Canterbury House was one of the organizations awarded a Copper Shores grant. Image from Canterbury House Facebook

The Copper Shores Community Health Foundation has awarded five organizations 2024 Small Grant Awards, meant to help meet the needs of the Copper Country by focusing on health-related events and opportunities. Barkell Elementary School, Equipment Loans of the Keweenaw, CLK Schools, Canterbury House and the Ontonagon Artist Collective were awarded a combined $7,800. 

Barkell Elementary School was given almost $1,800 for their playground accessibility improvement project. The Hancock school currently has no playground equipment that is ADA accessible, and so will use the money from Copper Shores to add two handicap accessible swing sets to their playground. 

Equipment Loans of the Keweenaw (ELK) is a project by the Copper Country Intermediate School District. The project’s goal is to bring adaptive sports and recreation to the Keweenaw. ELK was given $525 to be used to upgrade their website and create brochures to help with their growing need for communication. 

CLK Schools was awarded almost $1,000 for their Recess for Health program. According to a Copper Shores press release, recess is important for learning and social and emotional development, along with making sure kids get the right amount of exercise. The school is using the grant money to buy baseball bats, hockey nets, basketballs, and more. They hope that this equipment will give children more opportunities to get physically active. 

Canterbury House focuses on supporting international and LGBTQ+ students. They offer free meals, English as a Second Language Classes, and more. Their $2,500 share of the grant will go towards expanding their food pantry assistance. There is no income requirement to use the food pantry.

The Ontonagon Artist Collective was given $2,000 to support their Watercolor Wednesday program for senior citizens. The artist collective also hosts a monthly book club and Plein Air painting events. 

The Copper Shores Community Health Foundation views grants as financial awards that assist organizations in the implementation or support of new or existing programs, projects or services. Grant applications design projects with measurable goals and outcomes, which serve a health need in the community. 

In order to apply for a Copper Shores Community Health Foundation grant, organizations must be recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, a local unity of government, or a public institution of education. Applicants must be located in Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw or Ontonagon counties. They must also have demonstrated organizational capacity to successfully execute the proposed grant, including all reporting requirements. More information and applications can be found at coppershores.org/grants.