We were blown away by the tremendous response to our 75th Anniversary Celebration with the largest attendance we have ever had for an event. The room was filled with hundreds of donors, friends, partners and volunteers. So many special people.

The fact that we are celebrating 75 years of community philanthropy is a testament to the willpower and determination of hundreds of volunteers and thousands of donors who believe that we are the ones who will control our destiny. Thankfully, we have so much to celebrate.

In honor of our 75th Anniversary, this special video was put together for all to enjoy.

The Community Foundation is not just the board or Mike Cansfield as chair or Randy Maiers or Jim Acheson or any single person… rather the Foundation is all of us.

For 75 years this region and this foundation have at times struggled but at no time have we wavered from our vision of creating a more prosperous and successful Blue Water Area. The sentiments below from Wilbur Norris during a pitch for Port Huron to be an All American City are just as relevant today as they were in the fifties: 

“We are not a rich community – as rich communities go. We have no rich uncles to build our civic facilities. Yet, we are wealthy – wealthy in that we have citizens who are willing to give freely and generously of their time and their hard-earned money – to build a better community,” Norris said. 

Our communities, our region, and our Community Foundation all have a bright future because of the room we saw filled with passionate people. The people who share this belief that we will control our own destiny and know that we will not wait for someone from Lansing or from Washington to come in and lay out a plan for our future. We will make the men and women who came before us proud of the Community Foundation they created back in 1944.

Our celebration would not have been possible without special financial support from our lead corporate donor, McLaren Port Huron Hospital.

We also received generous support from:

• James C. Acheson Fund
• Desmond Services
• DTE Foundation
• Eastern Michigan Bank
• Chemical Bank
• Fifth Third Bank