MARQUETTE – In the first quarter of 2015, the Superior Health Foundation awarded $9,539.76 in mini-grant funding to benefit 11 projects all across the Upper Peninsula.
“The SHF Grants Committee has been busy, but in our world, that’s a very good and positive thing,” said SHF Executive Director Jim LaJoie. “We’re proud to support many health-centered seed projects that clearly align with our mission to assist with unmet healthcare needs, with health education, and with programs and research on preventing illness and promoting health.”
The SHF Grants Committee meets monthly to discuss and vote on mini-grant (up to $2,500) requests. To apply and fill out an on-line application, simply visit www.superiorhealthfoundation.org.
The following offers a rundown of the organizations which received mini-grants in the past three months, along with a brief description of the project funded and amount:
- Marquette County Community Baby Shower: Its goal is to host an event in the form of a baby shower for pregnant mothers or those with newly delivered babies up to 6 months of age. A request was made to purchase much needed items for babies, such as cribs, crib sheets, car seats, strollers, diapers, etc. The SHF Grants Committee voted to provide funding to purchase car seats for the event. $500
- Camp New Day UP, across the U.P.: Camp New Day is a free one-week summer camp for youth ages 9-14 whose lives have been impacted by the incarceration of a parent or close family member. Its mission is to provide the children with a caring and safe environment that promotes and nurtures self-worth. SHF provided funding to cover the cost of the nurse and medical supplies for the camp. $525
- Child and Family Services of the UP, Alger County: C&FS of the U.P. is engaged in a collaborative process with the Communities that Care (CTC) to address the issue of youth depression in Alger County. Its goal is to implement work under three major pillars: (1) Further investigate the issue, (2) A primary prevention awareness campaign, and (3) Intervention techniques. SHF supported nearly all of its requests, which included advertising, public service announcements, fliers, brochures and food for workshop. $1,421
- Community Food Pack Program, St. Ignace: The request was to continue the food pack program this summer for low-income residents in St. Ignace, with the hope of supplying food to a larger range (currently K-4th grade). Funds will be used to purchase food and pay a stipend to the fitness teacher who will administer the PE program. SHF supported funding half of the costs to purchase food and pay for the fitness teacher. $1,138.80
- Marquette-Alger RESA and MiCHSA: This U.P.-wide request was to fund six-plus people to attend the “Making Connections with Kids Through School Health” conference. The request included two nights lodging, conference registration and two dinners. SHF is providing funding for school personnel, including teachers, to attend the conference at the Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs. $1,200
- Upper Peninsula Children’s Bereavement Network, Marquette County: Funds were requested to provide all supplies, food and gift bags to allow children bereaving the loss of a loved one to have the Best Day. SHF supports sponsoring the Best Day Program for three months in 2015. $600
- Youth Connections Network, Marquette County: This network seeks to launch a campaign to promote “Mealtime as an Ideal Time” to strengthen family bonds, practice positive family communication and create healthy habits that last a lifetime. Funds will be used for printing and lamination of the first 500 sets of placemats to be distributed to families in Marquette County. SHF supported the printing and lamination in full and its logo will be placed on the placemats. $2,100
- Women Living with Cancer Support Group, Houghton: Funds would be used to fill the Comfort Care Packages and the Infused with Support for Hospitality Baskets for patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties. The request was for $520. SHF supported half, with the Portage Health Foundation (Hancock) agreeing to cover the other half to fully fund the project. $260
- American Red Cross, Marquette: A CPR/AED pilot program offered to the upperclassmen at Ironwood High School and the surrounding area. The Kiwanis is offering three scholarships and asked SHF to provide funding for nine more, for a total of 12. SHF agreed to fund six additional scholarships. $810
- Evergreen Living Center, St. Ignace: Evergreen would like to offer a music-based program for residents suffering from dementia, stroke and social isolation. Evergreen’s desire was to purchase six I pods with personal play lists and large headphones for each resident. SHF funded the entire project. $480
- Negaunee Senior Citizens Center: The Senior Center is creating a Parkinson’s disease Resource Library so it has books that address the different aspects of coping with Parkinson’s. The idea would be to have them available to be lent out to support group participants, other support groups in the U.P. or community members who are affected by the disease, directly or indirectly. SHF supported purchasing all 30 books recommended for this effort: $504.96