GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It might not be the biggest. It might not even be the prettiest. But there is no family tree quite like the one on Windsor Terrace, in Heritage Hill.
Here, neighbors are creating their own family — while saving a tree.
“Whether it's sunny outside or snow on the ground, the tree still grows and survives," Mel Kotlyar, one neighbor said.
Mel and his wife, Kate Vansprange, moved into the neighborhood two months ago. They never expected the holiday tradition that would come their way by December.
It all started with Wendy Smith.
“It's just really selfless giving community spirit kind of kind of place," she said.
It's her yard that the tree is rooted in.
"If you saw Hope, at the beginning of the spring, it wasn't pretty," she said, gesturing to the tree. “We just trimmed it up, and she survived. She's a survivor."
Wendy first shared her idea for Hope with the medical students who rent her spare rooms.
“We call her our house mom," said Sydney Wynne.
“She had this big box of ornaments, like a million of them, and a big pack of Sharpies. And we were like 'what is this for? Like Wendy, are you okay?'” laughed Kamryn Fields.
Wendy packaged up an ornament and Sharpie for every neighbor on the block. In an attached letter, she said she wanted everyone to write their hopes for the new year on the ornament and place it on the 'Tree of Hope' in her front yard.
“I wanted to do something that was positive and hopeful, something that was inspirational," smiled Wendy.
You could never tell by that smile, but the woman who gives to all once lost everything.
“My son passed away seven years ago," said Wendy, through tears. “Losing Cody was the worst thing that's ever happened."
Wendy, from her empty house, could’ve deemed the holidays a season of darkness. Instead, she lit up the neighborhood.
“The hope tree just felt like the right thing to do," said Wendy.
Her son donated all his organs to others after his death. Wendy now spends her time advocating for organ donors with Donate Life.
“He donated 117, gifts, organs, tissues, ligaments, bone fragments,” she said tearfully.
Wendy, who set her sights on giving, ended up receiving exactly what she needed.
“You're creating a better home feeling when you're connecting with the other people," she said, gesturing to the neighbors gathered in front of her.
Wendy believes that the half-dead tree was brought to life by their hope after all.
If you'd like to participate in the Tree of Hope, you're encouraged to write your hopes for 2024 on an ornament and place it on their tree on Windsor Terrace in Grand Rapids.
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