Volunteer Recognition
Do you know of an American Red Cross volunteer who has performed an outstanding job? If so, please let the Chapter House know. We like to say "thank you" as much as possible to our great volunteers.
ARC Volunteers Honored for Baking Cookies!
By Marisa Kwiatkowski
The Grand Haven Tribune

It was only right that a heaping plate of chocolate chip cookies and brownies was available Wednesday when the American Red Cross recognized 42 volunteers for baking cookies for United States veterans. "We thought it was time to let you people know how much we appreciate what you do for the veterans," said Elizabeth Peckham of the Red Cross Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service.

The Red Cross baking tradition began in 1949, when six women from Grand Haven baked 4,000 cookies for the veterans at the Percy Jones and Veterans Administration hospitals in Battle Creek. For nearly 55 years, the Ottawa County Chapter of the Red Cross has continued this Veteran's Project, sending about 100 dozen cookies to the Battle Creek VA Medical Facility every month.

"It's going to mean a lot more after today," said Zeeland resident Audrey Jacobusse, 74, of what it means to bake for the veterans. "We never met anyone from the facility. Knowing them and having them tell us what happens to them with the cookies means a lot. We enjoy doing it."

Jacobusse and her husband, Wayne, 76, have been baking cookies for the veterans for about three years. They experiment with recipes, getting some off the Internet to give the veterans a variety. And they always bake a few dozen extra for their grandchildren.

"We bake seven or eight dozen for the veterans and then some for the grandkids," Wayne Jacobusse said. "They love coming to Grandma's house for the cookies."

The cookies are donated the first Monday of every month, and are driven by a Red Cross volunteer on Tuesday.

It is the volunteers at the VA medical facility that see the impact those home-baked cookies make. They are handed out Monday through Friday, along with coffee. The facility also receives about 50 dozen cookies a week from Kalamazoo County, along with donated doughnuts from Dunkin' Donuts when cookies are low.