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For around forty years Little Borthers Friends of the Elderly has found ways to support seniors living in the copper country. The local non-profit programs help keep seniors in the Keweenaw Peninsula active, social, and healthy. Such as with LBFE’s congregate meal and holiday meal sites, senior visitation, a ride to the doctor, or some firewood to keep warm. Executive Director Carol Korpela says that Giving Tuesday with Copper Shores makes a large impact on their services each year, and helps support each of their core programs.
“This is the biggest impact that it makes in this season that lasts us through the year. So it’ll support all seven of our core programs. We just did a cost analysis. So for example every December we send out a Christmas box of food to our elderly friends, and it contains about 18 nonperishable items. Which includes some specialty treats like ternary toast, canned ham, and some nonperishable. That they can put together a meal. And we did a cost analysis and that increased 30 percent from 2016. So we are seeing those prices rise. So these donations are going to help us purchase food for our food pantry, purchase food for holiday meals, and make sure we are getting our elderly friends to their medical appointments.” Carol Korpela, Executive Director, Little Brother Friends of the Elderly
Little brother’s friends of the elderly have worked with the copper shores community health foundation for many years. Korpela says that as the organization’s newest director, the staff at Copper Shores have been great to work with. And that their passion and dedication to the communities of the Copper Country continue to inspire the little brother’s staff and volunteers.
“They’re a great team over there at Copper Shores. They’re a lot of fun to work with. And not just for their financial support. But also their professional development support. They’re a great resource for all of our local nonprofits. Working with their grant team, working with Kevin, working with Michael. They’re a great resource to local non-profits, and they’ve been beneficial to me, especially as a new executive director.” Carol Korpela, Executive Director, Little Brother Friends of the Elderly
Giving Tuesday with the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation last year raised over 650,000 dollars from individuals in the community and from friends of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Annually the foundation has provided a match sum to add to the day of giving’s total. Adding up to over 2.7 million dollars spread throughout the copper country over the past six years. Find more information about Giving Tuesday with the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation here and more about Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly here.
