$13,000 Awarded for a Snowbike Trails Snowmobile

Hancock, Michigan – Keweenaw Community Foundation (KCF) announced that $13,000 has been awarded from the Portage Health Foundation (PHF) Community Wellness and Outdoor Recreation Fund to Copper Harbor Trails Society Inc. also known as Copper Harbor Trails Club (CHTC) to improve trail conditions, reduce noise and emissions, and to provide consistent grooming for the Churning Rapids Snowbike Trails.

The purpose of this project will involve the purchase of a new Ski-Doo Skandic snowmobile to allow the expansion and improved grooming of the Churning Rapids Snowbike Trails. The current snowmobiles that CHTC is using are 28 and 14 years old and require frequent maintenance to keep in operation, which puts a big burden on the volunteer crew to keep things running during the winter. The oldest of the snowmobiles is also on loan to the club by a private individual. The current snowmobiles lack the traction and power to reliably pull the new groomer that was built last year by the Michigan Tech Velovations Team. The purchase of this new 4 stroke snowmobile will provide more power, traction, and fuel efficiency to pull the groomer through steep and twisty trails in the Churning Rapids Trails system with increased reliability for the volunteer groomer operators. The new snowmobile will also reduce costs for fuel and oil, which comprises the largest portion of CHTC’s annual budget, and will be quieter during operation for the nearby residents and users. CHTC expects to have a new snowmobile as soon as possible, with the latest expected date of March 2018.

The mission of CHTC is to advocate, develop and maintain trails and land for human-powered activities in and connecting to the small, 100 resident town of Copper Harbor. CHTC strives to have many people share the joy of mountain biking and other trail based human-powered recreation with all ages. In addition, CHTC partners with organizations that have similar goals and works with them to improve trail access throughout the region.

KCF welcomes partnerships in the Foundation and urges interested parties to share this information with their constituents and all sub-groups within their organization. Tax deductible contributions may be made to the PHF Community Wellness and Outdoor Recreation Fund (or to any of KCF’s 80+ other funds) online at www.keweenawgives.org. All contributions to a permanent endowment of KCF qualify for a Federal Tax Credit.

For more information on giving or grant opportunities, please visit the KCF website (www.keweenawgives.org) or email mail@k-c-f.org. To be placed on KCF’s request for proposals list, please email your contact information to mail@k-c-f.org. You will be notified when grants become available.

Through philanthropic services, strategic investments and community leadership, Keweenaw Community Foundation helps people support the causes they care about, now and for generations to come. For more information on Keweenaw Community Foundation and how to give, visit its website at www.keweenawgives.org.