Meet Griffin Wright.

He's the first student of our new Corewell Health's Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Pointe LAUNCH program, which enables young adults with disabilities to gain training and career exploration while volunteering in various areas of the hospital.

The program was started by Betsy Schulte, director of volunteers at Grosse Pointe and Troy, and Clay Vandenbussche, volunteer coordinator and mentor. LAUNCH stands for Learning, Advocate, Understanding, Nurture, Coaching and Hope.

Griffin was paired with Clay, and the two of them clicked.

"It was pure magic," Griffin's mom Regan Wright said.

Griffin and Clay started going around the hospital with the care cart, sharing a little jingle about how they care about the employees. These care cart trips started Griffin's first exposure to different departments and all the people who make the hospital run. He volunteers in various departments throughout the week.

“Griffin is extremely happy with Project LAUNCH,” Regan said. “As a parent of a child with special needs, the worry factor for a child's future is exorbitantly stressful and scary. I can honestly say for the first time in 19 years that my stress meter has lowered significantly because of Griffin's experience at Corewell Health."

"I cannot say enough superlatives about Clay Vandenbussche and his positive energy and patient guidance. There are not enough gold stars to capture his value. Both my husband and I are beyond grateful for this dynamic duo and the warm welcome each department has extended to Griffin," she added.

Brad Lukas, chief nursing officer at Corewell Health's Beaumont Hospital, Troy, posted Griffin's story on LinkedIn and said one of his goals was to get this program going. Project Search had such a huge impact on Troy's culture and LAUNCH was modeled after it.

“Griffin is such a ray of sunshine!” Brad said. “I'm excited to watch this program grow and the opportunities it will create for so many.”

This story was originally posted on Facebook. To see a letter from Regan about LAUNCH,  check out this message from Dr. Darryl Elmouchi.

Do you know an amazing physician, nurse or other team member? Send your story ideas to senior communications specialist Bryce Airgood at bryce.airgood@corewellhealth.org.