In this episode, WYCE Station Manager Phil Tower speaks with Mary Jennings, Executive Director with The Grand Rapids Ballet, and James Sofranko, the Artistic Director with the Grand Rapids Ballet.

Mary and James joined us on the program for a preview of the 2025–2026 season.

The season kicks off with the world premiere production of “Sherlock"--October 24-26, 2025, at Peter Martin Wege Theatre. Next up is the timeless holiday classic, “The Nutcracker", December 12-14 & 19-21 at DeVos Performance Hall, and three other dynamic productions throughout the remainder of the Ballet’s 2025-2026 season.

Tickets for all shows, as well as more information, are available at grballet.com

Online: The Grand Rapids Ballet

In this episode, we speak with Patrick Placzkowski, Chief Executive Officer, Boys and Girls Club of Grand Rapids, and Daryl Reece, Community leader, founder of the Piecing Together Unity Foundation, and also a board member with the Boys and Girls Club of Grand Rapids.

Daryl shared his story with us regarding the powerful impact that was made on him as a young man while attending programming at the Boys and Girls Clubs in both Kalamazoo and Benton Harbor.

The mission of the Boys and Girls Club of Grand Rapids is to enable all young people to reach their full potential as responsible citizens through education, recreation, and positive community experiences in partnership with the Grand Rapids Police Department.

The Boys and Girls Club of Grand Rapids offers youth a safe, caring environment and equips them with practical tools to help them prepare for a solid future.

They offer very affordable memberships for only $5 per year!

ONLINE-Boys and Girls Club of Grand Rapids

In this week's episode, WYCE's John Rummery welcomes Pablo Garcia, the Executive Director of SECOM Resource Center.     

The mission at SECOM Resource Center is to give help and hope to their neighbors by empowering families to achieve their full potential through healthy living, education, and economic opportunities.

SECOM began in 1971 as an outreach ministry of four area churches to meet the needs of the surrounding neighborhood, particularly in hunger and food insecurity.

In 1993, SECOM became an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

Today, SECOM is a key resource center that gives help today and builds hope for tomorrow through providing equitable access to resources that promote healthy living, education, and economic opportunities for low-income children and families.

Online SECOM