Community Stories

Gateway to Success Academy Bridges Resource Gap with Youth Advisory Council Grant

The Gateway to Success Academy (G2S) in Scottville, Michigan, held a successful "Community Connect" event thanks to a $1,500 grant from the Mason County Youth Advisory Council (YAC). YAC prioritizes funding for programs that address youth mental health, teen stress, and substance use prevention. The council recognized and supported G2S’s desire to promote student success by providing barrier-free essential resources. Click to read more about the event.

Embracing Make a Will Month: Part Three – Lessons Learned and the Power of a Plan

In the first two parts of this series, I shared my husband’s and my (not-so-painful-after-all) journey to update our will, a task we had been putting off for far too long. Bret and I started by scheduling a meeting with an attorney and gathering all the necessary information, a process that was both eye-opening and surprisingly fun. In part two, I recounted our meeting with the lawyer, where we learned about the importance of keeping our will up-to-date and explored ways to incorporate charitable giving into our estate plan. A few weeks after our initial meeting, we embarked on the final steps of our will-updating adventure. Click to read more about these final steps.

Lab Connects and Empowers Local Leaders

Four local leaders are participating in the Leadership Learning Lab (LLL), a 10-month program that invests in leaders to strengthen their organizations and the communities they serve. The LLL is a collaboration between Rotary Charities of Traverse City, the Frey Foundation, and multiple northern lower Michigan Community Foundations. The Community Foundation for Mason County is one of the Lab's philanthropic partners. Click to read more about this program and local leaders involved in the 2024-2025 LLL Cohort.

Help Students Build a Brighter Future with KickStart 2 Career

The 2024-2025 school year is in full swing, and so is KickStart to Career (K2C)! Kindergarteners are already starting to fill their piggy banks, and families of students in grades K-5 recently received information about how K2C can help them save for the future. Click to read more about K2C and your opportunity to get involved.

Meade Township Celebrates Grand Opening of New Pickleball Court, Thanks to Community Foundation Grant

Meade Township residents can now enjoy a brand new pickleball court at the Meade Township Park, thanks to a Community Foundation grant provided by Mason County Funds for the Community and the Robert R. and Joan Hasenbank Fund. The project, which began in December 2023, was completed in August with an official grand opening ceremony held on September 8th. Click to read more about this exciting project!

Embracing Make a Will Month: Part Two – Creating a Legacy

National Make-a-Will Month has always felt like a distant reminder to get my affairs in order, but this year it hit a little closer to home. As my husband, Bret, and I found ourselves leaving our 40s behind and our children continued to mature, August felt more like an urgent call to action. We decided it was time to dust off our old will and give it a much-needed update. In part one of this series, I shared our initial steps: scheduling a consultation with an attorney and gathering the necessary paperwork – a true "adulting" experience. Now, a mix of nerves and excitement churned within us as we entered the lawyer's office, ready to embark on the next phase of our estate-planning journey. Click to read more about this adventure!

Updating Our Will: Part One — A Not-So-Scary Experience

This year, my husband, Bret, and I decided to finally tackle a dust-covered "to-do" list item: updating our will. As part of this process, we also wanted to explore ways to give a lasting gift to our beloved Mason County community. Click here to read more from Community Outreach Specialist Tara Autrey about her experience when she and her husband updated their will.

New Water Rescue Devices Come to Ludington Shores

Lake Michigan is the most dangerous of the Great Lakes. In 2023 alone, 41 of 85 Great Lakes drownings occurred in Lake Michigan. Several concerned organizations have partnered to make local beaches safer by bringing two high-tech water rescue devices, known as EMILY, to Ludington. This life-saving equipment has been made possible through the generous support of the John and Anita Wilson Fund at the Community Foundation for Mason County, the Friends of Ludington Police, and the Friends of Ludington State Park (FLSP). Click to read more about the significance of these devices.

From Robotics to Software Engineering: Smiddy Scholarship Supports Klevorn’s Dreams

Thanks in part to the Emily & Frank Smiddy Scholarship through the Community Foundation for Mason County, Ludington High School graduate Olivia Klevorn is confidently pursuing a degree in software engineering at Michigan Technological University (Tech) in Houghton, Michigan. Olivia was the 2023 recipient of the $40,000 award, the Foundation’s largest scholarship, which is given to one outstanding Mason County student each year. The Smiddys, former owners of ProAct Environmental Services in Ludington, have a passion for STEM-related learning and wanted to give back to the community in which they owned a business. “It's a huge, life-changing opportunity,” Olivia shared, highlighting the impact of this STEM-focused scholarship. Click to read more about the impact of the Smiddys' scholarship and Olivia's experience at Michigan Tech.

Shirley Rasmussen: Dedicated to Making Ludington a Better Place

Shirley Rasmussen's deep connection to Mason County spans nearly a century. Her love for this community began as a young girl, playing beneath her grandmother's lilac bushes and observing the summer influx of Epworth visitors. As a college student, she worked as a server on a car ferry during WWII, the war's impact echoing through her community. It was also in those years that she met her beloved Jack at the Oswald Crumb in the Stearns Hotel. Shirley recently solidified her and Jack's legacy of giving with an unrestricted gift to the Community Foundation. Her flexible gift ensures she can help address her community’s most pressing challenges and opportunities for generations to come. Click to read more.