Calhoun County, Michigan Community Partners Rally Around Local Families with Vaccine Clinics

Albion College, Albion Health Care Alliance, Battle Creek Family YMCA, Calhoun County Public Health Department and Marshall Public Schools plan vaccine clinics backed with unique incentives.

June 17, 2021

Albion College, the Albion Health Care Alliance, the Battle Creek Family YMCA, the Calhoun County Public Health Department and Marshall Public Schools announced today a partnership to organize three public vaccine clinics. High school and middle school students who get vaccinated at one of the three clinics will be entered to win free tuition at Albion College for one year. 

“Incentive programs are a widely used lever for increasing vaccine rates and this is one we can offer to engage a key under-vaccinated demographic – our youth,” said Dr. Mathew Johnson, president of Albion College. “Albion is committed to making higher education more accessible and affordable to local communities. That is why we have been working with the greater Albion community to drive vaccine uptake across the board, and now particularly among our youth. This partnership makes that possible.”

Clinic dates and locations are as follows: June 26 at Albion College at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (with a clinic for the second dose on July 17), June 28 at the Battle Creek Family YMCA from 3 to 6 p.m. (with a clinic for the second dose on July 19) and June 29 at Marshall High School from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (with a clinic for the second dose on July 20).

“We need to get as many children and their parents vaccinated as soon as possible,” said Eric Pessell, health officer for Calhoun County Public Health Department. “With this tremendous opportunity from Albion College, the Albion Health Care Alliance, the Battle Creek Family YMCA and Marshall Public Schools, we can avoid a surge in COVID-19 cases this fall.”

The clinics are open to anybody who is eligible to receive the vaccine. Every fully vaccinated student who is not already enrolled at Albion College will have their name entered into a drawing for one year’s worth of tuition. Other prizes include a semester of free tuition, a one-year family membership to the Battle Creek Family YMCA and free books at Albion for one semester. 

Students will need to apply and be admitted to Albion College in their senior year of high school, along with filing a FAFSA, and have the results sent to Albion College. Albion College aid will be added to equal full tuition after any Federal and State aid the student receives. If a grandparent, parent, or other guardian of an eligible child wins the raffle, they will be permitted to share it with one person in place of themselves. The award is redeemable for up to five years from the date of first vaccination.

This initiative is part of an ongoing partnership between Albion College and the Battle Creek Family YMCA, whose board recently voted to explore a potential new YMCA branch in Albion. ⁣

“As a wellness leader in Calhoun County, the Y is committed to the overall health of area residents,” said Jill Hinde, CEO of the Battle Creek Family YMCA. “Over the past year, we have been working with the Calhoun County Public Health Department and also Albion College to run vaccine clinics and with Albion College to bring wellness initiatives to county residents. We are proud to continue that work.”

The announcement comes on the heels of Albion College being the first higher education institution in Michigan to require all students, faculty, and staff to present proof of vaccination prior to returning to campus in the fall. The new vaccine clinics and incentives are another step in prioritizing the health and safety of every member of Albion’s campus and the broader community. Albion has also joined the COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge, a nationwide initiative led by the White House and the U.S. Department of Education to increase vaccination rates in colleges and universities.

For more information on the upcoming vaccine clinics, visit calhouncountymi.gov/covidvaccine.

Update: Due to severe weather warnings for the dates of the initial clinics, all vaccine clinics have been rescheduled. New clinic dates and locations are as follows: Tuesday, September 7 at the Battle Creek Family YMCA from 3 to 6 p.m. (with a clinic for the second dose on September 28), Wednesday, September 8 at Marshall High School from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (with a clinic for the second dose on September 29) and Saturday, September 11 at Albion College from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (with a clinic for the second dose on October 2).