In Grand Rapids, however, the family has donated $3.3 million to help turn around failing public schools and promote specialized offerings, such as one at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The superintendent has credited DeVos for her support of the district’s rescue plan.
Still, even in public schools, DeVos sometimes looks to churches for salvation. She has long backed a charity called Kids Hope USA, which sends volunteers from churches into public schools. In Grand Rapids, DeVos has been a mentor, served as board chair and is a national adviser to the organization. (Kids Hope USA policy forbids volunteers from conducting church business on school grounds.)
Beer City
DeVos may be a lighting rod nationally, but not here. Her family’s philanthropy has spurred 3,300 new housing units and 90 new bars and restaurants including Hop Cats and Buffalo Wings, according to Grand Action, the group her husband helped found in 1993. In 2013, the new breweries in Grand Rapids won it the title “Beer City USA.”
Thanks in part to money from the family, Grand Valley State University has doubled enrollment, to 25,000, by adding six new specialized branches in downtown Grand Rapids. The community is trying to keep talented students from leaving for work elsewhere, said Tom Haas, the school’s president.
“The family are keenly interested in place,’’ Haas said. “They understand the return on a public-private investment.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.