PETOSKEY — December is a popular time for charitable donations, and many local organizations took time last month to make a difference in their communities.
Here are some of the notable donations:
Holiday Giving Breakfast
The Sunrise Rotary Club of Petoskey awarded $12,000 in donations at the club’s annual Holiday Giving Breakfast on Dec. 17 at the Perry Hotel.
The club used a “November Madness” theme, which allowed members to vote for different charities each week in a bracket-style tournament known as the Coach Pollion Charity Championship. The selection process was created in memory of the late Sean Pollion, the club’s former Charitable Giving Chairperson and a basketball coach for Petoskey schools.
“This is my favorite meeting of the year,” said Val Meyerson, current chairperson of the Charitable Giving Committee, at the breakfast. “This is where the fruits of our labors get put to good use in our community.”
The Final Four charities chosen each received $2,500.
They included:
The Northmen Den Youth PantyThe Little Traverse Historical SocietyThe Nehemiah Project The Bay Bluffs Medical Care Facility
Two “President’s Choice” charities were also selected by Club President Emily Boehm. Both the Compass After School Program and the North Central Michigan College Child Care Initiative received a donation of $1,000.
Harbor Cup
Team Boyne professionals raised more than $80,000 during the Harbor Cup golf event, held Sept. 30-Oct. 1 on the Links/Quarry course at Bay Harbor Golf Club.
The event sees PGA professionals from Boyne Golf properties matched against PGA professionals from Petoskey/Harbor Springs area golf courses in a 54-hole Ryder Cup-style format.
In a Dec. 17 press release, organizers announced that $70,000 from the event had been presented to the Manna Food Project and $10,000 had been awarded to First Tee-Northern Michigan through the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation’s Harbor Cup Charitable Fund.
“The Harbor Cup event, with its annual holiday giving, has become a wonderful tradition here in Northern Michigan,” said Steve Niezgoda, Bay Harbor Golf Club Head Professional and Team Boyne’s Harbor Cup Captain, in the release. “We could not do any of this without all the support we receive from the Harbor Cup Charitable Fund, a component fund of the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation, along with the Country Club of Boyne and Bay Harbor Golf Club members, area businesses, vendors and homeowners. On behalf of all the PGA golf professionals from Boyne and across the Petoskey/Harbor Springs area who have participated in this great event, we want to say how proud we are to be able to impact the community like this during the holiday season. It is very gratifying.”
“Fill a Whaler” campaign
The sales crews at Irish Boat Shop locations also provided some seasonal support to the Manna Food Project through their “Fill a Whaler” holiday campaign.
A 130 Super Sport Boston Whaler model was displayed at each of the three Irish Boat Shop locations — Harbor Springs, Charlevoix and Traverse City — and each was filled with food. In total, 925 pounds of non-perishable food was collected, which was distributed to over 100 families in Northern Michigan.
“We are grateful for the support from Irish Boat Shop to help the food insecurity that has increased in Northwest Michigan for three years in a row,” said Carrie Klingelsmith, executive director of the Manna Food Project, in a statement. “On average, our food network is seeing over 40,000 visitors for food each month. We are thankful for the team at Irish for investing in our mission and shedding light on this issue with their food drive.”
