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After a decade of incredible and hard work to lift the copper country copper shores will take a moment to recognize its accomplishments. This weekend the community health foundation plans to celebrate its 10th anniversary during a special evening of black tie attire. In 2014 Copper Shores, at the time the Portage Health Foundation broke away from the local hospital to focus efforts on bringing programming and funds to the Keweenaw Peninsula.
“You know, we had inspected, I don’t know, 400 and some homes, invested about 2.5, 2.2, 2.3 million dollars back into those homes, raised about a little bit over a million dollars, I think it was. I’d have to go back and look and dust that off a little bit. But, you know, we put a lot of money back into helping our community recover from that flood. And I think that did a couple of things. One is I think it helped. provide some testimony to what’s important to us here. You know, everybody that works here, you know, was born and for the most part, born and raised here. This is home. And I think that helped punctuate that we’re invested in this community and not just because it’s a foundation, it’s because this is home. The other thing that I think it did is it helped solidify that people could trust us to put the money where we said it was gonna go.” – Kevin Store, Executive Director, Copper Shores Community Health Foundation
In the years after the Portage Health Foundation worked with many local partners to source grant funds for projects. Helped support the vast network of recreation trails available to visitors and residents. As well as helped to organize and maintain several education scholarships and local endowments. Then last year they took an even bigger step. Acquiring the Senior Meals on Wheels program and Dial Help, becoming the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation.
“At that time, we were focused on health-making, granting back into the community, really looking at different aspects of health care access, education, coordination of services, recreation, and we haven’t deviated from that, but we’ve added to it. As we’ve gone through the last 10 years, we’ve matured in our understanding of what the needs of the community are, and we’ve, you know, we’ve developed partnerships and relationships in a community that has also influenced how we’re trying to attack some of the things that are pressing in our community.” – Kevin Store, Executive Director, Copper Shores Community Health Foundation
Looking ahead to the next ten years Copper Shores executive director Kevin Store says that the foundation commits to continuing its mission. To positively influence a more healthful community through philanthropy and collaboration.
“try to express some of what we’ve been able to accomplish but at the same time uh… make sure that we’re celebrating all of the successes that we’ve seen as a community because there’s been a lot and I see that from you know the public-private non-profit for-profit standpoint an awful lot is going on in this community when you drive around right now you look at you know you look at construction you look at new programs you look at new businesses started there’s an awful lot of good stuff going on and we’re one of the few counties in the state, certainly in the AUP, that is seeing any type of population growth and expansion. And you know, we’re going to do our part to celebrate what we’ve been able to do to be part of that, but we’re also going to do what we can to celebrate all the other stuff that’s been done in the community.” – Kevin Store, Executive Director, Copper Shores Community Health Foundation
This Saturday’s 10th-anniversary gala will take place at the Rozsa Center on Michigan Tech’s campus. The evening will include food, a whiskey tasting with iron fish distillery, and gaming tables in the north mezzanine. The evening will also host a live auction. Those interested in attending the 10th-anniversary gala to celebrate the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation’s past 10 years and another 10 more can find ticket details and event information here.
