GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids has a haunting history, and you can learn all about it while supporting a good cause Friday night.
Ghost tours are most popular around Halloween, but they're hosted year-round.
Now, they're using Friday night's tour to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of West Michigan.
Tours Around Michigan owner Candice Smith and cancer survivor Molly VanderRoest have known one another for a few years now and decided to team up.
VanderRoest was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2017 at just 22 years old.
After 12 rounds of chemo, she's almost to her fifth year of remission.
And as a Visionary of the Year candidate with the society, she's going up against others to raise the most money for blood cancer research.
She's a big fan of the Grand Rapids Ghost Tours, so this is a perfect fit for her campaign.
“It's such an honor to have the opportunity to serve others in my community, especially people who have underwent something similar to me. You know, as a cancer survivor, I'm very familiar with the out-of-pocket costs and difficulties that come along with a cancer diagnosis. So, to have the opportunity to come out and raise the money and get the community involved is really special and exciting,” explained cancer survivor Molly VanderRoest.
Candice Smith, owner of Tours Around Michigan, said, “I'm always trying to inspire people to keep exploring Grand Rapids and Michigan in other ways. And I hope this inspires people not just to explore Grand Rapids more. but also to help raise some money for a great cause.”
There's still room on Friday's tour.
It runs from 7-8:30 p.m., beginning at Lyon Square in downtown Grand Rapids.
Tickets are $30 each and all proceeds will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of West Michigan.
If you can't make it Friday, Tours Around Michigan plans to partner with other community organizations in the future.