[vnforum] Foster parent program surprised by $50,000 gift

[kenneth phan]

Foster parent program surprised by $50,000 gift

Monday, December 30, 2002

By Rick Wilson 
CHRONICLE NEWS SERVICE




As foster parents for Catholic Social Services, Bill
and Josie Grice were nearly bursting at the seams
Friday as bearers of a $50,000 gift to the program. 

The gift was from Julie Brown, owner of Plastech
Engineered Products Inc., a Dearborn-based automotive
manufacturing firm with plants in Kentwood and
Grandville. It is the result of a conversation Bill
Grice, general manager of the company's West Michigan
operations, had with his boss a short time back. 

"We were talking about my wife and I having two foster
children now, and that kind of sparked (Brown's)
interest because when she was coming to the United
States through the refugee camps in Vietnam, Catholic
Social Services reached out to her," he said. 

"When she told me she wanted to give them a gift, she
didn't mention the amount at all," Grice added. "This
is a real honor and a privilege for us to present it
because of what we know it will do for the children." 

The gift is to be used for the agency's foster child
placement program, which finds suitable families to
temporarily care for about 300 children yearly who are
usually victims of neglect and abuse. It came as a
surprise to Catholic Social Services Executive
Director Richard Liberatore. 

"We've been fortunate to have had generous donors
before, but this is a little unique," Liberatore said.
"I don't know that we've ever had someone just sort of
show up at our door with a gift of this size before." 

Liberatore said the gift is especially welcome because
government funds -- which cover about 90 percent of
the program's nearly $2 million annual budget -- are
drying up. While the added funds are welcome, the
program also needs families like the Grices who make
it work. 

"What's particularly nice about this is that they are
foster parents in our program," Liberatore said. "The
money is great but it's also an incredible morale
boost, too, because it reflects the success of the
program." 

The Grices, who have served as foster parents for
three sets of children during the past 13 months,
learned of the program through Josie Grice's parents,
who have also been foster parents for some 15 years. 

"The children we have now, I don't believe they've
ever had a real mother-and-father relationship," Bill
Grice said. "They appreciate just experiencing family
life, and to know that we've sowed some love back into
their lives is incredible." 

Grice said he's particularly proud that the gift comes
from one of the largest minority-owned businesses in
the state. 

Plastech, which manufactures interior and exterior
trim for the automotive industry, was founded in Caro
in 1989 and employs more than 3,000 workers. 









__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com