At Chippewa County Community Foundation Our goal is to provide opportunities for our community to invest in its future. The permanent endowments that we create today will become a lasting resource for the people of Chippewa County now and for years to come. Here are some ways we have assisted in impacting our community in the year 2014.

Chipley Kiwanis Fund. The Chipley/Kiwanis Elementary Assistance Fund provides students in the Sault Public Schools with needed school supplies, medical treatment, clothing and shoes, etc. Recipients for this assistance are selected by the school faculty/principal on an as needed basis. This year $2,500 was provided to aid the homeless students at Sault High School, and $927.50 was provided for purchasing school supplies for use in the surrounding Sault Area Schools.

Chippewa County Honors our Veterans Fund Chippewa County is like all other counties in one way in particular to all others; we have veterans whose needs are many times unnoticed, and even more times unmet. The Chippewa County Honors our Veterans Fund specifically looks for and meets those needs of our veterans and their families who reside in our County. This past year the fund was able to provide $518.05 to purchase an oven for one veteran, and pay the electric bill for another. A great start to a fund that is just over a year old!

Friends of Sarah Waybrant Fund In 2001, the Chippewa County Community Foundation established the Friends of Sarah Waybrant Fund. The fund was established in memory of Sarah Waybrant by Kristina Beamish and Mr. Pianosi’s fifth grade class from Lincoln School. Sarah was a student at Lincoln school when she died of cancer. The purpose of the endowment funds was to provide financial support to families with children facing medical challenges.

In 2014 the CCCF board provided Kalan Mason’s family with $588 in gas cards (purchased with money from the Friends of Sarah Waybrant endowment fund) to help off-set the transportation cost associated with Kalan’s treatment. Kalan, 6 years old and a kindergartener at Washington School, was diagnosed with kidney cancer on May 10, 2014. His family was given the diagnosis on a Saturday and Kalan received his first round of chemo that Wednesday. Kalan had major surgery to remove the tumor and has been receiving chemo at least once every three weeks since May.

Kalan’s family was told that Kalan would not have much energy during his treatments. However, Kalan proved the medical community wrong and has just as much energy as any normal 6 year old boy. The only side effect was that he lost his hair. Kalan also likes to show-off his scar that goes from one side of his stomach to the other. He says it looks like a smiley face on his tummy. On Monday January 26 Kalan had his last surgery and is now finished with treatments! You can follow Kalan’s progress by liking the Praying for Kalan Facebook page.

Great Lake Environmental Collaborative Fund Offering a diverse range of topics and interest areas, 4-H is the largest youth development organization in Michigan. In fact, each year more than 200,000 young people explore what interests and excites them through Michigan 4-H. From program areas ranging from science and technology to clothing and textiles, and so much more, 4-H provides fun, educational opportunities that become the foundation for a lifetime of success.

This past year the Great Lake Environmental Collaborative Fund, which provides grants for projects to assess, improve, or sustain the environment, helped sponsor the Chippewa/Luce/Mackinac 4-H Summer Camp with $900. Along with the 32 volunteers who helped make the camp a success, 50 local youth had a fantastic summer camp experience!

Healthy Youth Healthy Seniors Fund The Healthy Youth Healthy Seniors Fund (HYHS Fund) was established with an allocation of Michigan’s share of the national tobacco settlement. The fund is used for programs and projects that relate to healthy youth and healthy seniors in our community. There is always ways to assist in this area in our community and we were able to help in funding five different areas this past year.

The 2014 Diversity Celebration was held at the Ramada/Ojibway Hotel in conjunction with Oktoberfest. The purpose of this was to provide an event that focuses on the diverse cultures present right here in the EUP. It was mostly for the benefit of youth, but really for the benefit of the entire community and everyone who comes to participate. There is so much talk these days about preventing bullying and one of the most basic ways is to teach young children to respect and celebrate all cultures, choices and abilities. At this event, children and others can learn about the different cultures and experience what it is like to be part of the diverse communities that they live in. They were able to participate in cultural activities, listen to traditional music and take part in craft activities. The $275.60 that was donated by the HYHS fund was used to pay the room rental at the Ramada/Ojibway Hotel so this event could be held indoors with tables available for volunteer participants.

On November 6 of 2014, the Health Department spearheaded the first Substance Abuse Disorder Conference in the EUP in partnership with many local organizations and the two Native American Tribes in our community. The conference was aimed at all professionals in the EUP and beyond who deal with substance abuse and its negative effects on individuals and our community. This conference was in conjunction with an event on the evening prior. The event was called “Addiction: Community Problem, Community Solutions. Let’s Talk”. The goal was to provide age appropriate information to children, teens, parents and all adults about the nature of the drug addiction problem in our community. It included activities to attract the entire family and volunteers will be interacting with children to allow parents, adults, and older teens to speak with professionals about their own situation or how to help in the community. $548 was provided to assist in making this event possible.

Another area the HYHS Fund provided money, $350, for this year was the Global Youth Service Day organized by the United Way of the Eastern Upper Peninsula. The Global Youth Service Day is a coordinated annual event which gathers young people around the world in conducting community service, service learning, and youth voice activities that benefit their communities, their countries, and the world. Activities are organized in more that 100 countries each April to help mark the celebrations, and engage millions, making it the largest annual celebration of young volunteers.

Bay Cliff is a place apart…where children and adults with physical disabilities learn to believe in themselves, strive for fuller lives, and realize their dreams. The HYHS fund was able to provide $1,000 for the Bay Cliff Health Camp. Each summer approximately 180 children go to Bay Cliff for a summer filled of therapy and camping fun. They go with the dreams of walking, talking, playing, and taking care of themselves just like any other child. Helping them in this pursuit is a staff of dedicated camp counselors and therapists, instructors and nurses, and support personnel numbering 130. They provide the children with supervision and love, therapy and classes, activities and meals, and all the services to keep camp in good running order. During the seven week long camp session, progress towards goals of greater independence is incredible.

Finally the HYHS fund was able to participate the War Memorial Hospital (WMH) Fitness Center Senior Enhancement Project by purchasing an adjustable incline/decline bench for $777.40. The purpose of the WMH’s project is to improve the health and wellbeing of those suffering from hypertension and arthritis; the two most common health conditions among their current members ages 55 and over. The project will be lead by trained and educated professionals and provide specialized instruction and equipment to ensure improved health outcomes and a safe environment.

Involvement Opportunity Fund The Involvement Opportunity Fund (IOF), established by a generous, anonymous donor, approves grants for hands-on supplemental materials for classroom use. For instance, the IOF provided funds for First Robotics and calculators for Mrs. Cryderman’s class in Rudyard. The IOF also provides funding for field trips for Pickford and Rudyard Area Schools that relate to studies in the classroom to provide an educational experience which students might not have the opportunity for otherwise. Some of these trips included journeys to Mackinac Island, Cheboygan Opera House, Kinross Heritage House, Drummond Island, and the Salvation Army. In total our anonymous donor has given $6,597.51 to the betterment of our students and teachers!

The KDR Challenge The KDR Challenge was created in memory of Kelsey Dawn Raffaele who was tragically killed in an automobile accident on January 24, 2010. KDR focuses on the youth in Michigan educating them on the dangers of using a cell phone while driving. KDR stands for Kids Driving Responsibly and are Kelsey’s initials. Their mission is to increase awareness among the youth on the dangers of distracted driving, especially using a cell phone while driving. Education, Legislation, Enforcement, and Technology are the building blocks to reducing the number of injuries and fatalities from this preventable act. Speaking to high schools’ students and colleges’ students throughout the state and/or country and on the dangers of distracted driving, injuries and fatalities will be reduced. Encouraging law enforcement to enforce the law and working with car manufacturers, cell phone companies, etc. on new technology will also reduce the number of injuries and fatalities.

In this past year KDR had a 5K Neon Night Run/Walk and all the proceeds, from water to t-shirts to glow in the dark novelties, went to The KDR Challenge and their mission. They also were able to purchase a texting simulator in support of the Celebrate My Drive campaign.

Pickford Community Wellspring Fund The Pickford Community Wellspring fund was established to provide funds for educational, cultural, and recreational programs and activities for the residents of the Pickford Community. Some of the many things they assist with includescholarships for the Pickford area schools, helping maintain and improve upon the Pickford community Library and Cottle Cemetery, keeping the Pickford Fire and Ambulance and the Pickford area Historical Society funded. All together this year the Pickford Community Wellspring issued $4,300 to bettering their close-knit community.

Pink in the Rink Although we haven’t held the Pink in the Rink special project for the past few years, we were able to start it up again this past year. This fundraiser has become a staple in the Sault Sainte Marie community in conjunction with Laker Hockey and LSSU. Pink in the Rink provides the opportunity to educate our community on women’s health issues with a general focus on breast cancer and donates it’s proceeds to the local women’s organizations that are most in need. We used $16,306.27 of our established funds for apparel and supplies to help make this extremely popular event a success!

Paul and Emily Shagen Family Fund The Native American Center is a busy place on the Lake Superior State University campus, during and after normal business hours. Approximately ten percent of the LSSU student population is Native American. Many students use the Center on evenings and weekends as it is set up to meet the needs of the students who use it. In addition, there are several Native American student organizations that use the Center. For instance, it is used for the meetings of the Native American Student Organization (NASO) and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). More recently, the Center is used to hold cultural diversity classes. In 2014 the Paul and Emily Shagen Family fund was able support the center with $633.47 worth in funding. Paul and Emily established the Shagen Family Fund for the specific reason of providing the annual funding for the Native American Center.

Youth Advisory Council (YAC) YAC is a group of students representing Sault High School of Chippewa County. They are empowered to create a positive role model for youth as philanthropists, assess local youth needs, review grant applications and advise the Community Foundation on youth grant awards. YAC was initially created in 1994 with a $1 million dollar challenge grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation through the Michigan Community Foundations Youth Project. The purpose of the Youth Project was to encourage youth development in local communities throughout the state while strengthening community foundation leadership and grant making capacity.

The year 2014 was a remarkable year for the YAC members! To start off the year the group reviewed and decided on granting $4,462.48 to 6 different organizations and projects. They take a full evening and listen to presentations from each of the applicants and then they make the decision on who would be the best choice to approve. They then bring these choices up to the Community Foundation board for approval. They assisted in helping some great projects this year. Click here to take a look!

Next, a few of our YAC members were participants in the yearly Youth Philanthropy and Service Camp. This camp is for YAC members and their adult supervisors. In 2014, the Youth Philanthropy and Service Camp was a dynamic weekend of service projects, teambuilders, breakout sessions and speakers. It was an excellent opportunity to meet and engage with youth grantmakers from around the state of Michigan and learn more about philanthropy! The theme for 2014 was “Purpose. Passion. Philanthropy. #makeitcount”.

In February of this year $7,000 of the YAC’s grantable money went toward having Challenge Day at the Sault Area High School and Middle School. Challenge Day is a non-profit organization that helps people learn to connect through powerful, life-changing programs in their schools and
communities. The day-long, in this case two days for high school and one for middle school, interactive Challenge Day program provides teens and adults with tools to tear down the walls of separation, and inspires participants to live, study and work in an encouraging environment of acceptance, love and respect. Using highly interactive and energetic activities, Challenge Day Leaders guide participants through a carefully designed exploration of the ways people separate from each other, and model tools for creating connection and building community. Challenge Day programs increase self-esteem, help shift dangerous peer pressure to positive peer support, and reduce the acceptability of teasing, oppression, and all forms of violence. Their programs inspire youth and communities to “Be the Change” they wish to see in the world, and challenge others to do the same.