Officials For Kids began in early 2003 as a small group of mid-Michigan officials dedicated to the future of children’s healthcare & the Children’s Miracle Network. The ultimate hope for the program is that officials personal & association pledges, along with participation in fundraising events & initiatives, will make Officials for Kids a name synonymous with the continued improvement of children’s healthcare across the state.
The Officials For Kids Program takes on a local focus at each Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in the state. In addition to the efforts to benefit Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Officials For Kids has a program at Beaumont Hospital in Detroit called Referees For Reading (photo above), where monies raised help fund a pediatric ward book cart, and officials give of their time to read to children. At Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, members of the West Michigan Officials Association have conducted Give-A-Game donations the past three years to assist programs for visually impaired pediatric patients and the hospital’s Children’s Burn Camp. At Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Officials For Kids donations will go towards Camp REACH, which fights childhood obesity.
East Lansing and Lansing Everett softball players gather with umpires Troy Stowell (L) and Brad Jarson (R) prior to one of the Officials For Kids "Give a Game" contests in 2011.