New Partners in Service
We are delighted to announce that we have four new Board members, as well as four new staff members at All Belong. We are excited to see how God will use them to help further our mission of creating inclusive communities for persons of all abilities.
We invite you get to know the new Board and staff below:
Tom Bratt, Grants Manager at RDV Corporation says:
Kyle Heys, Associate Director of Academic Services at Calvin College, states:
Nancy Kwasteniet, retired Director of the Office of Learning Services and Professor of Special Education at Trinity Christian College says:
Vivian Minnema, parent and advocate, states:
Sarah Aitken recently joined our staff as an evaluation services coordinator. Sarah states:
Ashtyn Grevenstuk is our new marketing and communications intern. She shares:
Sue Kuyvenhoven joined our staff as the new advancement coordinator. Sue says:
Betsy Winkle joined our team of School Psychologists this fall. Betsy says:
We are thrilled to partner with these individuals to serve schools, churches, and families in West Michigan and beyond. Please join us in welcoming them!
Ashtyn Grevenstuk is the marketing and communications intern at All Belong. She is a student at Grand Valley State University.
We invite you get to know the new Board and staff below:
New Board Members:
Tom Bratt, Grants Manager at RDV Corporation says:“I’m passionate about All Belong because all children need to have access to Christian education. My passion for inclusive Christian education actually started 14 years ago when my daughter Abby was born four months early. I didn’t know that it was my passion at the time, but the seed had been planted. Abby is now a fun-loving inquisitive 8th grader — something that would not have been possible without the loving care and commitment of All Belong staff and the All Belong trained educators in our local Christian school.”
Kyle Heys, Associate Director of Academic Services at Calvin College, states:“Our schools and churches are richer places when individuals of varying abilities can all learn, worship, and serve together. We all more fully grow and reflect God’s kingdom in inclusive communities. All Belong helped me catch this vision as a student and helped my school and church communities more fully include my brother. And, All Belong’s mission remains vital; I am excited to join the board to support and expand this important work.”
Nancy Kwasteniet, retired Director of the Office of Learning Services and Professor of Special Education at Trinity Christian College says:“I’m so pleased to be joining the good work of All Belong. Helping to enable all of God’s created image bearers to fully realize and maximize their capabilities has been at the heart of my professional life. I look forward to working alongside All Belong’s multi-talented staff and Board in their efforts to strengthen communities through the full participation of each of their members.”
Vivian Minnema, parent and advocate, states:“When I first joined the Board many years ago, I thought it was to ensure my daughter Anneke’s needs would be met in school. Today, I signed on for another stint as a Board member because I’m passionate about the sustainability of inclusive education for all students. I have realized that inclusion is as much, if not more, about the students who do not have disabilities as it is about the person being included.”
New Staff:
Sarah Aitken recently joined our staff as an evaluation services coordinator. Sarah states:“Like All Belong’s mission statement, promoting the development of others has been an ongoing and integral part of my life’s journey. Working and living out All Belong’s mission resonates with my core beliefs that we are all interdependent. Serving as the evaluation services coordinator is much more than numbers and reports, it is serving and caring about the students and families All Belong supports. A scripture that speaks into my new role is 2 Corinthians 9:12, 'This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”
Ashtyn Grevenstuk is our new marketing and communications intern. She shares:“God created each and every one of us in a unique way, with many different abilities and disabilities. Seeing all different people come together and use their talents/abilities is what makes inclusion so real and exciting to me. I look forward to working with All Belong and seeing inclusive communities come to life.”
Sue Kuyvenhoven joined our staff as the new advancement coordinator. Sue says:"All Belong helps people value the abilities of every individual and see each person as a treasured covenant child of God. Because I have a daughter with autism spectrum disorder, this mission resonates with me at a personal level. I've learned so much from her...about beauty, patience, gentleness, trust and being present in the moment. These are qualities that I experience more deeply because of her. With help, she can infuse her circles (school, church, extended family) with those gifts. I've seen so much transformation just through her experiences. Can you imagine what the world could look like if it was open to the contributions of all types of learners?
I am looking forward to working with passionate volunteers to raise goodwill, awareness, and more income through the Auction and Golf Outing. I also look forward to hearing (and telling) the stories of schools, churches and families who partner with All Belong to enrich their communities."
Betsy Winkle joined our team of School Psychologists this fall. Betsy says:“Our understanding of God’s kingdom is not complete without the inclusion of every person. Joining All Belong continues God’s leading in my life to do the work of reconciliation and inclusion across diverse cultures, economic backgrounds, and abilities. I am looking forward to talking with parents and teachers with the collective lens that each child is first a child of God. I love the problem-solving approach to my work, and I am humbled each time I am invited into the process of better understanding a child to improve his or her educational experience.”
We are thrilled to partner with these individuals to serve schools, churches, and families in West Michigan and beyond. Please join us in welcoming them!
Passionate about inclusive education? Make a contribution to All Belong to help us create inclusive communities for persons of all abilities.
Ashtyn Grevenstuk is the marketing and communications intern at All Belong. She is a student at Grand Valley State University.