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Updates from Board Chair Matthew Denenberg, June 2023
Hello supporters and friends of North Star Reach:
As we promised earlier in this process, we are committed to sharing regular updates with our camp and local communities to ensure you are all able to come along with us on our journey to returning to camp. Today, we are excited to update you on the progress we are making in creating long-term sustainability in delivering life-changing camp experiences for our campers and families.
Camp Leadership Updates
We recently welcomed new board member Dan Craig who is already rolling up his sleeves. Dan serves as the President of Hatch Stamping, a leading local industrial manufacturing company in Michigan. Dan is a Michigan native who has served on the boards of many wonderful organizations. Dan had previously served on the North Star Reach board, and we are thrilled to welcome Dan back to the NSR team at such a critical time.
We have also elected Board officers and positioned key committee chairs: Vice-Chair Sheri Mark, Treasurer J.J. Lewis, Secretary me, and Chair of the Governance Committee Anna Maiuri. Many thanks to all for your dedication and support!
Fundraising Progress and Opportunities
We are thrilled with the outpouring of support from our friends and supporters in Michigan and around the country. More people are joining our critical efforts to raise the financial resources needed to return kids to camp in 2024 and ensure their campfires are burning for many years to come. In April, our community of supporters met an important $100K match challenge offered by SeriousFun Children’s Network by donating $100K in cash and pledges. We are so immensely proud and thankful to all the Board and the executive team who have invested, and we are especially grateful to Masco, SAY Detroit, Domino’s, and others for donating funds to earn the match.
Now we have another unbelievably valuable opportunity in front of us. SeriousFun has offered another crucial investment of support. If we can raise another $100K by the end of June, they will provide an additional $100K match to assist in the Camp’s rebuilding efforts. Right now, we have two ways that you can help us meet this match:
- You can donate (any gift counts) or a three-year pledge HERE. Yes – SeriousFun will count pledges as a qualifying match opportunity!
- Share the information about this opportunity with your friends and networks and help inspire others to give (spreading the word is key and helps raise awareness).
- Reach out to David Leckey, interim CEO, if you know of an individual, corporate, our foundation donor that might be interested in hearing more about this match from the leadership team.
Thank you in advance for any support you can offer in helping us reach this match!
That is all for now, but we hope our updates inspire you to help Keep the Campfires Burning at North Star Reach. In the meantime, please reach out to David at david@northstarreach.org or Matthew at mdenenberg@northstarreach.org if you have any questions or ideas.
Updates from Board Chair Matthew Denenberg, April 2023
Updates from Board Chair Matthew Denenberg, April 2023
Matthew Denenberg, Chair of the Board of Directors for North Star Reach (NSR), a camp that provides life-changing, year-round programming for children with serious health challenges and their families, has announced the addition of four new members of the Board of Directors.
Joining the NSR Board in the month of April are:
• J.J. Lewis, Chief Development Officer for United Way of the Lakeshore
• Sheri Mark, RN, JD Community Advisor
• Anna Maiuri, JD (Retired – Dickinson Wright)
• Edward “Skip” Walton, MD, Director of the Medical Informatics Unit, Office of Academic Affiliations, US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Denenberg expressed his appreciation saying, “J.J., Anna, Sheri, and Skip have signed on to help ensure North Star Reach will continue serving so many in the Great Lakes region and our campfire will continue to burn brightly for years to come. They are a brilliant team of civic leaders already demonstrating the power of great governance and will surely benefit this new stage of our camp life cycle.”
In addition, David Leckey will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer taking over the camp leadership role from Executive Director Mitch Rosenwasser. “David is an experienced change leader with a history of success in the business, government, and nonprofit sectors,” Denenberg said. “He and the board are already engaged in strengthening our governance, reshaping our operating model, and stewarding our generous donors. We intend for North Star Reach to be here long into the future for the children and families of Michigan and the Great Lakes region.”
We offer thanks to Rosenwasser for his dedication and direction. “Mitch has been a committed and meticulous leader for North Star Reach. He is a career camp professional with deep family ties to camping, he knows this field inside out. He led us through challenging times, including the decision to pause camp in 2023.”
We announced in September 2022 that camp paused its programming for 2023 to set a foundation for sustainable impact and growth. North Star Reach invites anyone who wants to positively impact the lives of kids living with serious illnesses to help “Keep the Campfires Burning” at https://www.northstarreach.org/support/annual-fund/.
North Star Reach is a part of SeriousFun Children’s Network, a network of 30 camps and programs serving kids with serious illnesses and their families, free of charge. North Star Reach campers, families, and volunteers seeking a camp experience this summer are encouraged to explore opportunities with Flying Horse Farms, the SeriousFun camp in Ohio, or other SeriousFun camps (https://seriousfun.org/camps-and-programs/find-a-camp/), while we prepare to welcome campers back in 2024.
As adults, over 80% of SeriousFun alumni surveyed reported that the SeriousFun experience contributed to lasting outcomes in their lives including the willingness to try new things, appreciation for diversity, self-identity, empathy and compassion, self-confidence, perseverance, and friendship skills. Two-thirds of alumni surveyed reported health-related outcomes as positively influenced by their participation in a SeriousFun camp.
Since the camp opened in 2016, North Star Reach has served 5,000 kids and their families. In 2019, before Covid-19, NSR served more than 1,400 children.
For questions, please contact David Leckey at david@northstarreach.org.