Spring and Fall Grants

The Superior Health Foundation (SHF) in Marquette awarded more than $942,000 in health-centered grant funding at its Fall Grants Celebration on Thursday evening at the Holiday Inn in Marquette. 44 North proudly presented the event. 

The Superior Health Foundation awarded $722,065.93 in proactive pediatric mental health grants, $204,654.15 in fall grants and $16,254.62 in pilot-project and equipment grants. 

In its 11-year history, the Upper Peninsula-wide, non-profit organization has awarded more than $6.4 million in grant dollars to health-centered, non-profits in the U.P.

“For this round of grants, we had an incredible array of outstanding proposals,” said Jim LaJoie, executive director of the Superior Health Foundation. “We are particularly pleased to award more than $722,000 in funding to address pediatric mental health issues in the Upper Peninsula. They are prominent, and we feel incredibly blessed to be in position to provide grant funding to help provide the resources our young people truly deserve.”

At the event, the Superior Health Foundation awarded $722,065.93 in proactive pediatric mental health grants to six non-profit organizations in the U.P.: 

• Michigan State University – Department of Pediatrics & Human Development ($389,237.00): Michigan State University – Department of Pediatrics & Human Development is receiving funding to create UP-TEACH. UP-TEACH will serve as the hub for disseminating training and technical support by identifying and increasing access to services for youth with mental health needs. Grant funding will support existing primary care practices in identifying and linking vulnerable youth to psychiatric services and create a model for expanding mental health literacy for the next generation of U.P. providers. 
• Upper Peninsula Health Care Solutions, Inc. ($106,165.93): Upper Peninsula Health Care Solutions received funding for its Upper Peninsula Behavioral Health Network project. This project is designed to serve youth and adult populations with the understanding that the health of the whole family is crucial to the health of children. The project will establish a robust network of behavioral health care providers to evaluate and develop region-wide solutions to the care access issues faced by residents of the U.P, including a pilot, hub-and-spoke model of direct mental health services to increase local capacity.
• Great Lakes Recovery Centers, Inc. ($80,000.00): Great Lakes Recovery Centers was awarded funding for the creation of a Day Treatment program. The Upper Peninsula has a need for increased intensive outpatient services for students who have mental health and educational needs that aren’t currently being met in the traditional classroom setting. The creation of a Day Treatment Program will provide these students with additional services to enable them to receive treatment in the local community. As students are stabilized, they will return to their local school district to be re-integrated.
• Catholic Social Services of the Upper Peninsula ($70,194.00): Catholic Social Services of the Upper Peninsula received funding to improve access to mental health treatment for young people by expanding its evidenced-based treatment program for mental illness to serve each individual based on their needs. Mental health professionals assess, diagnose and develop goals and strategies with their patients to develop a treatment plan to address their needs. Early intervention, along with treatment, builds a safe, long-term support system to thrive while living with mental illness.
• Northern Michigan University ($36,673.00): Northern Michigan University is receiving funding for its U.P. Behavioral Health Education Hub project. Partners will collaborate to develop a plan that creates a regional Behavioral Health Education Hub supporting the Upper Peninsula’s needs for pediatric behavioral health education (certification, licensure, practicum placement, continuing education and credentialing requirements), specialty training, research opportunities, networking and identification of and access to resources.
• Marquette-Alger RESA ($23,000.00): Marquette-Alger RESA is receiving funding for its Upper Peninsula Wellness Task Force project. The Youth Wellness Task Force began in June 2022. Participation is open to any community member interested in the physical, emotional, social and behavioral wellness of youth in Marquette and Alger counties. The goal of the Task Force is to implement sustainable changes based on identified needs and plans to enhance youth wellness. This funding will allow for the coordination of efforts and initiatives to support wellness across the U.P.
• Marquette-Alger RESA ($16,796.00): Marquette-Alger RESA was awarded funding for its School-Based Universal Mental Health Screening pilot project. Universal school-based mental health screening and education is a part of a school-wide, multi-tiered system of support. The goal is to prevent future concerns and provide early intervention for student mental health. The pilot project will involve education and screening at two school districts (one in Alger County and one in Marquette County). Marquette-Alger RESA and local district mental health staff will lead the screening effort in collaboration with NMU’s Department of Social Work. 

The Superior Health Foundation also awarded $204,654.15 in fall grants to eight non-profit organizations in the U.P.: 

• Fork Farms Foundation ($65,099.00): Fork Farms Foundation is receiving funding to increase food security in Upper Peninsula K-12 schools through indoor agriculture. The project will increase food security in the U.P. by engaging 21 different middle and high school classrooms through the seven intermediate school districts across the U.P. each year for two years in growing their own fresh vegetables through indoor agriculture. Indoor agriculture is a growing sector of sustainable food systems with the ability to grow leafy greens, herbs and fruiting crops such as cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, indoors, year-round, on a small footprint of space, using minimal water and energy resources. 
• UPCAP ($38,000.00): UPCAP’s funding is for the U.P. Food as Medicine Infrastructure Expansion project.  The U.P. Food as Medicine project is a nutrition intervention to address food insecurity and contribute to the prevention of chronic health conditions associated with a lower intake of fruits and vegetables low-income residents may experience. This expansion will improve access to locally sourced fresh produce, with additional options available to producers leading to increased capacity, storage and extended growing seasons. 
• MPTA/Michigan Transportation Connection ($25,000.00): MPTA/Michigan Transportation Connection (MTC) is receiving funding for indigent support for MTC ConnectUP transportation services. ConnectUP strengthens and broadens mobility options throughout the entire Upper Peninsula by uniting public transit agencies, specialized services agencies and other collaborative partners with the focus on non-emergent medical transportation. The funding will help provide additional capacity to expand trip provision for non-emergency medical transportation throughout the U.P.’s 15 counties. 
• OSF St. Francis ($22,634.15): OSF St. Francis is receiving funding for the expansion of cardiology services at St. Francis Hospital. On May 11th, 2023, St. Francis Hospital announced the exclusive agreement with Bellin Health to expand cardiovascular services in Delta County. The expansion of cardiology services will provide patients with a continuity of care, increasing access to testing and procedures while reducing the need to travel, as well as reduced wait periods for appointments. Grant funding will be used to purchase a Snapshot Imaging Package that will allow St. Francis Hospital to provide CT for cardiac care locally.
• Marquette-Alger RESA ($21,421.00): Marquette-Alger RESA is receiving funding for phase II of the Teen Mental Health First Aid U.P. Expansion Project. Teen Mental Health First Aid (TMHFA) teaches teens in grades 10-12, or ages 15-18, how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among their friends and peers. The program teaches that “it is okay to not be okay, and it is okay to ask for help when you are not okay.”  The Expansion Project focuses on the implementation of the program in high schools across the U.P., with the goal of launching and sustaining this program in each region of the Upper Peninsula. 
• Trillium House ($15,000.00): Trillium House’s funding is for its “Meeting Healthcare Needs in our Communities: An Awareness Campaign of Respite & Hospice Support Services” project. There is a growing need for respite and hospice services throughout the U.P. as the aging population and demand for caregivers continue to grow. However, many U.P. residents are unaware of available services and struggle to provide care for their loved ones at the expense of their own health and well-being. This not only jeopardizes the health of the family caregiver but also the quality and consistency of care for their loved ones. Grant funds will be used for a comprehensive public awareness campaign to increase community understanding of respite and hospice services, how to access them, what financial assistance may be available, and why it’s important to utilize these types of services.
• Eversight ($10,000.00): Eversight is receiving funding for sight-saving eye tissue donation and transplantation support. Corneal blindness is the fourth leading cause of blindness. Ten million people suffer from bilateral corneal blindness, and 12.5 million people are waiting for a unilateral corneal transplantation procedure. This grant will allow 20 Upper Peninsula cornea/eye tissue donors and their families to give the gift of sight to up to 40 individuals and will allow Eversight to prepare additional sight-saving transplants for U.P. residents.
• The Lakes Community Health Center, Inc. ($7,500.00): The Lakes Community Health Center is receiving funding for the Hurley Pediatric Therapies Lending Closet. The clinic, which sits on the Wisconsin/Michigan border, primarily serves Medicaid patients in Iron County, Wis., and Gogebic County. The Pediatric Therapy Lending Closet will address major barriers patients and their families experience by making equipment available for families to take home. On average, a child may check-out up to 15 items during their treatment. By offering the Lending Closet, families have timely and affordable access to the tools they need to thrive in both in-person and at-home treatment plans.

The Superior Health Foundation also awarded pilot project and equipment grants to the following organizations: 

Camp New Day U.P., Camp UPeninsulin, County of Alger, Gogebic County Sheriff’s Office, Little Learners Early Childhood Center, Marquette Chapter of National AMBUCS, Negaunee Fire Fighters Association, Negaunee Public Schools and U.P. Chapter AACN.

The Superior Health Foundation’s mission is to “assist with unmet healthcare needs, with health education, and with programs and research on preventing illness and promoting health throughout the Upper Peninsula.”

SHF accepts grant proposals monthly for pilot project and equipment grants. 

Applications for the Spring grants cycle will be accepted from Dec. 15-Jan. 15. To learn more and apply for funding, visit www.superiorhealthfoundation.org.