News

We're proud to support our community's students and their educational endeavors by offering numerous scholarships. Our program includes financial aid opportunities for students of all ages who are at different stages in their educational pursuits, as well as a number of different areas of study. 

A description of each scholarship offered through the Canton Community Foundation can be read here

Patricia Maurer created this scholarship fund in memory of her son, Jason Russell Maurer. These scholarships are available to graduating high school seniors and those who just completed their freshman year of college and who attend Woodside Bible Church - Troy Campus. This scholarship requires that the applicant attend Woodside Bible Church regularly and have documented community service. Scholarships may be awarded to those attending any college, university or trade school.

The list of awardees is below

Hello Giving Hope, Women’s Giving Circle members!

I am happy to announce that Giving Hope will receive a check for $1680 from the Canton Chamber of Commerce. This money was ½ of the total proceeds earned by the Golf Ball drop sales which took place at the Canton Chamber golf outing May 20^th and will go into our endowment fund.

Many thanks to Maureen Visser and  Noel Bittinger who manned the golf ball sales table all day!! Jane Kerjes and I, along with  GH members Renee DiPonio and Jaya Wilson played in the outing representing Giving Hope.

It was a wonderful day to share Giving Hope, Women’s Giving Circle with the community!!

Best wishes and looking forward to seeing everyone at our Summer Social June 22^nd!

Linda Demmer Advisory Board Chair  

Tickets will be available to purchase and there will be opportunities for businesses to sponsor a great evening at various levels.

Hello Giving Hope Ladies,

The ladies of Giving Hope are so generous!  So proud of all our ladies who donated monetarily as well as donating the spring & summer PJ's and stuffed animals to the Michigan Foster Care Closet of Plymouth. Giving Hope was able to send MFCC a check for $1400 which will be used to purchase more PJ's. We were able to take over 4 large bags of donations!  About 40 more pairs of PJ's were donated through the Amazon wishlist and sent directly to MFC.

The Michigan Foster Care Closet is a 501(c)3 non-profit staffed by 100% volunteers. No one gets paid, so all of the monetary donations go directly to helping foster children & foster families. They service 65-75 individual children a month all free of charge. Clothing children with confidence and self-esteem, is what they strive for with every child that walks through their doors. They are very intentional with their help and support the whole foster family. If you are interested in volunteering at MFCC, please call Rachael Secord at (734) 664-4089. Rachael operates the MFCC in Plymouth out of the 2500 sq ft basement of her home, which is open 24/7!  Their website is michiganfostercarecloset.org. You can also follow them on Facebook-Michigan Foster Care Closet-Plymouth and click follow. There are many opportunities to donate & volunteer.

We had 17 ladies join us on Zoom for our March 9th "Pajama Party" supporting Michigan Foster Care Closet in Plymouth. Rachael Secord, the president of MFCC spoke to us about the stressful situations that children experience when they are removed from their home. We also had some fun listening to the Canton/Denton ghost story with Mad Libs & playing a Kahoot.com trivia game. A Big Thank you to Karen Hanchett. Thank you to Sharon Flips for being a porch collection drop off, drawing & delivering our spa bag winner. Thank you to Becky Hurst who helped deliver the porch collections to MFCC. Thank you to Denise for the wonderful Facebook post. Thankful to be part of helping foster children in our area by supporting Michigan Foster Care Closet.

Looking forward to our summer social event on June22 in-person!  Giving Hope will be supporting Seedlings, Braile Books for Children. 

Raeann Neil 

Special Events Chair

Hello, Giving Hope, Women's Giving Circle member! Here is the next in our selection of significant philanthropic women for your reading and learning pleasure! What a wonderful legacy of Giving as women we share! Wishing you a wonderful week!  

Betty Ford was chosen for her strength and bravery. She was not afraid to speak out about issues many women faced yet were afraid to talk about. Betty was candid about women’s rights and health issues, speaking out about   her diagnosis with breast cancer and encouraging women to get yearly exams. Outspoken about drug and alcohol abuse and the importance seeking help and treatment.  Her voice helped so many women and families.

Betty Ford

A groundbreaking First Lady, Betty Ford is often remembered for her candor in addressing the controversial issues of her time.

Elizabeth Anne “Betty” Bloomer was born in Chicago and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from Central High School, she went on to study modern dance at Bennington School of the Dance. 

Betty returned to Michigan in 1941 and became a fashion coordinator for a department store.  During this time, she continued to pursue her love of dance by starting her own performance group and teaching dance to handicapped children.

Betty became the First Lady when husband Gerald Ford became the 38th President of the United States. A few months later, Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a radical mastectomy. Rather than suppressing the diagnosis, she courageously shared her story and inspired countless women across the nation to get breast examinations. During her tenure as First Lady, Ford continued to be an outspoken advocate of women’s rights, addressing public issues like the Equal Rights Amendment and increasing the number of women appointed to senior government posts.

After the Presidency 1976 Betty moved her family to Rancho Mirage, California. In 1978, following a family intervention, Ford underwent successful treatment for addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. She again used her personal story to raise public awareness of addiction, and in 1982, she co-founded the Betty Ford Center to treat victims of alcohol and chemical dependency.