Alpha Family Center of Newaygo

Alpha Family Center is in need of volunteer mentors to meet one-on-one with the clients that come in for our services. Mentoring simply means to "guide" and many of the families we meet with for parenting classes need help in understanding what lies ahead of them and with referrals to other agencies for additional assistance.

Training is provided for all new mentors and each new volunteer starts with several weeks of "shadowing" other mentors to get a feel for what we do, easing the anxiety of the unknown.

Our goal is to be open five days per week - right now we can only be open four days per week and with limited hours. Women in crisis or in need should have access to the help their looking for without too many road blocks. It is our goal to make their experience here a positive and smooth one!

Please call Linda at 231-652-1548 for an application or for more information. Or, you can email the Center at: newaygoalpha@ncats.net.

PAT V. I have been serving at the front desk of Alpha for 2 years and I also do other odd jobs that need to be done. I am married and have 2 sons. I enjoying golfing, bowling and boating.	CAROL I have been with Alpha since May 2007 as a volunteer mentor. I have married and have 5 children. I enjoy my grandkids, photography and MCC (Muskegon Community College) where I am attending school.	LOIS I have been here at Alpha since January of 2010. I am a mentor on Thursday afternoons. I love being able to help young mothers with parenting issues. I am a wife, mother and grandmother. In my spare time, I like to read, bike ride, travel and spend time with my family and friends.
LINDA I have been with Alpha since February 2000 as the Assistant Director. I have three children, three grandchildren and one great grandchild. I enjoy shopping, traveling and serving at Alpha.	RACHEL I came to Alpha after hearing someone speak about it at the church I was attending. I have been with Alpha since March 2001. I am married and between us we have 7 children and 12 grandchildren. My husband enjoys remodeling projects. I like to cook and cut hair.	MAARTJE I have only been with Alpha for a couple of months and came to show my support for the pro-life cause. I am married and have five grown children and one son-in-law that love to come home on the weekends. I enjoy spending time with my husband and my children, doing physical activities, traveling, working in my yard, cooking and baking, water and snow skiing.
COSY I’m in my sixth year of volunteering at Alpha. I feel that Alpha is a “calling” from God. I began mentoring here out of obedience. The rewards have been great. I fell “in love” with my clients and the volunteers, staff and board members. It’s a blessing!! Some of my passions are making friends and encouraging them, laughter and jokes, gardening, decorating, making cards, reading and sharing the good news of the gospel with others.	JOY I have been working as a mentor at Alpha for almost one year. I am married with two adult children and three grand children that live in New England. I enjoy entertaining guests, photography and traveling.	CAMMY I have been with Alpha since the fall of 2008. I was praying one day, knowing God wanted me to do something more. He came to me and said, "Alpha Family Center." I called them right then. I became a first-time grandma in May. I train horses and love it and I give horse back riding lessons. I enjoy spending time with my family, playing volleyball and softball. I have been married for 31 years and have one son and two daughters.
BECKI I have been with Alpha since March 2010, serving as a mentor one day a week and as an Administrative Assistant on another day doing whatever tasks need to be done. Volunteering at Alpha had always been on my mind and when Lisa and Linda presented the wonderful programs and services offered, I knew it was my time to step up. I enjoy the client interaction each day brings. As a mother of two boys, I enjoy mentoring and sharing the love of God with other young parents. Alpha is definitely a valuable asset to our community and a great ministry.	AMY I began mentoring at Alpha in March 2010. I feel passionately about the mission of Alpha and have felt lead to serve in an organization like Alpha for quite some time. In this day and age, families need so much support to raise a family. I love offering compassionate support, encouragement, prayer and education at Alpha!!! When I’m not at Alpha, I enjoy spending time with lots of family, especially my husband and two little boys, currently two year old and six months old. I am also a registered nurse at Spectrum Bodgett where I have practiced for over five years.	BETH I started at Alpha in January 2010 as a mentor. I’ve always wanted to give back for all the help I received as a young mom. I enjoy the clients at Alpha and I love that it is Christian based. It’s a wonderful program for anybody. I’m learning new things to share with my kids & grandchildren. I love all the volunteers at Alpha. God is definitely working at Alpha and in me as I spend time with my clients.
GLORIA H. I have been working at the Alpha Center for almost a year now. I love it. I am a client and a volunteer. I am a mentor working with the clients at Alpha. I have been married to my husband Steve for fourteen years and he is a Pastor. I also have five children ranging in age from 8 months – 20 years old. I homeschool two of my children and love seeing them flourish. Our family likes to camp and spend time playing games together.	RENEE P. I work at Alpha on Thursday’s as a mentor. I love working with our families. I am a mother of two and have been working on my education for the past several years. I completed my bachelors degree last year and am now working on my Master’s Degree in Counseling. I want to be a school counselor. Our family is very involved in sporting events with our children. My daughter plays soccer and my son plays football. I also work for McKinley’s funeral home, part-time, in Grant.	COOKIE K. I have been working at Alpha for almost ten years, as they need me in the layette area. I put together the “mommy bags” for our new mothers. These are bags that are filled with much needed items for our mothers. I also assemble the layettes for our new babies. These are containers filled with items for our new babies such as, blankets, diapers, clothes, sleepers, eating utensils, stuffed animals, teething rings and rattles and much more. It is a real joy to put these together for our mothers and the new babies and I enjoy being a part of the Alpha Center. Seeing the expressions on the mother’s faces when they receive their layettes and mommies bags is priceless.
MARIA S. I have been working with Alpha for a little over 6 months now, through a program called Experience Works. I am a bilingual mentor and also work with sorting and shopping with our clients. I am at Alpha four days a week and love being able to assist our Hispanic community. Knowing that I am making a difference in the lives of these young women is a joy.	MICHELLE D. I have been married to my husband Todd for twenty-three years now. I am the mother of 3 daughters ranging in age from eighteen to twenty-two years old. I was born and raised in the Grant area. I have done several short term missions work during the past twenty years and spent over a year in Haiti. I started working at Alpha as a volunteer mentor a couple of years ago at the request of my daughter after she saw the great need for mentors. I have enjoyed going through the classes, encouraging and instructing the new moms and those that are more experienced. I especially enjoy hearing how they have started reading the Bible to their little ones.	SHARON K. I have been working at the Alpha Center since September 2010 and feel like I’ve found my niche’ as I mentor those in need each week. Being able to talk with the clients about Christ and to help them learn how to successfully parent is a real blessing. I also work another day each week to help out in the administrative area. I have been married to Kelly for fourteen and a half years and am the mother of three children. I home school my youngest child. I like to garden and read in my spare time.
CARMEN C. I am a new bilingual mentor in training at Alpha. I live in Newaygo and am married to Jesus. I have four children who are all married and grown. I retired from the Grant Public Schools in July of 2010. I worked in the migrant program there. After accepting Jesus as my Lord when I was 8 years old, I attended the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I also served in the Air Force. We attend River Valley Church in Newaygo.	RENEE C. I have lived in the Grant area for 15 years and am a member of the Bailey Christian Church. I have one son, Brendan, who is 9 years old. I have enjoyed learning more about Alpha over the last few months and have just started mentoring clients. I have a teaching background and have worked for the Girl Scouts of America for the past 10 years.	JANN H. I have been working at Alpha for only a few months now. I help out in the administration area. I am married to the Pastor at First Baptist in Newaygo and have 3 children, who keep me very busy. I enjoy working at Alpha and being able to minister to those living in this area.
AMANDA W.