WHITEHALL — No matter who you are, everyone needs toilet paper. When iMove, in partnership with Orthopaedic Associates of Muskegon, was in search of a community service project and reached out to Lebanon Lutheran Church pastor Doug Ogden (who also helps to oversee the White Lake Food Pantry at the church) for ideas, that suggestion was welcomed.
This was the third year of the toilet paper drive, but this year produced results beyond iMove's wildest dreams. After 2023's drive yielded 502 rolls and the 2024 drive brought less than that, 2025 exploded, resulting in 1,167 rolls donated. A small group of volunteers, including iMove's Viking Athletic Center clinic director Gina Houtteman, came to the pantry Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 31, to drop off the donations.
"Toilet paper is one thing that everybody needs, even homeless people, and it's a lot lighter than any canned good or peanut butter," Houtteman said. "This year, I decided we're going to go for the gold...We put it out on Facebook. We put flyers in the VAC, and then (it was) just word of mouth to our patients and neighbors and the community. These are all from community members, our patients and non-patients, people that came in just to donate."
Since the donations came to the pantry, they'll all go to people in the community, a point of pride for Houtteman and everyone else who was involved.
"We really wanted to make a big difference this year," Houtteman said. "It comes from the community, and it goes to the community, and that's really what we were looking for. It's just a wonderful opportunity that we have at OAM and iMove to work together and help out our community."
