Students had a blast…and we all got soaked 😁🌷
Curious? There's more!
Lakewood United Rotaractor and Advisor of West Ottawa Interact Club Charles Elwood sent this story about an educational and super-fun float in the Tulip Time parade in Holland, MI. Here is his account:The West Ottawa Interact Club made waves with their water safety project at the Tulip Time parade in Holland, MI. Charles Elwood, Lakewood United Rotaractor and Advisor of the West Ottawa Interact Club, shared the story:
The Plan
With Anne Uzelac, the club's VP, leading the charge, the members enthusiastically decided to participate in the Tulip Time Kinderparade. The float design, proposed by John Gronberg, featured pool noodles as tulip stems and life jackets as petals. Anne secured a boat, trailer, and driver donation from Freedom Boat Club, and the club was soon approved for the parade.
Community Support
The Holland State Park/DNR provided 24 life jackets to decorate the float, and Charles reached out to companies like Meijer, ITC Inc, and Freedom Boat Club for additional supplies. Thanks to Meijer North Holland's $500 donation, they acquired 42 more life jackets.
Three Lakewood Elementary students who had completed a water safety project, Two Black River students and five of the six LLC-bound students, joined the float. Unfortunately, Kona, President of the West Ottawa Interact Club, was unable to attend due to an AP exam.
Gratitude to Sponsors
Special thanks to the following sponsors:
The PlanWith Anne Uzelac, the club's VP, leading the charge, the members enthusiastically decided to participate in the Tulip Time Kinderparade. The float design, proposed by John Gronberg, featured pool noodles as tulip stems and life jackets as petals. Anne secured a boat, trailer, and driver donation from Freedom Boat Club, and the club was soon approved for the parade.
Community Support
The Holland State Park/DNR provided 24 life jackets to decorate the float, and Charles reached out to companies like Meijer, ITC Inc, and Freedom Boat Club for additional supplies. Thanks to Meijer North Holland's $500 donation, they acquired 42 more life jackets.
Three Lakewood Elementary students who had completed a water safety project, Two Black River students and five of the six LLC-bound students, joined the float. Unfortunately, Kona, President of the West Ottawa Interact Club, was unable to attend due to an AP exam.
Gratitude to SponsorsSpecial thanks to the following sponsors:
- Rotary District 6290: Funded the Interact Club banners
- Holland After Hours Club: Funded the sponsor banner
- Meijer and Boat Safe Great: Paid for adult life jackets
- ITC Inc.: Funded youth life jackets
Freedom Boat Club: Donated drivers and the pontoon boat, with their Michiana club operations and general manager leading the way
A heartfelt thanks also goes out to Howard for letting his kids join the float.
The parade was a success, and the life jackets used for the tulip decorations will be donated to two local beach parks. There are 42 adult life jackets, and the Interact students have raised $1.2k to buy additional youth-sized life jackets for the parks.
More Interact Projects
The Interact students have submitted a grant application to the Holland Zeeland Community Foundation for $60,000 to support three key projects:
The parade was a success, and the life jackets used for the tulip decorations will be donated to two local beach parks. There are 42 adult life jackets, and the Interact students have raised $1.2k to buy additional youth-sized life jackets for the parks.
More Interact Projects
The Interact students have submitted a grant application to the Holland Zeeland Community Foundation for $60,000 to support three key projects:
- Developing and using new technology like drones, RC flotation, or infrared cameras to detect and help drowning victims.
- Introducing water safety education in local schools: West Ottawa, Holland Schools, and Black River.
- Supporting the beach ambassador program to educate youth and families about dangerous structural currents at the pier structure.
"I am beyond proud of this group of students for everything they have achieved, and I look forward to the future and the stories they will write," said Charles.
Special thanks go out to Charles Elwood for writing this article and his close friend GPT-4o for helping edit.