-- Westwoods Elementary School's first annual Rake-A-Thon, held during October and November 2009, was featured in the Parent Teacher Organization magazine "PTO Today." The Rake-A-Thon is recognized for recruiting volunteers from churches, athletic teams and other community groups.
-- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan has received more than $7,000 in grant awards from three funds of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation. Overall, the grant awards will support Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program initiatives that serve at-risk youth in the greater Grand Traverse region. The Genuine Leelanau Charitable Endowment Fund gave $3,000 to expand mentor-youth matches in Suttons Bay as part of the foundation's ongoing commitment to Leelanau County communities. The Families in Action for Youth Fund granted $2,000 to help support the Traverse Heights Elementary school-based Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and the Youth Services Endowment Fund gave $2,316 to support career exploration projects in Antrim, Kalkaska and Leelanau mentoring matches.
