CharlieWondergem

Charlie Wondergem represents the Great Lakes Zone on the 2011-2013 Youth Advisory Board. Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, he is currently a junior at the University of Denver studying finance.
Charlie discovered his passion for service as a high school student. He was the Michigan governor for the national student-run Junior Statesmen of America, whose mission is to educate and prepare high school students for life-long involvement and responsible leadership in a democratic society. Through this, he worked to engage students from across the Midwest in JSA’s regional and national activities, and to grow the organization’s presence in the state. He also had the opportunity, while serving as president of the Grand Rapids Rotary Interact, to work with other members in raising roughly $5,000 for Rotary International’s clean water efforts in the developing world. Charlie was chosen as the 2008-2009 Midwest JSA Junior Statesman of the Year for his leadership within the Michigan and Midwest JSA, and received the Congressional Medal of Merit in 2009 for his service and citizenship efforts while in high school.

Charlie currently serves on the board of the Billy Bear Hug Foundation, an organization he co-founded with a friend following the unexpected loss of his brother, William (Billy) Wondergem, in 2010. The organization provides teddy bears to children at the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, and grants wishes to children with life limiting illnesses through a partnership with Hospice of Michigan. The organization has secured several partnerships with area businesses and professional sports teams to allow Billy’s lifelong dream of serving the pediatric community to be realized.

In his free time, Charlie enjoys skiing, hockey, golf, and time with his friends and family.