, vehicles and other insurance, fuel, food, building maintenance, and more.

*Restricted Funds include projects such as the Forever Homes Campaign, DHMIN Legacy Society, and campus improvements.

Summer Fun

Upcoming Events

Giving Tuesday - November 28

Spring Gala - March 18

2024 Walk/Ride/Run - September 7

We ARe Hiring!

Join our DHMIN Team, launch your career in direct care, and help provide quality Christian care to adults with developmental disabilities. At DHMIN, we offer starting pay up to $16.85/hr, health, and dental insurance – 100% paid by the employer for employee coverage, paid training, and a retirement plan with a match! Give us a call or apply online! No experience is necessary

Emilie Azkoul, Director of Human Resources

eazkoul@dhmin org

dhmin.org/join-the-team/

The DHMIN direct care staff go above and beyond, caring for the individuals who call us home We want to thank all our direct care workers for making DHMIN a place where the families we serve can find peace of mind. It is their efforts that make our ministry special.

Dear Friends,

As we approach our calendar year-end, it is always a time to reflect on what has happened over the past year here at David’s House Ministries

We have been blessed to continue to provide care to 61 individuals who live in our 8 homes in Wyoming and Grandville. We also continue to provide direct care staffing to 10 individuals living in two independently-owned homes in Grand Rapids

We are thankful that God continues to send care staff and new administrative staff to David’s House, today totaling 115 employees….100 of these are direct care staff!

We praise God that both residents and staff have been relatively healthy throughout this past year, and we have enjoyed increasing our time together in group outings and activities

With your help, we have also had the finances in place to not only provide this care but to also repair and replace much-needed items such as washing machines and dryers, dishwashers, and refrigerators and continue the ongoing maintenance needed to maintain our homes

This is one of our most important times of the year as it relates to our giving, typically accounting for a third of our contribution income for the year. With a $5.5 million budget for this fiscal year, David’s House needs to fundraise $1.5 million to cover the gap not covered by our government funding

To meet this need, David’s House has set a goal of raising $500,000 in year-end giving. At the time of this writing, a friend of David’s House has committed the first $100,000 contribution towards this goal! I ask that you consider helping us meet (or exceed) this goal!

These funds not only assist in covering our direct labor costs but also items such as: Transportation to medical and other appointments (on average there are at least 10 of these per week)

Repairs and preventative maintenance to our HVAC systems

Laundry supplies and appliances (in one home alone we can average 30 loads per day)

Party and craft supplies (yes .we like to provide fun parties and activities!)

We cannot provide these services without your prayers and financial support. You may give by enclosing a gift in the provided return envelope, or via our website at www dhmin org

David’s House has been blessed by a wonderful and growing family of supporters for over 35 years, we are thankful for all of you and cherish your continued support to provide care for those we are called to serve.

Sincerely,

Casey Kuperus President – David’s House Ministries

PS: Does your workplace match your giving? To learn more about leaving DHMIN in your estate or our Legacy Fund, contact Greg at 616-284-4383