Griffin Cares | Red Project

This month, the Griffin Cares Community Partnership Team made up of Cherry Health AmeriCorps members volunteered with the Red Project, an organization which is working to reduce the spread of HIV and stop overdose deaths in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Twelve Cherry Health AmeriCorps members volunteered at with the Red Project. AmeriCorps members helped Red Project package condoms and overdose kits to be distributed throughout the city. Red Project’s goal is to stop the spread of HIV and help prevent overdose deaths. They do this by distributing condoms, clean syringes, and overdose kits throughout the Grand Rapids community. Red Project has distributed nearly 13,000 condoms and 90,000 clean syringes. Their overdose kits have saved countless lives, and there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of HIV cases caused by injections.

This organization relies heavily on volunteers and donations to provide their services, and these simple actions help to reduce some of the heavy burden on the organizations staff. This allows the staff to focus on other tasks. Cherry Health AmeriCorps members serving with the Griffin Cares Community Partnership Program were able to help lessen the substantial workload of this fantastic organization that provides vital services to the residents of West Michigan.