fundraiser

Golf Outing Raises $48,862 for Karmanos Cancer Institute

The Tee It Up To Beat Cancer fundraiser raised a record-high $48,862 for the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Port Huron Hospital.

The annual golf outing is in its 8th year, and has raised more than $220,000 since it’s inception, and those donations have supported cancer patients in the community by providing  state-of-the-art equipment, private bays for chemotherapy, and heated massage chairs at the hospital.

Dana Fabbri started the fundraiser in 2014, and proceeds originally went to the American Cancer Society. In 2016, she connected with the McLaren Port Huron Foundation and saw the positive impact she could have in her own community.

“It was really neat to realize that we could take the money and purchase something tangible that would help cancer patients in general, but really have an impact in our community,” she said. “It still gives me goosebumps to think about that moment when I realized that we didn’t have to just hope that the money would be used in the way we intended. We could give the money to someone and know that they’d use it for cancer patients’ needs.”

This year’s donation will help purchase an updated Vision RT computer and software for the hospital which will help improve treatment outcomes for patients undergoing radiation.

To learn more, visit

https://www.facebook.com/TeeItUpToBeatCancer

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

 

“The Big Give” Brings in over $600K for Non-Profits

Seventy-one non-profits got a funding boost during “The Big Give” on June 9th, with Mid-City Nutrition, the local soup kitchen which is in the process of building a new headquarters, raising the most money: over $153,000. A matching grant from the Marshall E. Campbell Company helped bring Mid-City to the top of the Leaderboard.

The organization with the most donors was Spero Pregnancy Center, which had 181 donors and came in second in total donations with over $43,000.

Jackie Hanton, Vice President of the Community Foundation, said, “The community stepped up big and collectively raised over $600,000 from nearly 1,700 donors.”

Some of the non-profits gathered in front of the Community Foundation building. Hanton said, “It was wonderful to see donors stopping by to chat with their favorite nonprofit and others walking around to learn more about organizations they didn’t know about.”

Hanton remarked, “Our community continues to be one of the most amazing and generous places to live. The Big Give brought us back together in person and online and giving was abundant!”

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Golf Outing Supports Women Facing Breast Cancer

Port Huron, MI — Summer is just around the corner, and Lake Huron Medical Center is getting ready for its annual Pink Ribbon Golf Outing on Friday, June 25th. The event supports the Pink Ribbon Fund which provides advanced breast cancer screening and treatment for vulnerable women in the community.

The Pink Ribbon Golf Outing is an inclusive event for men and women with all levels of golf skills to gather in support of those facing a breast cancer diagnosis. The outing offers a nine-hole flight at 7:30 AM or an 18-hole flight at 11:30 AM, and golfers can register as individuals or as a team. Boxed meals are provided with each registration.

The deadline to register for the event is June 18th, and sponsorships are available for individuals or businesses who want to provide even more support to the Pink Ribbon Fund.

Register online <HERE>.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

 

OT Operation Transformation

Operation Transformation Gears Up for Continued Outreach with March 18th Open House

Port Huron, MI — Operation Transformation has worked hard during the pandemic to continue its support of local community outreach endeavors. They are planning a one-day fundraising Open House on March 18th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at their headquarters at 1904 Poplar Street in Port Huron, to give OT a needed boost in donations.

Brenda Seppo, Executive Assistant at OT said, “Finances are always lower in winter and with lack of in-person opportunities for people to give, we are hoping to catch up on the budget needs.”

The non-profit has a huge list of projects that they worked on in 2020 from jail outreach to collecting over 900 cell phones to buy prepaid phone cards for military personnel. Traditions like the Community Good Friday Service and Family Night during Boat Week are the work of OT.

Seppo said that OT has relied heavily on online meetings and community services to maintain their outreach, and has actually been able to reach more people than pre-Covid. They have focused on encouragement and hope to help people navigate the changes due to the pandemic.

New projects for 2021 include a Mentoring Program for those released from prison and jail and a new initiative to recruit more foster care parents and respite workers.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Port Huron School Raises Nearly $2200 for Hunter Hospitality House

St. Mary/McCormick Catholic Academy in Port Huron has raised nearly $2200 for Hunter Hospitality House with their annual Penny Wars. That’s a lot of pennies. The friendly competition between grades was an outreach activity during the annual Catholic Schools Week celebration. 

Students in preschool through eighth grade brought in both paper money and coins and could either build up their own class’ collection jars or put coins in other class’ jars to subtract from their class totals. 

St. Mary/McCormick Principal Mike Gibson said, “The participation this year was incredible.  The previous high for our Penny War competition was $671.00.  This year we raised $2,183.12, which is more than the previous three years combined!  It is just more proof that our school/parish community is absolutely amazing.”

Hunter Hospitality House provides lodging near both Port Huron hospitals. Executive Director Tracy Willard said, “I am grateful beyond words for this very generous, amazing gift. It’s just incredible, and will be used right away in providing our free services at HHH.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Women’s Initiative Hits $1 Million Mark

The Community Foundation of St. Clair County’s Women’s Initiative Endowment Fund has recently hit a major milestone. They now have a fund balance of over $1 million. 

The fund has over 300 contributing members who have grown the fund ten-fold over the last 19 years. The fund focuses on removing educational barriers for students. The Women’s Initiative partners with the St. Clair County RESA Great Start Collaborative to make sure every child can get a quality preschool education, no matter their family’s income level. The impact of a quality year of preschool can set the stage for successful school years and a life of learning. 

The Women’s Initiative hosts a yearly event, “100 Women Who Care”, which went virtual last fall. It will be held this fall, either virtual or in-person, depending on the ability to gather in large groups. The last live event had around 300 women in attendance. Small group socials are also on the agenda, once they are able to be held. 

The mission of the Initiative remains focused on large impact tuition assistance grants, according to Jackie Hanton, Vice President of the Community Foundation. Grant applications can be found on the Community Foundation website. 

https://www.stclairfoundation.org/grants/

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland