Lakeshore Nurses to Break Ground on Housing Project
The media are invited to attend.
Muskegon Nurses Care – Habitat Build
Dedication and Ground Blessing Ceremony
Thursday, June 12, 2008
2:00 p.m.
2147 Seventh Street
Muskegon Heights, Michigan
*This event had originally been scheduled on May 7 and was canceled due to rain.
Muskegon, MI; -- Lakeshore area nurses from Mercy Health Partners, including those from the Hackley, Mercy, Muskegon General, and Lakeshore Campuses, have joined together as “Muskegon Nurses Care” to partner with Muskegon County Habitat for Humanity to build a new home for a family in need. This community-outreach project is the first-known partnership between nurses and Habitat for Humanity in the United States,with nurses and hospital associates completing the entire project from the ground up. Muskegon Nurses Care represents over 800 nurses in Muskegon and the lakeshore area.
“Our nurses have pulled out all the stops for this project and they can’t wait to start construction,” says Kim Maguire, Chief Nursing Officer of Mercy Health Partners. “These nurses really care, not only about our patients, but about our community. Many of them are involved in community projects, but this is the first time all of our nurses have come together for a project of this magnitude.”
On Thursday, June 12 at 2:00 p.m., the Muskegon Nurses Care group and Muskegon County Habitat for Humanity representatives will host a dedication and groundbreaking ceremony with the home owner, local officials, guests, community members, and the State of Michigan’s Chief Nursing Officer, Jeanette Klemczak.
According to Muskegon County Habitat for Humanity, the Muskegon Nurses Care project is located within the Cities of Promise Initiative area, a Michigan program that encourages people to work, live, and raise their families in an effort to transform local economies. The Cities of Promise initiative is a five-year program that allows state agencies and local officials to collaborate in order to focus resources in eight urban Michigan cities with the highest poverty rates. In addition to Muskegon Heights, other Cities of Promise include: Benton Harbor, Detroit, Highland Park, Hamtramck, Pontiac, Flint, and Saginaw.
Muskegon area nurses will provide physical labor and funds for construction. To date, they have successfully raised 50% of the $40,000 needed to build the home. Construction begins later this month with anticipation that the selected family will occupy the home in December 2008, in time for the holiday season. The home site is at 2147 Seventh Street in Muskegon Heights.
Muskegon County Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit Christian housing ministry dedicated to building decent, affordable housing in partnership with those in need in Muskegon County. For more information, visit www.muskegonhabitat.org |
