FALL 2017

the mark we make

It has been a busy few months at the Community Foundation with no signs of slowing down now that fall is here.

This spring, we awarded $2.45 million in our community grant round. Currently, our community investment team is hard at work reviewing applications from the grant round that closed on September 1.

We awarded 549 scholarships totaling $638,488. We also opened our scholarship application early for the class of 2018 to coincide with Michigan College Month. The online application opened October 1 and will close on March 1.

In May, we hosted a Nonprofit Speed Dating event as a fun way to match community members looking to get involved with nonprofit organizations who need their skills and talents. And we had a great time at Discover Your Community Day on October 20 giving a behind-the-scenes look at local health care and arts organizations.

We also partnered with WE CAN! Newaygo County in September for College and Career Night Out. Representatives from 48 colleges, universities, trade schools, and the military joined hundreds of local students and families to talk about post-secondary opportunities.

We are grateful for your continued support and look forward to partnering with you throughout the rest of 2017!

recently

cArLA A. roberts

President and CEOOn the cover: Barbara Fox and Pastor Nate Kooistra of Wellspring Adult Day Services at Reeman CRC

Paul Greer grew up in Fremont and served in the Marines during WWII. After the war, he returned to Michigan to finish college and law school. He worked for law firms in Detroit and Grand Rapids before joining William Branstrom’s law practice in Fremont.

In 1952, Paul married Jackie Murphy. Jackie earned a bachelor’s degree at Marygrove College and then studied music at Juilliard. She lived in Manhattan for several years and worked at NBC Radio in Rockefeller Center and as a music teacher. She later continued her teaching career at St. Michael’s School in Brunswick.

Did you know that October is Michigan College Month? This statewide campaign focuses on supporting seniors as they complete important steps in the college-going process, like applying to schools and for financial aid.

We helped kick off the month by sponsoring College and Career Night Out on September 28 in partnership with WE CAN! Newaygo County. More than 700 people came to talk to schools and learn more about financial aid, scholarships, and career opportunities.

Based on feedback from local teachers, the Community Foundation also decided to open the scholarship application for high school seniors earlier. The online application opened on October 1. Now, as students are working on other big steps during Michigan College Month, they can also apply for 90+ Community Foundation scholarships!

The Greers raised five children, enjoyed traveling, and were active in the community. After retiring, Paul wrote a book and the couple delighted in spending time with grandchildren.

They were devoted to their family, their community, and their faith. They were also supporters of education. In 2003, the Greers created a scholarship at the Community Foundation to support service-minded students who attend All Saints Catholic Church, where they worshiped. To date, 39 local students have received the Paul and Jackie Greer Scholarship.

pAuL And jAckie greer

MichigAn coLLege Month

If you visit Wellspring Adult Day Services at Reeman Christian Reformed Church, you may find seniors working on a craft project, taking a walk to look at the flowers next door, or gathering around a piano to sing. The atmosphere is calm, friendly, and warm.

“It’s a home atmosphere,” said Barbara Fox, Wellspring’s coordinator. “It’s a gentle place with loving people.”

Started in early 2016, Wellspring provides an engaging day program for seniors and respite for their caregivers.

“We assist families in keeping people in their homes as long as they can,” said

Barbara, noting that while it is a ministry of the church, all are welcome. “We’re a Christian organization, but anyone is welcome. This is for Newaygo County.”

With two staff—including a nurse—and a team of volunteers, Wellspring offers a structured environment but a flexible schedule of activities each Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. There is coffee and conversation, games and exercise, lunch from Commission on Aging, and time for relaxing in Wellspring’s living room. Each guest has a power recliner and a quilt for their lap. They rest and nap in the afternoon as someone reads to them.

a gentle place

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Participants in Wellspring Adult Day Services come together on a weekly basis to socialize, play games, and build relationships.

While there is no cure for the progressive dementia that many of their guests face, Barbara said that the activities and interaction help them head home more engaged and in a lighter mood.

“One of the women calls it her exercise class. She asks her family if she’s going to exercise class today. One of the fellows calls it his game place. Others love the hymn sing. Some of them can’t read anymore, but they remember the choruses.”

And while their loved one is safe at Wellspring, family members who have become full-time caregivers can run errands, meet a friend for lunch, or rest.

“It’s really a dual ministry,” said Pastor Nate Kooistra. “It’s for caregivers too.”

“We notice a difference in them from when they drop off in the morning to

when they come back in the afternoon,” said Barbara. “There’s less of a sense that they’re in it alone. There’s another ally.”

What Nate and Barbara did not anticipate was how Wellspring would also impact the lives of its staff and dedicated volunteers, many of whom are seniors themselves.

“One of the unintended benefits has been to our volunteers,” said Nate. “It gives them a sense of purpose. They feel welcomed and valued here.”

One of their most faithful volunteers is 82 and is there whenever the doors are open. Others come in to offer conversation during coffee time or to help with games, crafts, or singing.

“It fills the isolation that’s so prevalent in society today,” said Barbara. “Many of our volunteers say this is their ‘Wellspring family.’”

In addition to a $10,000 matching grant awarded through the community grant round, Wellspring also received a $25,000 grant from the Fremont Area Elderly Needs Fund, a supporting organization of the Community Foundation.

“It’s a home atmosphere. It’s a gentle place with loving people.” bArbArA Fox

When Tyler Slaughter was 10, he and his father Mike volunteered as bell ringers outside a store during the holidays. At the end of a cold shift, Mike asked what he thought. Tyler replied, “It seems like the people who needed it most were the people who gave the most.”

Tyler’s life was marked by that kind of grace and empathy. After getting a degree in health studies, he changed direction in his late 20s and started a full-time Master of Social Work program. To Mike, the move was in keeping with his son’s lifelong passion for helping others.

“I told him, ‘you’ve always been a walk-

alongside kind of guy,’” said Mike. “Tyler was an encourager of world-class stature. He was a luminous soul. He really had an incandescent smile and spirit.”

After completing his MSW, Tyler went to work for Newaygo County Mental Health as an adult case worker, commuting each day from Grand Rapids. The consumers he worked with faced challenges like poverty, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and mental illness, and Tyler embraced supporting them as his mission.

“He refused to judge anyone,” said Mike. “For those who have struggled so greatly,

honoring a son

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Mike Slaughter created a scholarship fund in memory of his son Tyler with the support of family, friends, and Tyler’s coworkers at Newaygo County Mental Health.

“I can best honor Tyler’s life by serving others as well as I possibly can. He is why I’m here.”Mike sLAughter

they need to meet people like him.”

Tyler had been at his job for a year when he unexpectedly passed away in April 2015, but “he died doing work he relished and deeply valued,” said Mike. “I needed to find a way to pay his life forward.”

The idea for a scholarship took shape when a colleague of Tyler’s told Mike about the Community Foundation. The Tyler Patrick Slaughter Memorial Scholarship began as a Build-A-Fund, with a goal of reaching the fund minimum in five years. It took less than one. Tyler’s coworkers at NCMH organized fundraisers like pasty sales and euchre tournaments to help raise money for the scholarship.

The scholarship will now go to an adult student, like Tyler, studying social work. Mike hopes that as the fund continues to grow it will support people committed to the type of work Tyler did.

“We want to give them a jump start,”

he said. “Tyler’s consumers are still desperately in need. They can’t wait. This is a chance to do something good for people who deserve it.”

Connected by a shared desire to honor Tyler’s legacy, Mike stayed in contact with the people at NCMH. This summer, he accepted a job there as a supported employment coordinator. Three days into his new job, Mike learned that his office had once been his son’s.

His position is different than Tyler’s, but Mike sees his work as a mission just as his son did.

“Sharing Tyler’s work has been a blessing to me and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with his friends,” said Mike. “This gives me a chance to make my own contribution. For my consumers, the chance to find and keep work is love expressed. I can best honor Tyler’s life by serving others as well as I possibly can. He is why I’m here.”

Tyler Slaughter changed directions and went back to school in his late 20s to get a master’s degree. Today, a scholarship created by his father will be awarded to an adult student, like Tyler, studying social work.

Over the next 10 years, our community members will leave more than $664 million to children, grandchildren, and relatives through their estate plans.

If everyone gave just 5% (or more) of their estate over the next 10 years through the Community Foundation, it would add up to $33.2 million in charitable gifts.

That’s a big number, but it doesn’t require a big commitment! We believe that if everyone in our community gave just a little bit of themselves, we could change the face of Newaygo County for the better. To learn more about leaving a legacy and making lasting change for the next generation, contact our philanthropic services team at 231.924.5350.

give A LittLe bit For big chAnge

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the mark we makeThe biannual newsletter of Fremont Area Community Foundation

4424 W 48th Street PO Box B Fremont, Michigan 49412