GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—The Arthritis Walk will return with a new name and new leader when it returns to Grand Rapids next month.

Dr. Thomas A. Malvitz of Ada will serve as medical chair of the 2014 Grand Rapids Walk to Cure Arthritis, formerly known as the Arthritis Walk.  Malvitz is a surgeon with the Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan in Grand Rapids.

The Walk to Cure Arthritis is a three-mile walk aimed at raising awareness and funds to fight arthritis.  Proceeds from the event go to the Arthritis Foundation, which works to help some of the more than 2.3 million Michiganders with arthritis.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—  The classrooms of  Knapp Charter Academy will be awash in blue on Wednesday April 2, as the school marks World Autism Awareness Day.

Knapp Charter Academy will take part in the “Light it up Blue” campaign organized by Autism Speaks.  Each classroom will have one blue light bulb shining throughout the day.  Teachers and students are also being encouraged to wear blue shirts to show their support.  The school’s goal is to support, educate and advocate for students and families who are impacted by autism.

For 133 years, the American Red Cross has taken the lead in organizing an army of volunteers to help communities devastated by disasters.

Without volunteers, the organization wouldn’t function.  That includes the more than 3.5 million people who volunteered to give blood last year, providing  a life-saving resource for patients in about 3,000 U.S. hospitals and transfusion centers. 

 “While the world changes around us, our mission never does,” said Todd Kulman, communications program manager for the American Red Cross Great Lakes Blood Services Region. “We’re all about helping others during times of great need – and we can do that because of the generosity of countless volunteers and donors—including people who roll up their sleeve and give blood.”

If you’d like to join the efforts, the following blood drivers are scheduled: