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2021 review of Chippewa County Community Foundation highlights numerous worthy projects

“We took in $360,317 in new donations” – CCCF Executive Director Debbie Jones 

The Chippewa County Community Foundation (CCCF), along with its many donors and volunteers, worked hard in 2021 to keep the county thriving, giving $135,385 away in scholarships and grants. 

“Prior to the market declining, at year-end, we were just under $7 million in assets,” said CCCF Executive Director Debbie Jones of an approximate 116 scholarship and endowment funds. 

The Bayliss Public Library received $548 out of the Health Youth/Senior Endowment Fund for its purchase of Alzheimer dementia memory kits. The kits were mostly filled with information relating to sports and cooking to trigger memories. 

“They had about five or six themed kits that people caregivers could use to help dementia and Alzheimer patients,” said Jones. 

The Great Lakes Recovery Center received $12,000 in funds for its Building Hope Campaign. The money went to the development of its new impatient rehabilitation center in Sault Ste Marie. The funds were extracted from four different endowments. 

The Soo Splash Pad received the money needed to begin its developments. The Public Spaces Community Places Grant offered through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Michigan Municipal League, and Patronicity Grant matched $50,000 in donations, following the $115,000 raised from the splash pad’s campaign. 

The Youth Enrichment fund threw $18,000 into the capital campaign. Another $848 was received from the Soo Co-op Preschool Endowment Fund, and $244 was received from the Community Easter Egg Hunt Fund. An additional $14,497 came out of the Soo Splash Pad Committee Fund to finance the pad’s water features.

“So often you hear people with young kids say there is not a lot to do,” said Jones. “This will provide families with a free activity to get kids out of the house and around other kids. The Sault struggles to keep doctors, professors and specialists. They come here and their families are like, ‘There's not much to do here.’ Same with professors at the college (LSSU). Trying to keep the talent needed for specialty type work can be hard, so I see it as a way to build our community up.” 

The splash pad will meet requirements set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), so everyone will be able to play in it. 

Bluewater Studio received $7,500 from the Youth Enrichment Fund to put toward the Soo Locks Children’s Museum, and another $9,285 from the Soo Locks Children’s Museum Fund. The museum’s committee was allotted an additional $8,000 from the Youth Enrichment Fund. 

“The Bluewater Studio is the consulting group,” Jones said. 

The Chippewa County Honors Veterans Fund gave $845 to help the widow of a World War II veteran. 

“The vet has since passed but she is alive, living on a very meager income,” said Jones, who provided the funds to pay an entire month’s rent. 

“We have done things like purchase an oven for a vet whose wife and daughter were both battling cancer,” she said. “We funded one veteran who needed medical help with scabies before going into rehab. We have used the money to buy wood for veterans, needing wood for their wood stoves. We have also donated gas cards to veterans.” 

The Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office received $381 in funding to help supplement victim’s services training. According to the Michigan Sheriffs' Association website, officers learn to provide short-term crisis intervention services when communicating with crime victims, individuals suffering loss and those in need of support in the event of a traumatic incident.

The association conducts a 20-hour training session, covering the five stages of grief, effective communication techniques, law enforcement protocols, and the rights of victims in the criminal justice system. 

“The victims service unit is just getting started,” said Jones. “Whatever devastating event has taken place in the community; they could get called out to be there for the victims. The goal is to never use them because we never want tragedies to happen.” 

Shelli Bishop, from A Cut Above the Rest Salon and Spa, came to Jones asking for help aiding families struggling through infertility. Bishop put on her second fashion show in 2021 to raise money for those needing financial assistance to solve infertility issues or adopt a child. 

“This was a new fund we started in 2021,” said Jones. 

The Infertility Awareness Family gave a total of $4,100 to two separate families. One family received $3,600 and the other received $500. 

Beginning in 2020, the foundation started scholarships in memory of community members who had passed away. 

“It's a way that their legacy can live on,” said Jones. “They are not forgotten. Their families have reached out to us. It's a way for their legacy to live on. A tragedy can be turned into something good. When people die, we send flowers, food, etc. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made.” 

Jones remembered Tracey Lawson MacQuarrie, a former LSSU employee who passed on in September of 2020. 

“We started a fund to support her son who was a really good swimmer,” Jones said, as she began listing off the line of memorial scholarship funds that followed.

She then remembered retired teacher Cynthia Panik, whose husband started a scholarship fund in her honor. Panik passed away in February of 2021. 

Brother of Eagle Radio 95.1 FM owner Tim Ellis, Michael, passed away in December of 2020. “They reached out to us, and we started the Mike Ellis Memorial Scholarship,” said Jones. She remembered 20-year-old Katie Robinson Memorial, who was killed by a driver under the influence. 

“Katie’s Robinson’s death hit home to a lot of people in the community because it was such a senseless death,” said Jones, who knew Katie from childhood on. “I was working with her parents to provide a list of donors, because they wanted to write personal thank you notes to those who donated. She was like, ‘I don’t know who this is.’ People were so impacted by the story and tragedy of it that they just wanted to do something.” 

One day a call came in from an individual in Virginia, wanting to create an endowment fund in memory of David Paul Leask, killed in 2017. Leask received his degree from Lake Superior State University and served the city of Sault Ste Marie for approximately 20 years as a police officer. He also served in Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Korea prior to retiring out of the Active Army National Guard. He moved to Virginia post retirement. 

“He was a member of a biker club, and he was killed by a drunk driver,” said Jones of the fund that started in 2019. “His club wanted to start a fund in memory of him. People made donations. The purpose was to help first responders who had experienced any kind of unexpected life event. We were just able to give a $500 check to Nate Kaczmarek, the 23-year-veteran of the police force battling colon cancer. Through that fund, we were able to help Nate with his medical expenses.” 

Jones remembered many more community members who have passed away, while emphasizing that the community foundation was able to give away $93,000 in scholarship money throughout 2021.

Married couple Frank and Emily Smiddy have retired to a secluded location near Cedarville. They created the Frank and Emily Smiddy STEM Scholarship. 

“Because they have a place in our community, they started a $1 million dollar endowment fund to give out a $45,000 scholarship fund to a student entering the STEM field.” 

The foundation handed out $2,500 to Sault Area Middle School to assist in purchasing 3D printers. 

Academics and grade point averages may differ among scholarship recipients. Therefore, recipients may not have straight A's. 

“We have students going into skilled trades,” Jones said of the foundation’s multiple scholarship funds. “We have everything from trucking school to MIT.” 

Overall, it was a successful year for CCCF. 

“In 2021, we took in $360,317 in new donations,” said Jones, expressing gratitude in building connections with community members and organizations to better serve the county. 

To make donations, inquire about volunteering or learn about fundraising opportunities with the Chippewa County Community Foundation, call 906-635-1046. Donations may be mailed or delivered in person to 511 Ashmun St #202, Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Be sure to visit the Chippewa County Community Foundation Facebook page for the latest updates.