The Idea… Upon a 2004 Christmas visit to Grand Rapids, Michigan, from Naples, Florida, Bill and Sara Peterson recognized a void in Sara’s home area of Grand Rapids. They noticed that a local natural health and green living magazine, serving the members of the community seeking and providing holistic options, did not exist.  Valerie Johnston (Sara’s Mom), a lifetime West Michigan resident, agreed with their observation. Thus, the idea to bring Natural Awakenings and themselves “home” began.

Becoming… The move to Michigan for Bill and Sara would have to wait a year as Bill had already committed to designing and briefly over seeing operations for a collective project to bring Naples its first sustainably constructed and completely organic market and café. With this successful endeavor complete Bill, Sara (5 months pregnant) and their son Caleb (22 months) relocated to Spring Lake Michigan on the first day of spring 2006. 

A Realization… With the extraordinary July 2006 premier of Natural Awakenings West Michigan Edition and the blissful homebirth of their second son Lliam weeks later, the realization of manifesting a business consistent with their values and raising their family "back home" came to be.  

In Their Own Words... “Coming home and cultivating this idea is incredibly exciting. The rapid growth of our magazine and the meaningful connection that we have to this area continues to inspire us. West Michigan is fortunate to have so many holistic and sustainably minded pioneers and we are fortunate to work together with them to collectively educate and uplift this community," say the Petersons. "Our mission, our family's health and the health of this community would not be possible without them." 

About Natural Awakenings

Bill, Sara and Valerie are honored to offer Natural Awakenings to the West Michigan community. Though relatively new to West Michigan (since July 2006), this free monthly magazine has been in existence since 1994. First published in Naples, Florida, the magazine garnered much interest and began to expand to other communities in the state of Florida, and then beyond. Others, like the Petersons, were drawn to the opportunity to make a difference in their own community.

Now, we are a rapidly growing family of locally owned magazines reaching over two million readers each month. The Petersons conclude “We are independent interconnected individuals who seek to serve both our neighbors in local communities and the greater welfare of our planet."

About Our Edition

In each issue, readers find cutting-edge information on natural health, nutrition, fitness, personal growth, green living, creative expression and the products and services that support a healthy lifestyle. We feature articles by national authors as well as from local leaders in these fields. Our local News Briefs, monthly calendar, Natural Directory, and Community Classifieds keep our readers abreast of what is happening and available locally each month.

Our Sustainable Publishing Principles 

Natural Awakenings West Michigan is committed to social responsibility and sustainability in all of our business practices. Our core values include a triple bottom line of people, planet and profits. We print on 100% recycled newsprint with soy and vegetable based inks and request 100% post consumer fiber (PCF) from our local printer. We are committed to utilizing environmentally friendly products and services. We are locally owned and operated with 93% of our gross revenue remaining in the West Michigan community.

We REDUCE the amount of paper, electricity, packaging and other items that we consume.

We REUSE everything we can. 

We RECYCLE all extra issues (not many, as we regularly audit our circulation), all office paper and products.

About NaturalWestMichigan.com

NaturalWestMichigan.com offers West Michigan residents easy access to information and local product and service providers that support a healthy lifestyle. Too, our regional, national and global network of like-minded friends appreciate the insightful articles and holistic resources available in our neck of the woods.

We keep the community connected. Residents who travel or do not have immediate access to a print copy of Natural Awakenings West Michigan have access to the monthly features, local news, community classifieds and monthly events 24/7. 

Conveniently Click & Connect

• Read this month's Web-Exclusive Article, Web-Exclusive Health Briefs and Web-Exclusive Global Briefs for more useful information on natural health and green living not found in this month's Natural Awakenings.
• Find 100's of additional articles on our resources page.
• We regularly update our Web-News in order to keep you informed on late breaking news pertaining to holistic living.
• Find West Michigan's most comprehensive Natural Directory solely representing the best in natural health, green living and inner growth resources online now.
• Curious about the ads? Learn more about the ads that you see on the side-bars by clicking them.

Plus there's much more. So click-on and enjoy yourself. WWWe appreciate your visit!

Web-Party Tip

If you like what you see, share it with a friend or family member. Each page (except the homepage) has a handy envelope icon in the green title bar. Clicking this icon will allow you to e-mail a page-link to your friend or family member.

Natural Awakenings...of the community...for the community...inspiring, educating and uniting West Michigan towards a healthier more sustainable life!

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