Michelle Shirk
Boys and Girls Club of La Porte county
Speaker Chairman for this week’s meeting Daniel Granquist introduced today’s speaker,
Michelle Shirk, CEO of Boys and Girls Club of LaPorte County. Michelle has overseen the growth in Membership to over 250 kids as she is in her fifth year as CEO. She shared with the Club, some of the comments that she has received from kids, parents, and others on why the Boys and Girls Clubs are so special to them: One child likes playing in a safe and kind environment. Another child cited everyone is so nice. Still another child said that they felt a sense of membership. One parent of a child summed it up by commenting that her child feels loved. Other comments regarding the staff were: The staff is caring, and the staff is also well trained. Michelle noted that she now has a staff of forty-nine, and no one has left since she’s been there.
She stressed that the goal is to make the kids feel welcomed and pointed out that The LaPorte County Boys and Girls Club is one of the few clubs in the entire state that provides services for free.
Michelle commented on the new Michigan City location and how the construction of that project is progressing. Basically, the land has been cleared for the project and approvals for permits have been obtained. Things are moving forward as scheduled. The Club is working closely with Tonn and Blank on the design and construction for this project.
The Michigan City Exchange Club presented Michelle with a $2,000 donation check for The Boys and Girls Club of LaPorte County. She thanked the club for the donation and our continued support for the Boys and Girls Club.
Michigan City Service League
Deb Konicek, President
Tim Mellen, President, Michigan City exchange Club, Presents a check to Deb Konicek, Service League of Michigan City.
The Service League of Michigan City, founded in 1938, was organized to allow people in the community access to various types of medical equipment, free, for up to 3 months. There are over nine hundred pieces of equipment available to needy residents of LaPorte County. Some items require a small deposit. In addition to medical devices, the Service provides incontinence supplies, as well as bath & shower needs. These programs offer a source of financial relief for some of the most expensive personal hygiene products that many people require. Thirty-four women, and four men, volunteer their time and service.
Anyone needing assistance can contact the Service League at 219-972-1144 or on-line at https://serviceleaguemichigancity.org/.
Michiana Humane Society
The Michigan Ciy Exchange Club
presents the Michiana Humane Society with a check to help care for animals in the area.
Left to right:
Dave Bobinski, Club Board Member
Brianne Markos, Rescue & Social Media Director
Katelynn Bernth, Volunteer Coordinator
Tim Mellen, Club President
Kristy Hahn, Family Advocates
Community Outreach and Volunteer Services Coordinator
Board Members Tom Walma, Dave Babinski, and President Tim Mellon present Kristy Hahn with a check to help prevent child abuse.
Family Advocates promotes four goals:
1. Help abused and neglected children. Family Advocates provides opportunities where the child and the parent can have organized supervised visits in a homelike setting.
2. Harmony House provides parenting classes for parents you need to develop or improve parenting skills.
3. Mentorship Programs for at-risk youth. These programs help teach pre-teens how to make good life decisions. Many times, these classes teach life skills.
4. Slicer Champions. This program has older kids being mentors for kids that are in middle school or younger. These are kids that are not necessarily troubled kids, but kids that are looking for guidance from a young mentor.
Sandi Keller, President of Homeward Bound Villages
Program Speaker: Program Chairman for September, Jim Eriksson introduced today’s speaker, Sandi Keller, President of Homeward Bound Villages. Sandi stated that Homeward Bound Villages was started in 2021 to create a community through affordable housing. Many people who work and are making $10-15/hr. cannot afford basic housing in this market, when the cost to rent is anywhere from $700-$1,500/mo. Renters find themselves spending over 50% of their pay on rent and when life happens, hard choices must be made sometimes whether to pay unexpected expenses or to pay the rent. Sandi reported that as of 2019, our local community has a severe shortage of low-income rental units—estimated to be over 1,400 units. Homeward Bound Villages has recently completed plans for its first project to create an affordable housing rental community—Karwick Village. This project will have two phases with phase one being two buildings and phase two being an additional two buildings and a community building. This project was funded by grants and donor donations. Sandi said that many people from the local community have volunteered their time to make this project possible, as well as several businesses that offered gifts in-kind like donating their services or materials.
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