CHEBOYGAN COUNTY, Mich. — In response to the devastating flooding that impacted communities across northeast Michigan, the Straits Area Community Foundation, in partnership with its lead Foundation, Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan, has distributed six Urgent Needs Fund grants totaling $50,000 to nonprofit organizations providing immediate disaster relief services throughout Cheboygan County and Mackinaw City, as well as neighboring Montmorency and Presque Isle counties.

The hardest-hit communities were in Cheboygan County, where widespread flooding created urgent needs for disaster relief efforts like food assistance, cleanup support, debris removal, and temporary sanitation solutions for residents without power or plumbing.

Funding was awarded to the following organizations:

• $15,000 to Disaster Relief at Work (pictured right), which has provided supplies, water, cleaning buckets, and other support services, and which will continue to support cleanup efforts and debris removal.
• $12,500 to Mercy Chefs (pictured above), which provided warm, healthy meals for two weeks to those impacted by the flooding.
• $8,325 to United Way of Northeast Michigan to provide food access support and debris clean up services and supplies to residents of Cheboygan and Presque Isle Counties.
• $8,000 to Forest-Waverly Fire Department for cleanup supplies like bags, fans, and purifiers, and debris removal.
• $5,000 to Grant Township for additional dumpster rentals to assist with debris removal and cleanup efforts.
• $1,175 to Cheboygan County Humane Society for expenses related to a temporary animal shelter facility to house pets, ensuring that current and potential evacuees could leave their homes safely without leaving behind their animals.

“These grants are helping trusted nonprofit partners respond quickly to urgent community needs during a very difficult time for many families,” said Community Foundation Development Director Christine Hitch. “Our goal was to move resources into the community as quickly and effectively as possible so organizations on the front lines could continue their critical work.”

The Urgent Needs Fund is held by the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan and benefits the service area of the Straits Area Community Foundation. Through this partnership, the Foundation is able to provide rapid-response support during emergencies while maintaining the accountability, stewardship, and community leadership expected of a leader in philanthropy.

As a nationally accredited community foundation through its affiliation with the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan, the Straits Area Community Foundation is committed to connecting charitable resources with the region’s most pressing needs.

“We are so grateful to the many individuals and businesses that have contributed to the Urgent Needs Fund,” said Hitch. “Without this support, we wouldn’t be able to react so quickly, and that speaks volumes about our communities. When our neighbors face hardship, our region comes together to help neighbors recover.”

About the Straits Area Community Foundation, a CFNEM affiliate:

The Straits Area Community Foundation (SACF) serves Cheboygan County and Mackinaw City. SACF is an affiliate of the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan (CFNEM), accredited by National Standards for U.S Community Foundations®. CFNEM serves as the administrative arm for its affiliate foundations. SACF is led by a volunteer board of local citizens committed to providing people who care about the future of the region and its communities with unique and effective ways of supporting their community now, and for generations to come. The foundation oversees a group of permanently endowed funds from a wide range of donors. Gifts of all sizes from individuals, families, businesses, and agencies are invested in a balanced, well-managed portfolio to build endowments, enabling support for local community nonprofits now and forever. To donate or learn more about how community foundations work, visit sacf.net or call 989-354-6881; toll-free: 877-354-6881.

Pictured left: CFNEM Executive Director Patrick Heraghty delivers a grant check to Forest Waverly Township Fire Department.