It’s happened to all of us: we become hoarse and “lose our voice.” For me, it’s usually during college football season – funny thing is, it happens to me whether my Wolverines win or lose; I still manage to find a reason to yell (too much) while watching them play!

One thing is for sure: volunteers at Heart to Heart Hospice have big hearts.

FLINT, MI – Mott Community College (MCC) Dental Hygiene Clinic has partnered with the Valley Area Agency for the Aging (VAAA) to provide free dental cleanings and check-ups for area senior citizens as part of the 226 DDF Brighter Futures Community Grant through the Delta Dental Foundation.

In addition to having her own dental practice, Flint native Dr. Traci Dantzler is the president of the Genesee District Dental Society and a Michigan Dental Association spokesperson for the Flint water crisis. Though her career goal growing up was to be a cardiologist, Dr. Dantzler was inspired by her family to be a healer, no matter which practice she chose. Her uncle, also a dentist, inspired her with his love for his work. Dr. Dantzler’s hope and goal is to continue practicing dentistry, while also writing and educating the public about oral and overall health.

On March 9, 2017, kids and parents will gather for a free family dinner where they will have the chance to learn more about healthy eating. The event will run from 4:15pm to 6:30pm at Cummings Elementary School at 2200 Walton Ave. in Flint.

Sara Shreve, owner of Sirona Health & Wellness (formerly The Birth House) in Burton, believes that when it comes to giving birth, women know their own bodies. She shares that philosophy at her business, a holistic birth and wellness center. On staff are a midwife, assistant midwife, doula, childbirth educators, massage therapists, yoga instructors and counselors who work together to make the birth of a child a very positive experience for not only the parents, but extended family members, as well.

Wallace Dupuis has been a blood donor since 1967. And last December, at the Knights of Columbus blood drive he sponsored in Swartz Creek, he reached a milestone for donation: 23 gallons of blood! “I try to give blood five times a year, but it doesn’t always happen,” he says, adding that a donor has to wait 59 days before they can give blood again. He first began donating with his co-workers when he was very young and working at General Motors Service Parts Organization (SPO).

Many people talk about the joy of eating as a family – who doesn’t love that? What about cooking as a family?

Michigan families bundle up and venture outdoors to brave the subzero temperatures and experience Michigan’s Winter Wonderland. Whether you are a skier, snowboarder, hunter, ice fisherman, snowmobiler, ice skater, or just love playing outside in the snow, outside elements combined with the blasting indoor heat can wreak havoc on the whole family’s skin. For every fond memory of a surprise Snow Day spent playing outside in the snow building snowmen, sledding down hills, making snow angels, and having epic snowball fights, there are just as many wind-burned cheeks, chapped lips, cracked hands, and dry, itchy skin. A few simple adjustments to your home environment and daily routines will help to keep everyone’s skin healthy and hydrated all winter long.

While our kids are in their first couple of years, we anxiously await hearing them speak their first words. Many times, there is much interpretation involved, as mere sounds are called words for that landmark moment. As kids progress past that mark, however, we are much less likely to be as forgiving, and begin correcting pronunciation of every new sound that comes out of their mouths. When they get to be two years old, we begin to worry when the speech doesn’t sound like what we expect, or like other kids around them. This is oftentimes when kids show up in my office upon referral from their pediatrician: to check their ears.

Lee was born on a hot, summer day in June 2016. The blue-eyed, blonde-haired boy soon became the apple of his parents’ eyes. With Elijah and his three big brothers, his mother, Melissa Alward, is one busy mom.