Gold Coast Doulas, West Michigan's first doula agency offering birth doula support, overnight and daytime postpartum doula support, lactation consultations, childbirth classes, and more, recently earned its B Corporation certification.
The announcement, which came from Made for Michigan, makes Gold Coast the only B Corp doula business in the world, the 19th B Corp in West Michigan and the 24th in the state.
"As a locally owned business, we felt it was important to communicate our values of service and sustainability to our clients," said Kristin Revere, co-owner of Gold Coast Doulas, a business that has always had a philanthropy focus. "We were founded on caring for our community, so it just made sense to become a B Corp. Clients are choosing us knowing we give back to the community and are focused on conservation, and our clients share similar values."
Certified B Corporations are for-profit companies certified by B Lab, which rates companies based on their ability to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Gold Coast joins several other B Corp-certified West Michigan businesses, among them Brewery Vivant, Cascade Engineering, Atomic Object, The Gluten Free Bar, Highland Group and The Image Shoppe.
"Gold Coast Doulas is passionate about meeting the individualized needs of each client we serve," said Revere of the business, which acts as a one-stop shop, from conception through the first year. "We became passionate about this work after becoming mothers ourselves and realizing what few prenatal and postpartum resources there were in West Michigan at the time."
Gold Coast, which serves Greater Grand Rapids and the lakeshore communities, makes a positive impact in many ways, including giving time and money generously to charities serving low-income women and children, going paperless with contracts in 2017, and reducing their environmental footprint by moving into the Kingsley Building—a Silver LEAD-certified building. Bazzani Building Company, one of the first Michigan B Corps, restored the Kingsley Building.
"We are thrilled to be a part of the growing B Corp movement and continue to find ways to make a positive impact in West Michigan," said Revere, adding that becoming B Corp certified has played a big part in the growth of Gold Coast Doulas. The business has expanded the team from four subcontracted doulas to 17, plus two board-certified lactation consultants.
The team, Revere notes, reflects Gold Coast Doula's values of supporting women and families without judgment.
"Gold Coast Doulas has always taken an innovative approach to use business as a force for good, which is why we're so excited that they are now a part of the B Corp Community," said Alice Jasper, Good For Michigan Program Manager, "It has been an honor to work with them through the certification process. We hope other businesses will be as inspired by their dedication as we are."
Learn more at Gold Coast Doulas.
Written by Sarah Suydam, Staff Writer for West Michigan Woman.
Photo courtesy of The People Picture Company.
