Friends of the Greenhouse Birth Center Archives
Friends of the Greenhouse Birth Center began in 2004, in an effort to keep the birth center open. After the GBC was open for a year and a half, it was in danger of closing its doors. It was at this point that a group of families gathered and decided to prevent that...they knew what the support of the GBC had come to mean to them. And, they knew there were others that would benefit from that same support and information. So, the Friends of GBC was born...a group of volunteers that create fundraising opportunities and participate in other work to raise awareness of natural birthing at a freestanding birth center as a real option in the Lansing area. One of the best perks to giving birth at the Greenhouse Birth Center is becoming a part of the community that has emerged around the birth center. Below are past events the Friends of GBC have held and a photo gallery from those events.
August 23rd, 2008: 5th Annual GBC Reunion
We're five years old! Each year GBC families are invited to attend a picnic/reunion in order to gather as a community and renew relationships. It is amazing to see how much our community and our sprouts have grown each year. This year, it will be from 11am-2pm.
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***Even in the case of rain, we will still have the reunion. This is due to how difficult it is to reach people all over the state to let them know of the change. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience.
June 28th, 2008 at 9am-3pm: 5th Annual Mom & Baby Sale
Last year's sale got rave reviews, so this year we are repeating the theme of Mom & Baby items to help the larger community and the GBC simultaneously. We are accepting donations of Maternity, post-partum, baby & child items only for our Mom & Baby Sale on June 28th. Of course, items especially for fathers are welcome as well! The donations can be brought to the GBC as of June 3rd and we ask that each person donating sort their own items to help in the process of setting up the sale. Also, if you are interested in pitching in and helping the day of the sale, please let us know. Your help is welcome and every little bit helps. (It does take a village!) Everyone's help is appreciated greatly to make this event successful. Please contact Jaime at (517)853-0728 or williamsjai@yahoo.com if you are interested in helping or have questions. Thank you.
Michigan Parade: May 2008
In past years, the GBC has had a float in the Michigan Parade that takes place in May. Unfortunately, we have received news that due to Michigan's economic status, the parade will not be held this year. We may be entering another area parade this year in lieu of this event. Please check back here for updates on our Annual Mom & Baby Sale (June) and our GBC Reunion (August).
Purse Party Fundraiser: Spring 2008
Considering for a new style this spring? Look no further. New styles, colors and accessories will be available for cash and carry at the Greenhouse Birth Center on Saturday, April 12th from 10am-1pm. If it's been a long time since you treated yourself, or if you have loved ones to shop for, come take a look at what is available and help support the GBC at the same time. For more information, please contact
Jenn Somerville at 712-2631.
Designer Replica Purses
Tiffany & Co. Replica Jewelry
Designer Replica Sunglasses
Pashmina Scarves
Hats & Miscellaneous
**Cash n’ Carry the day of the sale with cash, check, or credit card
only.
Feb-March 2008: 4th Annual GBC Shirt Sale
Every year, there is an opportunity to show your support of the GBC by purchasing & wearing a shirt in the wider Mid-Michigan community. Back by popular demand are last year's designs, including an "I sprouted..." design and the Breastfeeding Icon (below, center) in addition to the original GBC design. Please use this order form to order. Orders are due by March 10, 2008 in order to receive the shirts in April.
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 This design is available on a navy t-shirt only. |
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Left: A toddler size shirt with GBC logo design in grey. Also, the "I sprouted" design is only available in grey with forest green lettering, but white is shown to display the design. (We learned the hard way in 2004 that white and toddlers don't mix very well.)
Right: Adult size Large and Children's size XS in the forest green GBC logo tees. Logo is on front left side of chest and full on the back with the website added on the back.
ChicoBag Reuseable Grocery Bag Fundraiser
The Friends of the Greenhouse Birth Center (GBC) volunteer group is coordinating a reusable grocery bag fundraiser. All profits will go to the GBC. This is an excellent way to support the GBC and save the planet!
Features:
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Designed to be unforgettable! Fits in a pocket or purse! Carabineer for your belt loop, back pack or key chain.
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Made of strong and durable woven nylon.
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Available in 9 different colors!
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Integrated Pouch measures approximately 3” by 4”.
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The ChicoBag measures approximately 18” by 18” when un-stuffed.
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Lightweight! Only 1.5 oz.
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20 Pound Capacity.
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Machine washable (air dry).
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Recyclable! Expired ChicoBags sent to the ChicoBag recycling program will be repurposed into door mats, dog beds and prayer flags.
Facts about plastic bags and the environment:
The average American uses between 300 and 700 plastic bags per year.
Ø If everyone in the United States tied their annual consumption of plastic bags together in a giant chain, the chain would reach around the Earth not once, but 760 times!
Ø According to the American Forest and Paper Association, in 1999 the U.S. alone used 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring 14 million trees to be cut down.
Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photo-degrade—breaking down into small toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food-chain when mistaken for zooplankton or jellyfish.
Please use this order form to order. If you have any questions, please contact Andrea at 517-256-5650 or andrea_weinrick@yahoo.com. Orders are due by March 10, 2008 in order to receive the bags in April.
The Business of Being Born Special Community Screening
Join the Greater Lansing Area in February 2008 to watch a documentary film about the maternity care in the U.S. and get informed. This film examines and questions the way American women birth their babies. The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and interesting statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal. This event will be open to the community, so if you have ever been pregnant or hope to be pregnant one day, please check back and more details will be posted as the date nears. For more information about the film, please see The Business of Being Born website.
*As most recently seen in Newsweek.
Saturday, February 23rd Sunday, February 24th
7:00 pm 3:00 pm
with special guest, Jennifer Block*
Each screening will be followed by a talkback panel.
MSU Campus
147 Communication Arts & Sciences Building
Red Cedar Rd (between Wilson Rd & Trowbridge Rd)
East Lansing
$5 suggested donation ~ Free for students
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*Following the screening and panel discussion on Sunday, February 24th, there will be a book signing with Jennifer Block, author of Pushed:The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care. |
Brought to you by
The Pre-professional Society for Health Careers of AED
Undergraduate Bioethics Society
Friends of the Greenhouse Birth Center
Sponsored by
Center for Ethics & Humanities in the Life Sciences
Bioethics, Humanities & Society
Kozmic Family Care
MSU Center for Gender Studies In Global Context
East Lansing Chiropractic
Dream Dinners
Soulful Earth Herbals
2007 Concluded Events
Thank you to all who helped in preparation and participation in the events below. Success would not be possible without all who took part. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in August at the Reunion.
Be an Angel: Buy a gift for our Giving Tree
As the holidays near, we will have a Giving Tree again this year at the Greenhouse Birth Center. We will have a selection of 50 angels to choose from, each with a child's name, their age and their gift wish this holiday season. Choose an angel card off of our holiday giving tree and purchase a gift chosen by a child 12 or under. Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, our tree will be in the GBC. Please stop in and choose an angel, purchase the chosen gift and then drop it off at the Meridian Mall in front of Lenscrafters. The deadline to drop off gifts is December 17th. Please see the St. Vincent's Catholic Charities website for more information.
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The Co-op below is an on-going fundraiser for the GBC and is a wonderful opportunity for our families to get organic produce in their diets.
January 2007: Door to Door Organics-Greenhouse Birth Center Fundraising Co-op
This month, we began an on-going fundraising effort to support organic farming, the birth center and provide healthy choices for our families. We formed a co-op with two drop-off sites and each family is responsible for their own order. Service began on January 16th and we began with 13 families. Join in and help raise your immunity and support for the birth center! 10-12% of every order will be donated to the GBC. Please note: This donation is given instead of getting the individual discount for being a co-op member. Thanks for supporting the Greenhouse Birth Center! If you are interested in joining this co-op, please contact the GBC liaison, Joanne, at joannewhite2@gmail.com.
What Is Door to Door?
Door to Door Organics delivers fresh
organic produce and groceries throughout Michigan and parts of Ohio.
How Our Service Works
We deliver a variety of fruit, veggie or mixed fruit/veggie boxes
straight to your door. The contents change every week based on the
freshest arrivals from our organic farms.
Saturday, November 10,
2007: 2nd Annual Purse Party Fundraiser10am-1pm
Get ready to shop! November 10th is the
date of the next purse party fundraiser for the Greenhouse Birth
Center. Last year we succeeded in this effort with your help and are
hoping this year will be even more successful! So, get your Christmas
list together and come to the GBC on Saturday, November 10, 2007 from
10am-1pm. Bring your friends and family, have some coffee, visit and
get some early holiday shopping out of the way! Everything is
cash-and-carry and Samantha accepts all forms of payment: cash, check
and charge.
Please distribute the flyer to anyone you
think would be interested.
Thanks so much! We look forward to seeing you there!
August 19th,
2007: 4th Annual GBC Reunion
We're four years old! Each year GBC families are invited to attend a picnic/reunion in order to gather as a community and renew relationships. It is amazing to see how much our community and our sprouts have grown each year. This year, it will be from 2-6pm and one of our Village Moms, Karrie Martin of Wings & Roots Photography, will be taking candid pictures for later purchase, with proceeds going to the GBC.
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***Even in the case of rain, we will still have the reunion. This is due to how difficult it is to reach people all over the state to let them know of the change. In future years, we will definitely have a rain date for this event. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience.
June 9th, 2007 at 9am-3pm: 4th Annual GBC Rummage Sale-Mom & Baby Sale
This year we are doing things a little different, but hope it will still help our larger community and the GBC simultaneously. We are accepting donations of Maternity, post-partum, baby & child items only for our Mom & Baby Sale on June 2nd. The donations can be brought to the GBC as of May 16th and ask that each person donating sort their own items to help in the process of setting up the sale. Everyone's help is appreciated greatly to make this event successful. Thank you. View flyer.
June 2nd, 2007 at 9:30 am: Riverwalk with the Village
Usually, we take part in celebrating our midwives during our Miles for Midwives event. This year, we are taking a different route and taking our GBC pride to the Riverwalk and the greater Lansing community. Join us in this fun activity and wear your GBC shirt to show your support. This is part of the "Be A Tourist In Your Own Town" event. The route begins at Potter Park Zoo and ends at the Turner Dodge House in Old Town with fun stations in between and refreshments at the end. Be sure to check out the Family Festival Area at Museum Drive which will include music by Mystic Shake, cultural dancers, clowns, face painting, music demonstrations and much more! Mayors Riverwalk is sponsored by the City of Lansing. This walk is to help promote active living among Lansing Residents. Registration begins at 9:30am and the walk starts at 10:00am. The walk is 3.2 miles long and is on the Lansing River Walk. For more details...
March 2007: 4th Annual GBC Shirt Sale
Every year, there is an opportunity to show your support of the GBC by purchasing & wearing a shirt in the wider Mid-Michigan community. This year, we will be offering a few different choices, including an "I sprouted..." design and the newly designed Breastfeeding Icon (below, center) in addition to the original GBC design. Please use this order form to order. If you have any questions, please contact Jaime at 853-0728 or williamsjai@yahoo.com. Orders are due by March 10, 2008 in order to receive the shirts by April.
2006 Concluded Events
May 7th, 2006- 3rd Annual Miles for Midwives and Mother-Friendly Care
Thank you to everyone that helped with this event or participated in supporting
the birth center and families who have yet to discover it.
Thank you to our local businesses that sponsored the Miles for Midwives event in 2006. We truly appreciate your support.
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2006 Miles for Midwives Sponsors |
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Foods for Living 2650 E. Grand River East Lansing 517/324-9010 |
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Infinity Chiropractic |
pt images |
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Emily Lott Coldwell Banker Hubell Realtor |
Iana Conner Nourishing Connections Lactation Consultant |
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Holt Chiropractic Center |
Providence Family Chiropractic |
May 20th, 2006- GBC Sprout Float in the Michigan Parade
This parade takes place in downtown Lansing. This was the second year the GBC has participated in the parade.
June 24th, 2006-3rd Annual GBC Multi-family Rummage Sale
For the third year in a row, this was held in the GBC parking lot and this year, we had beautiful weather. Once again, this event was successful in creating awareness in the community and raising funds for the birth center. Thank you to everyone who helped in preparation for and during this event. You are appreciated and we couldn't do it without you.
September 10th, 2006 Third Birthday/Reunion for GBC
Each year GBC families are invited to attend a picnic/reunion in order to gather as a community and renew relationships. It is amazing to see how much our community and our sprouts have grown each year.