Bill and Jeanne Leaver

Bill and Jeanne Leaver were both born in Fremont, just days apart. They dated in high school, went their separate ways, then reconnected years later at a reunion. Their careers—Bill’s in hospital administration and Jeanne’s in teaching—took them around the country, but they always planned to come home.

“We knew we would come back here,” said Bill. “Our kids and families were here.”

Their roots in the community grew right along with a belief in the importance of giving back.

“We both grew up in an environment where our parents were very focused on teaching you that you were blessed with many gifts and you have a responsibility to help,” said Bill.

Those early examples have inspired the Leavers to find their own ways to get involved, including volunteering and creating a fund at the Community Foundation.

With their donor advised fund, the Leavers can address a variety of needs—including supporting women in transition and homelessness—that can help strengthen their community.

“We need to be more concerned with what kind of society we have and the world our grandchildren will live in,” said Bill. “It’s not just the responsibility of the government or schools or churches. It’s all of us. What contribution are we making?”

“We all can think about the little things people did for us—little acts of kindness that you remember all your life,” said Jeanne. “Wanting to do for someone else, helping, being kind—that leads you to a place where you want to help with bigger changes.”

MYOI and June Britt

Before getting involved with Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative (MYOI), said Luke, “I was starting down a pretty rough path. I couldn’t overstate the impact it’s had on me. It was a complete turnaround.”

MYOI helps current and former foster care youth, like Luke, transition to adulthood. It provides young adults 14-24 years old with a support network, life skills and employment training, financial education, and other resources.

“I’ve learned to invest in my future,” said Luke. “I haven’t been late on one bill. And without the friendships I’ve made, I don’t know if I could have the relationships I do today. I’m more friendly, happier. I’ve learned responsibility. Every aspect of my life I can thank MYOI for.”

But when Luke turned 21, he found himself in danger of losing the support he found with MYOI. Funding restrictions create a gap in resources for older participants. “And you still have a lot of learning to do after you turn 21,” said Tara Johnson, Lake-Newaygo MYOI coordinator.

That’s where June Britt stepped in.

June, a former case worker, has a special place in her heart for youth in foster care. Through the Jerry and June Britt Fund she created at the Community Foundation, June provided funding to help young adults like Luke stay involved with MYOI, now and in the future.

“I thought about how it would be very difficult to be a young person in that position, without help,” June said. “What they’re doing is wonderful. I was happy to find the organization and be able to help.”

“With her gift, I’m able to continue,” said Luke. “We’re all very appreciative. Nothing would be the same without it.”

Pat and Kim Brown

Mighty Lube Systematic Lubrication is a family business that originated in the early 1980s by Pat and Kim Brown. The business includes three of their four children—daughter Jamie is a nurse—along with dedicated employees, many of whom have been with the company for a decade or longer.

“We’re a big family,” said Kim. “A business isn’t one person. It’s like a puzzle. It takes many pieces and many people to make it up. There is always somebody bringing something forward.”

In 2009, Pat and Kim acquired OPCO Lubrication and created a joint alliance with Mighty Lube. Both businesses have grown internationally, with auto manufacturers and other companies using their products and their Next Generation conveyor monitoring systems. As the business has grown, they’ve added space and employees at their headquarters in Fremont and opened a new sales office in Nashville run by their son, Anthony. Everything is assembled here in Michigan, with many of the parts and materials used coming from West Michigan businesses.

“We’ve been very blessed,” said Kim. “So we wanted to help someone else like us.”

Wanting to give back and encourage others to consider careers in fields like theirs, Pat and Kim created the Mighty Lube/OPCO Scholarship for local graduates going into skilled and vocational trades.

“We need to push those hands-on abilities,” said Pat. “It’s kind of a dying art. But I don’t care how far into the future you go, someone needs to build these things. It’s all important.”

“We hope to see some of the scholarship recipients start their own businesses,” added Kim. “If we can help them get that start, that’s huge. We don’t want kids to give up. So many kids think they’re stuck, and they’re not. If you work hard, you can get ahead. Don’t be afraid to dream.”

Stuart and Kay Stone

When Stuart Stone was in eighth grade, he transferred from a country school to Grant Public Schools in town. He wanted to be in band but found himself behind other students who already had a year or two of experience.

“My eighth-grade band teacher took me under his wing,” said Stuart. “He spent his prep hour first semester teaching me to play so I could join the band.”

The teacher—later a founder of Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp—had a profound impact on Stuart. He helped foster a love of the arts that Stuart shares with his wife Kay and their children and grandchildren.

When Stuart and Kay created a scholarship, they decided it should be awarded to Grant graduates who had been involved in the arts in high school. It was a way to celebrate a shared family interest while also helping local students achieve their post-secondary goals.

The Stones chose the Community Foundation for their scholarship because, after years of working and volunteering in Newaygo County, they were familiar with its work and reputation.

“They spend money to the best advantage of the community,” said Stuart. “From the time we knew about it, we never had any doubts that was the best place to do it.”

It was also one more way for them to give back to the community they have called home their whole lives.

“We give because we’ve been given so much,” said Kay. “We’ve been blessed. The community has given so much to us so now we can give back. We can make a difference.”

Kickstart to Career Newaygo County

After launching in March, Kickstart to Career Newaygo County is officially underway this fall! Kickstart to Career is a children’s savings account program designed to build aspirations, encourage savings, increase financial education, and assist with college or career expenses. In addition to an initial $50 deposit from the Community Foundation, students can earn additional contributions each year and families and friends can make deposits at any time. ChoiceOne Bank will also partner with schools to offer financial education at every grade level.

“Not only will this help with learning about savings and dreaming for the future, but research shows that children with savings accounts also have better math and reading scores and higher rates of enrollment in college,” said Todd Jacobs, vice president and chief philanthropy officer at the Community Foundation.

Kickstart to Career will impact students entering kindergarten from 2018 through 2027. It will serve more than 7,000 students total and include more than $3.4 million in deposits from the Community Foundation over the next 10 years.

In August, Community Foundation and ChoiceOne Bank staff attended school open houses to talk to parents about the program. Parent packets will be distributed this fall with more information and a form to return. Savings accounts will be open and ready for deposits in December.

Kagan Cooperative Learning Training

Just before kicking off the 2018/19 school year, more than 100 teachers from Hesperia and Fremont schools gathered for a three-day training that immersed them in new tools to use in the classroom.

In a partnership between the two districts and the Community Foundation, Hesperia hosted a Kagan Cooperative Learning training for its entire teaching staff and Fremont’s middle school and upper elementary teachers.

Over the three days, teachers learned about Kagan strategies—called structures—and practiced them in small groups. In one activity, a group member fanned out a set of cards with different questions written on them. Another person picked a card and read it to the group, the next person answered the question, and the other group member checked the answer and offered encouragement. Structures like “Fan-N-Pick” not only provide an informal check for understanding, but they also actively involve the whole group in the process.

“It gets kids talking about what they’re learning,” said Vaughn White, Hesperia’s superintendent. “It’s not group work. It’s incorporating structures that get students talking and sharing what they’re learning.”

Using Kagan structures has been shown to improve student engagement, social skills, and classroom culture. Vaughn, who has experienced multiple Kagan trainings, has also seen it positively impact student discipline and test scores. For teachers, it provides tools that can easily be incorporated into what they’re already doing.

“They don’t have to change their lesson plans,” added Vaughn. “The structures fit in their plan. It’s not creating extra work. It’s not a draining thing. There’s no pressure. It’s a fun thing to support learning and development.”

Tom and Carol Bieberle

Tom and Carol Bieberle bought property in Newaygo County when they were expecting their first child. They eventually built a home there. “We have a really nice community,” said Carol.

Getting involved in the community was always a priority. “In high school it dawned on me that one way to express myself was to do things, to give back to the community,” said Tom. “I like to be involved.”

He and Carol have volunteered at mobile food pantries, been active in their church, and even participated in an informal giving circle with friends at Christmas. They created the Bieberle Pathways to Self-Sufficiency Fund at the Community Foundation as another way to give back and empower local individuals and families.

“In my research I saw that the Community Foundation was doing what I want to do–helping people,” said Tom. “We’re not rich by any stretch, but we can help.”

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The Bieberles created a field of interest fund at the Community Foundation to target a specific community need–empowering local families and individuals–in a variety of ways.

Digital Works

Dawn Ausema was a stay-at-home mom to three very busy daughters for 13 years. “The whole 13 years I was looking for work from home,” said Dawn. “And I couldn’t find a thing.”

She eventually took a job in Sparta, but the hours and commute made it hard to keep up with the girls. “I wasn’t around,” she said. “My husband works 14-hour days but he had to do all the running with the kids because I wasn’t there.”

Then Dawn saw an ad for Digital Works, a training program based at The Stream in Newaygo that prepares people for customer service jobs they can do remotely. She was hired by a company shortly after finishing and was promoted to team lead a few months later. She now works from home, sets her own schedule, and can be more involved with her family.

“Without this program, I don’t know if I would have ever been able to work from home,” said Dawn. “And that’s all I wanted for years.”

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In addition to training people like Dawn for customer service jobs they can do from home, Digital Works also provides help creating resumes, preparing for interviews, and searching for jobs. The Community Foundation awarded a grant of up to $300,400 over two years to support the program.

Quest Career Coach

Tracy Sanchez, director of Quest Educational Programs in Fremont, and her staff help their alternative and adult education students complete high school and plan for what comes next. “We’re working hard to get kids world-ready,” said Tracy.

“We have a lot of unaccompanied students,” she continued. “They don’t have a parent or caregiver to help them. And for some, school’s not really their thing so they don’t see themselves going on to college. We want to let them know there are options.”

With a $9,000 grant from the Community Foundation, Fremont Public Schools hired a career coach based at Quest. Stacy Shriver works with students on financial aid, job searches, and applications for college and trade schools.

“They don’t feel defeated anymore,” said Stacy. “A student can come in with no idea, no plan, and when they’re done they’re excited about going off to school or getting jobs.”

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After receiving only one scholarship application from Quest students in the previous two years, the Community Foundation received 11 scholarship applications from Quest students in 2017.

Center for Nonprofit Housing

For many families, a major unplanned home repair can throw them into a precarious position and potentially make their home unsafe. That’s why the Center for Nonprofit Housing (CNH) at TrueNorth Community Services helps local people obtain and maintain housing, including foreclosure prevention and housing counseling.

There is also a large need for home repair assistance according to Brad Hinken, who oversees CNH. “When something goes wrong, like the well goes out, it all spirals downhill quickly. We’ve replaced a couple of wells recently for people who didn’t have water for months. People would take water bottles to work to fill up so they would have water.”

With help from multiple funding sources, including the Community Foundation, CNH has put in new wells, furnaces, and septic systems for local families.

“When people haven’t had water for months, they get pretty excited,” said Brad. “People hit a barrier and they don’t know where to go. We help them find options.”

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In 2017, the Community Foundation awarded a grant of up to $160,000 to CNH to support emergency home repairs, foreclosure prevention, and other housing assistance programs.

Mike and Carolyn Hummel

Mike and Carolyn Hummel are both retired educators. “I was blessed with the best job ever,” said Carolyn. Their careers gave them a front-row seat to the impact that grants and scholarships from the Community Foundation can have. When Carolyn joined the Board of Trustees, the idea to create a fund of their own began to grow.

“We want to give back to the area that’s been so good to us,” said Carolyn.

“If we can do things for others, it’s fulfilling. It brings us happiness,” said Mike. “And the Community Foundation was a good avenue for us.”

“We have different passions,” added Carolyn. “This allows us flexibility to give to different things. Where there’s a need, we can help fill in the gaps. It’s our responsibility to the next generation coming up.”

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Mike and Carolyn created a donor advised fund using the Community Foundation’s Build-A-Fund program, allowing them to build up to the fund minimum over five years.

Marcia and Gary Woods

Gary Woods loved maps. He began each year in his Hesperia classroom by drawing colorful world maps across the blackboard. Former students who went abroad often wrote to say that, thanks to him, they always knew exactly where they were in the world.

“Many wrote to him from the military,” said Gary’s wife Marcia. “Around the time of the Iranian embassy attack, a former student was sitting off the coast of Iran. He wrote, ‘I know where I am. Most of these guys have no idea.'”

After Gary passed away, Marcia and family created a scholarship in his honor. It will be awarded to Hesperia students studying secondary education and a portion of the fund will support social studies education.

“He meant so much to kids, touched so many lives,” said Marcia. “I don’t think even he realized the impact he had.”

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Marcia started the Gary Woods Memorial Scholarship to support Hesperia graduates. It will be awarded for the first time in 2018.

Bob and Bonnie Erber

After more than 40 years, Bob and Bonnie Erber are still full of enthusiasm for Fremont, the town that won them over with its safe neighborhoods and friendliness.

“At a restaurant it takes 10 minutes to get to the table because we have to stop and talk to everyone,” said Bonnie.

“Neighbors step in to help,” said Bob. “People are doing it because they care for you. There is a very special place in the world for people who go out of their way to give.”

Moved by gratitude, Bob and Bonnie sought ways to give as well. They are longtime Rotary members, active in their churches, involved in city and school projects, and have volunteered with many organizations through the years.

“I love to volunteer,” said Bonnie. “It’s my number one thing to do.”

“We like teaming up with the community,” added Bob. “We’ve been given a lot, so we want to give back.”

Through the Erber Family Fund at the Community Foundation, the couple has given scholarships to local students for years. They recently decided to direct their fund toward Promise Zone scholarships to help even more Newaygo County graduates build brighter futures.

“We’ve been so blessed,” said Bonnie. “There has always been food on our table and a roof over our heads. We want to give somebody else a chance to have what we’ve had.”

Newaygo County Area Promise Zone

Last year, as Dr. Lori Tubbergen Clark talked about the Promise Zone at a parent meeting, she noticed a woman in the front row who seemed concerned. Lori paused for questions and the woman raised her hand.

“It sounds too good to be true,” she said, struggling to believe someone was simply going to pay for her child’s college education. Assured there was no catch, the mother in the front row began to cry.

“Just the relief for that parent,” said Lori, NC RESA superintendent and chair of the Promise Zone Authority Board, describing the moment. “This really is a game-changer. It’s a huge shift in thinking. It used to be ‘If I go to college.’ Now it’s ‘When I go.’”

Promise Zones are a nationwide effort to create a tuition-free path to an associate degree for students living and graduating within their geographic boundaries. Zones can capture half the growth in state education property taxes to help fund the scholarships, but they must first prove they can pay for the initial years on their own.

While still working toward their goal, the Newaygo County Area Promise Zone has already raised $1.3 million and was able to award the first scholarships to the class of 2017.

“This is a generous community,” said Lori. “We were able to fund 104 kids in less than one year. People are looking to us as an example.”

The Community Foundation joined the push by awarding more than $650,000 in grants to the Promise Zone. Staff have also provided fundraising and marketing assistance.

“None of this would be possible without that support,” said Lori.

Moving forward, Lori is excited to see the impact continue to spread. She has heard from employers who now see a path to finding qualified local employees and hopes it will encourage more young people to stay in the area. And of the long list of exciting moments to come, one rises to the top.

“I just want to see that first group of graduates,” said Lori. “I want to see them be completers and I’m excited to see some of those completers stay here. I’m looking forward to seeing their dreams come true.”

Ben and Linda Landheer

Ben and Linda Landheer have both “been involved in an awful lot of things,” Ben said with a smile. Giving back was something he learned by watching his parents’ example as he grew up on a dairy and vegetable farm in Grant.

“I was raised that way,” he said. “The motivation comes from my parents. I learned we need to share with others.”

During busy careers and now in retirement, both Ben and Linda have found ways to serve the community and give back.

Linda worked for the county for more than 40 years and spent 16 years as the county’s Register of Deeds. She is now a member of The Fremont Area Elderly Needs Fund board at the Community Foundation. Linda and her fellow trustees oversee the fund’s work to support the well-being of seniors in Newaygo County.

Ben created a fund at the Community Foundation as another way to give back. The fund supports Fremont Christian School and Western Michigan Christian, organizations with a special place in Ben’s heart because his own children attended there.

“I was thankful for how they educated my kids,” Ben said. “They got a quality Christian education and have gone on to be successful.”

Ben served on both schools’ boards and got to know the needs of the schools and families firsthand.

“I wanted to find a way to contribute back,” he said. “We need to get help for schools in some way.”

“If you’ve been blessed, you need to share,” Ben continued, noting his gratitude for living in a supportive community where people get to know their neighbors. “The community has been good to me and hopefully I’ve been good to the community.”

Mike and Tyler Slaughter

When Tyler Slaughter was 10, he and his father Mike volunteered as bell ringers during the holidays. At the end of their shift, Tyler observed, “It seems like the people who needed it most were the people who gave the most.”

Tyler’s life was marked by that kind of grace and empathy. After getting a degree in health studies, he changed direction in his late 20s and started a Master of Social Work program. To Mike, the move was in keeping with his son’s passion for helping others.

“I told him, ‘you’ve always been a walk-alongside kind of guy,’” said Mike. “Tyler was an encourager of world-class stature.”

After completing his MSW, Tyler went to work for Newaygo County Mental Health as an adult case worker. Just a year later, in April 2015, Tyler unexpectedly passed away, but “he died doing work he relished and deeply valued,” said Mike. “I needed to find a way to pay his life forward.”

Mike created the Tyler Patrick Slaughter Memorial Scholarship with support from family and friends, including Tyler’s coworkers at NCMH who organized fundraisers. The scholarship is for adult students, like Tyler, studying social work.

“We want to give them a jump start,” said Mike.

Connected by a shared desire to honor Tyler’s legacy, Mike stayed in contact with the people at NCMH. Last summer, he accepted a job there as a supported employment coordinator.

“This gives me a chance to make my own contribution,” he said. “I can best honor Tyler’s life by serving others as well as I possibly can. He is why I’m here.”

Positive Impact Through the Arts

“Did you ever think you would make a movie?” asked the Artsplace’s Lindsay Isenhart as she helped a teenager with her latest art project at the pottery wheel. The young woman shook her head and then described the short stop-motion animation film she helped to create over the summer.

“I’m excited about coming here every week,” she said.

The teen is part of an innovative program called Positive Impact Through the Arts—or PITA—that gives young people in the court system a chance to be creative, build skills, and head in a new direction.

Funded in part by a grant from the Community Foundation, PITA is a collaboration between the Newaygo County Council for the Arts and Newaygo County Juvenile Services. Participants range from first-time offenders in diversion programs to those in intensive probation. As part of their probation plan, they attend classes at the Artsplace and learn how to work with clay, make glass beads and jewelry, and more.

The classes also feature opportunities to learn about patience and persistence, safety and planning. While they create, students build social skills, self-esteem, and positive relationships with the adults who lead the program.

“Sometimes this is their only opportunity for socialization,” said Brenden Ruser, probation officer. “They get to be themselves without judgment here. They realize they’re good at this.”

“They can feel really positive about what they’re doing,” added Marianne Boerigter, NCCA executive director. She said that some PITA students even begin volunteering at the Artsplace. “The most unlikely kids will come in early to help Lindsay set up. They’re having a positive experience with adults; there’s consistency. They’re becoming part of the community in a positive way.”

Betty Taylor

Betty Taylor was smart, funny, and hard-working. She loved to be around people, enjoyed time near the water, and was a dedicated member of her church for more than 60 years.

She also knew what it was like for life to head in unexpected directions, as hers did after a divorce.

“There wasn’t a help group then for women over 50 who needed to start over,” said Betty’s daughter, Holly Moon.

Her mother’s experience spurred Holly to begin thinking about ways to support women starting over. Then she started learning more about the challenges faced by local women in other types of crises like domestic violence or abuse. Holly remembered hearing that the closest emergency shelter was in another county and might only have a space or two open at any given time.

“If Mom knew about that, she would have wanted to help,” said Holly. In honor of their mom, Holly and her sister Linda decided to create the Betty Taylor Memorial Fund—a Build-A-Fund that will support the wellbeing of local women, especially those in crisis.

As a former Community Foundation trustee, Holly knew that their gifts would be invested wisely and that the fund would continue to grow and provide support to generations of local women.

“I know there are excellent people investing that money,” said Holly. “My sister and I thought it would be a really nice legacy. Mom would like the fact that the fund is there for the specific purpose of helping women and she would love to know that others could contribute.”

Circles Newaygo County

At a recent Circles Newaygo County meeting, Shirley spoke up about the challenges of finding housing. A few days later she was surprised to learn that community leaders were already working on ways to address concerns she had raised.

“I always doubted that people would actually help,” admitted Shirley. “To actually know that people care gave me hope—a secure hope.”

Shirley is a Circle Leader—the title given to participants leading their own journeys into self-sufficiency. Circles uses a relationship-based approach that builds networks of support around families as they move out of poverty.

“It’s not a rescue program,” said Michelle Marciniak, Circles coordinator at TrueNorth Community Services. “We show you the resources that are out there, but it’s up to you what you do with those resources.”

Circle Leaders go through an intensive 12-week training and then begin personal development work. They are paired with volunteers called Allies who serve as mentors and encouragers.

“So many people who are struggling are so isolated,” said Paige Greve, Circles coach at TrueNorth. “They don’t have those cheerleaders.”

“Being an Ally is not you changing the person,” added Michelle. “You’re really just being a friend.”

Other volunteers provide childcare and meals for weekly meetings and serve on resource teams. Their support and the hard work of Leaders is already yielding results. Circle Leaders have celebrated milestones like receiving driver’s licenses, reliable cars, and new jobs. All have paid down debt. Many, like Shirley, have been empowered to speak up about their struggles and ideas.

“Small steps at a time are changing things,” said Shirley. “And I know I’m not in it alone.”

Julee Tellkamp

When someone thinks of a donor at a community foundation, the picture that comes to mind is probably not a teenager starting college. But when Julee Tellkamp was packing to move into a dorm last fall, she was also preparing to create the Dan and Jackie Tellkamp Fund at the Community Foundation.

Named for Julee’s parents, the fund will support youth who want to raise animals for the Newaygo County Agricultural Fair, something Julee has loved and been involved in for years.

“Raising an animal is a lot of work,” said Julee. “It teaches you responsibility. It pushes you out of your comfort zone.”

“I always encouraged kids to get involved,” she continued. “But the number one issue is that it’s a lot of expense up front.”

Knowing that the cost of purchasing an animal kept some young people from participating, Julee began thinking about how she could help. She decided to use the Community Foundation’s Build-A-Fund program to create a fund and grow it toward the minimum balance over five years. Her initial gift last summer came from the sale of her market steer.

“I saw it as an opportunity to impact the fair,” said Julee. “I would like to see more kids be able to be involved. I would like to give them the same opportunity I had.”

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