IDLEWILD — One community organization in Idlewild is dedicated to furthering community growth and addressing needs.
The Idlewild Community Development Corporation, established in 2011, regularly works within the community to support local initiatives with scholarships, grants, events and more.
The organization works with community residents of all ages to address necessities and support educational and recreational activities.
Patricia Williams, the CEO of the ICDC, said the dedication to the residents of the local communities shows in the project the organization takes on.
“We work with seniors, we work with children, we work with community development,” Williams said. “Anything that has to do with the community, that’s our outreach.”
Some recent endeavors of the ICDC include donations to local student Bree Nee Williams who received $1,843 in support of her schooling at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, as well as donating $2,500 to Baldwin Community Schools in support of their programs.
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The organization has a number of initiatives throughout the year including backpack drives for children, collecting and doling out sleeping bags for the homeless and mailing donated homemade cookies to military bases during Christmastime.
The ICDC also helps local residents with rides to appointments and back as well as helping with shopping and chores if needed.
Williams formerly worked with the Mecosta County Commission on Aging and said she learned much about community need.
“I have been up here for over 30 years and I still see a need,” Williams said. “With me working at the Senior Center, I saw that there was the need for a whole lot of things. I have sort of been a community activist reaching out to other organizations like the health department and the Mecosta County COA to try to fill those needs, in whatever way we could.”
The busiest time of year for the ICDC is around November and December as they are busy collecting batches of cookies made by locals to send top various military bases.
Each year, the organization normally chooses three military bases to send the care packages to and have them sent well before the holidays to ensure that soldiers receive them before Christmas.
With the help of yearly sponsors and donors, hundreds of packages are successfully sent to those serving overseas. Per base, there are usually at least 80 members serving according to Williams.
The organization also sends care packages to local nursing homes for residents hoping to celebrate the season. They have also gone to decorate several locations for the holidays to spread cheer.
Williams said she is hoping to see the community in West Michigan grow.
“When you’re in a community, and you’re actually dealing with a lot of seniors they aren’t often fans of changes,” Williams said. “It’s not something that they initiate if they need things. But I would like to provide more transportation for them so they can get out and do things, maybe plan a trip once or twice a year. I want to have experiences that help expose them to the world.”
The ICDC was the fiduciary for the State of Michigan for the Centennial for Idlewild and helped to support the organization’s events through the summer.
The ICDC is working toward building a full website with students from Western Michigan University and with it is hoping to be able to reach more people in need.
Williams said her experiences in the community working with children are what has inspired her love of community service.
She said she is also hoping to grow the ICDC volunteer staff moving forward.
“If anybody wants to donate or anybody wants to volunteer we are always accepting donations as well as volunteers,” Williams said. “I am a person who does things because it comes from heart. I know there are more things that we can do. Donations of things for our care packages are great, we often try to get basic needs met like shampoos, razors, toothbrushes and things like that. We are always doing things actively in the community.”
For more information on volunteer and donation opportunities contact Patricia Williams at patricia.williams10@hotmail.com or (231)-250-3274.