Each year since 2013, Health & Happiness UP Magazine, with additional support from some of our advertisers, has donated to a local children’s organization as part of its mission to help our community members live healthier, happier lives.
This year, we invite you to help us decide which of these worthy past recipients should receive our tenth annual donation. Below you’ll find a info from these worthy organizations that were able to respond before press time about what they do and why, as well as how you can vote for your choice online!
We look forward to sharing the results with you plus more about the winning organization in our Winter ’23-’24 issue!
Camp New Day UP
“I love Camp New Day because people here have the same issues as me!”
Camp New Day UP is exclusively for children whose lives are impacted by parental incarceration. These kids often feel traumatized, ashamed, isolated, and their families have often undergone abrupt changes, such as going from two-parent to single-parent homes, or even into foster care.
Our mission is to provide children of the incarcerated with a caring, safe, environment that nurtures their self-worth, thereby help to break the generational cycle of incarceration. We also help them learn to trust, work together, try new things, be proud of themselves, and take time to just “be kids.”
Camp is for kids ages 9 to 14 from across the Upper Peninsula. We fundraise to cover everything campers need—transportation to/from camp, healthy food, access to medical care, swimming, fishing, arts and crafts, camp games, bonfires, and trained, supportive counselors. Visit campnewdayup.com.
JJPACKS
Did you know that approximately 30% of children in Marquette schools fall under the poverty line? JJPACKS is a 100% volunteer-based program that delivers healthy, supplemental nutrition to children to take home for the weekend. It was begun in 2014 by Habby Vigfusdotir and Kevin Carr, inspired in part by an act of kindness done by Habby’s son, Jakob Johannsson, hence the name JJPACKS.
Donations from groups, individuals, grocery stores, etc. help to cover costs, which are about $5/student each week. During the school year, over 225 bags are packed and delivered weekly, covering 7 schools, approximately 120 households, and over 225 children.
Volunteers pick up the food, gather each Friday morning to sort it, pack bags, and deliver them to the schools. Student and their families at all Marquette elementary and middle school, high school, and the alternative high school are eligible. Facebook—JJ PACKS, Website – jjpacks.org
Big Brothers Big Sisters
The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Upper Peninsula (BBBSCUP) is to build and support one-to-one relationships to ignite the biggest possible futures for youth. BBBSCUP has provided traditional and innovative one-to-one matches for over 50 years and site and school based mentoring for over twenty years. The goal of BBBSCUP is to provide a caring mentor to every child who could use a positive role model, effectively strengthening the entire community.
BBBSCUP offers strong programmatic expertise, providing diverse and specialized programming for local children with evidence-based outcomes.
In June of 2023 at the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America National Conference in Anaheim, California, Big Brothers Big Sisters received the prestigious Quality Award. Out of 225 agencies nationwide, BBBSCUP is one of only 32 agencies to receive this award. For more information about BBBSCUP, please go to http://www.bbbsmqt.org.
Partridge Creek Farm
Partridge Creek Farm helps reduce local food insecurity by supporting food-based economic development and providing learning opportunities on sustainable food systems through hands-on education.
In a community where 18% of the population is food insecure and 42% of members are one paycheck from homelessness and hunger (based on ALICE* statistics), Partridge Creek Farm supports long-term community health and vibrancy to better combat these statistics.
Partridge Creek Farm is continuing the third year of their Healthy Cooking Program at Ishpeming Middle School, and will begin a CTE Agriculture program in the High School this school year, as well as provide community workshops.
PCF also offers CSA Salad Box Subscriptions and encourages Snap/EBT users to sign up for them to receive freshly grown and harvested produce weekly from Partridge Creek Farm’s gardens.
100% of donations go to PCF’s youth programming and community food access. You can learn more at our website, partridgecreekfarm.org.
U.P. KIDS–Caring for Children. Building Brighter Futures
Our foster and adoptive programs provide loving homes where children are protected and nurtured. The primary goal of foster care is reunification with the child’s biological family. When reunification isn’t possible, our goal becomes finding the child an adoptive home.
Adoptive families are offered supportive services through the Post-Adoptive Resource Center (PARC). Specialists partner with adoptive families to connect them to resources, and offer training, support and advocacy.
Families UPWARD is an innovative new program. Its goal is preventative—strengthening families before they become involved in the child welfare system.
The Big Brothers Big Sisters Program seeks to change the lives of children facing adversity -for the better, forever. Through one-on-one friendships, mentors help children become confident, capable and caring individuals.
If you are interested in becoming a foster or adoptive family, please contact Dolores Kilpela at dolores@upkids.com.
If you’re interested in the Big Brother Big Sister program, please contact Maggie Munch at bbbs@upkids.com.
The Women’s Center
The mission of the Women’s Center (WC) is to provide supportive services to primary and secondary survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Marquette and Alger Counties through programs that Protect, Educate, Advocate, Counsel, and Empower (P.E.A.C.E).
The services the WC provides work toward preventing violence and enhancing survivors’ ability to be fully functioning members of society, free from violence and harm. The WC staffs a 24/7 support line and provides emergency response for domestic violence and sexual assault. The WC also supports survivors through temporary emergency shelter, supportive advocacy and services, legal advocacy, transportation assistance, therapeutic services, services for youth who have been exposed to violence, community education and outreach, and a transitional supportive housing program. As a community-based organization, the WC’s services are 100% free and confidential.
This year the Women’s Center is celebrating 50 years of operation. Go to www.wcmqt.org to learn more about the Women›s Center.
West End Suicide Prevention
West End Suicide Prevention (WESP) is a dedicated group of individuals working to end suicide. Along with promoting evidence-based suicide prevention training and distributing suicide prevention materials, WESP engages the community.
In 2019, WESP developed LIVE, encouraging individuals to LOVE (yourself), INCLUDE (others), VALUE (life) and ENGAGE (community). In 2020, WESP introduced the 1st Annual LIVE Art & Word contest for high school students across the UP. Students can enter any type of Visual Art, Written Word or Song/Dance/Theater project with a mental health theme. After being judged by WESP and an expert panel of judges, the entries are shared on social media in order to showcase the student’s talent and open conversation around mental health and suicide prevention.
In 2022, WESP was asked to expand to NMU; LIVE@NMU now brings specific programming to campus. The group also introduced a LIVE Art & Word Contest for UP adults.
Visit www.greatlakesrecovery.org/live.
Which organization should receive H&H’s 2023 donation?
CLICK HERE to VOTE by 10/15/23.
Excerpt from the Fall 2023 issue of Health & Happiness U.P. Magazine, copyright 2023, Empowering Lightworks, LLC. All rights reserved.