Our Why Our Approach
West Michigan is home to a growing
community of immigrants and
refugees, each carrying stories of
resilience, hope, and the desire to
build a future. Yet, the journey to
belonging can be complex. Navigating
unfamiliar systems, overcoming
language barriers, and finding
economic opportunities can feel
overwhelming—especially for women
and teen girls, who often face these
challenges most acutely.
At Treetops Collective, we see these
challenges as opportunities for
transformation and empowerment.
We believe that every newcomer
deserves not just to survive but to
thrive. That’s why we invest in the
leadership of immigrant women and
teens, equipping them to serve as
cultural connectors within their
language communities. By building
relationships, sharing knowledge, and
fostering empowerment, these
leaders bridge the gap between
arrival and true belonging, and our
entire community grows stronger
together.
Treetops Collective works cross-
culturally and through trusted
community leaders to transform
West Michigan into a place where
anyone who has experienced the pain
of displacement can flourish.
Our programs center the expertise
and voices of immigrant and refugee
leaders, investing in them to offer
innovative language-based resource
navigation and empowerment
programs in partnership with long-
term residents of our community.
“I learned what my partner and her
family and friends experience in West
Michigan, how challenging navigating
the city and cultural/language barriers,
finding work, etc. can be for them. I
knew most of this already, but I saw it
with them first-hand. I also became
more comfortable with navigating
language barriers and finding common
ground beyond language (food, music,
and more) to connect over.”
— Cross-Cultural Partner
Dear friends, neighbors, and partners,
Transformation happens through relationships. This truth has always been our guide at
Treetops, but 2024 allowed it to be embodied in even deeper ways. Through the
completion of our building renovation, we saw our work continue to shape those in our
community by providing more reasons to gather and connect. Our core programs
remained adaptive, and the influence of our culturally-focused and language-centered
approach began to trickle outside the borders of West Michigan and influence other
corners of our state.
The growth at Treetops this year occurred in part because of exceptional people shaping
and bringing to life programs of depth in relationship with others. However, it is also
because we believe deeply in the inner cultivation of each member of our collective - that
as we heal and grow individually, we heal and grow collectively. We truly are becoming
more whole together.
To the world watching from outside, this growth might look like an up and to the right
trajectory, but we know that all good things come with complexity. Progress comes from
wrestling with both the pain and joy of our stories, cultivating beauty in this world from
hardship.
As we reflect on the year behind us and the gratitude we feel for this treasured
community where we have found belonging, we eagerly anticipate all of those who are
yet to join it. Each new participant in Circles of Support who will receive care in her first
language. Each Concentric Leader who will choose to invest in herself so she can
influence her beloved community. Each high school girl in Concentric Club who will learn to
imagine her future with hope. Each woman who will receive her driver’s license and feel a
freedom she has longed for. Each volunteer who will show up to walk alongside neighbors
as a dedicated friend. Each donor who will defy the rhetoric around refugees and
immigrants by investing in a future that is vibrant because it celebrates cross-cultural
connection and denies the simplicity of single stories by way of truly being known.
This is Treetops Collective and I’m so glad you are here doing this work alongside us! We
remain committed to our refugee and immigrant neighbors’ wholeness and flourishing
and will stay steadfast in our commitment to walk in tandem with them. We must show
up in this moment together with deep hope AND a deep commitment through word and
deed to honor the light within every neighbor, including that which lies inside you. We will
not be overcome if we walk toward the future together.
With joy,
