‘Tis The Season For Giving

The holidays are known as a time of giving and that’s just what the Portage Health Foundation is encouraging people to do for Giving Tuesday. For the second year in a row, the foundation will be matching 100 percent of all donations made (up to $100,000) to 11 area charities.

Marketing and Communications Coordinator Chelsea Goodreau said, “The community on their own raised a little over $50,000–I believe it was $52,000, so all in all, it was about $104,000 that went back to the non-profits last year.”

Giving Tuesday is a global day of philanthropy that takes place right after Thanksgiving and the holiday spending sprees of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. To encourage participation, PHF added their own twist to that last year and locally named the drive “Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is.”  Goodreau said, “The non-profits in our community do so much for us throughout the year and we know that they are touching people’s lives in a unique way so we believe that when people are donating to them, they’re putting their money where there heart is.”

Donors can choose from a list of non profit charitable organizations that will receive twice the amount specified, due to the assistance of the Portage Health Foundation.

The foundation says that the program is meant to inspire people to collaborate in improving their local communities and to give back in impactful ways to the charities and causes they support.  Goodreau said, “Last year, we did $50,000 in matching monies and this year it’s going to be $100,000. We’re really excited to see what the community is able to do this year for our non-profits.”

Recipient organizations include UP Kids, Little Brothers- Friends of the Elderly, area shelter homes, Dial Help, and the Keweenaw Family Resource Center to name a few. A complete listing can be found at www.phfgive.org.

Goodreau said, “They can donate a couple different ways–they can go online to our website and there’s our donation form. Or if you don’t want to use the internet, you’re able to either drop it off at the office, either check or cash, or send it in the mail as long as it’s post marked by November 27th.”

Donors who wish to choose more than one charity from the list are welcome to. They are asked to proved a break down of disbursement amounts.