Bruce & Jackie Cook Scholarship Nominees

Cook Family Foundation Posted on by

Thirty-two of Shiawassee County’s most academically accomplished high school seniors recently made a trip to Ann Arbor. All have been nominated for scholarships to the University of Michigan by the Cook Family Foundation. One of the students will be selected to receive a four-year, full-tuition scholarship from Bruce and Jacqueline Cook.

Each of the nominees will receive at least a $2,500 scholarship to the University of Michigan from the Cook Family Foundation. In addition to these nominees, the Cook Family Foundation provides a scholarship to every local student attending the University of Michigan. Read more about our scholarships (click here)CFF_UM_WEB

If they apply and are admitted to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the following students will be considered for the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook scholarship: from Byron, Samuel Geiser (not pictured), Brianna Wells; from Chesaning, Jordyn Barta, Rachel Kelley, Jacob Sadilek, and Colton Vrable; from Corunna, Kyle Daley, Michael Newman, Larissa Robinson-Cooper, and Cassidy Schnepp; from Durand, Tristan Blackledge, Jonathon Fall, Nathan Johnson, and Lucas Schaefer; from Laingsburg, Kurt McEwan, Nicholas Miller, Sydney Schneider, Antonia Vrana, and Clayton Zimmerman; from Morrice, Lucas Crawford and Taylor Zachar; from New Lothrop, Olivia Bishop and Roen Wheeler; from Ovid-Elsie, Elizabeth Bisson and Gordon Johnson; from Owosso, Ryan Comrie, Thomas Horak, Joseph Jafri, Eric Locker, and Lucas Messmer; and from Perry, Amelia Feuka, Hannah Feuka, Miranda Lewis, and Hayley West.

Past recipients of the Bruce and Jackie Cook Scholarship have included Nolan Wendling from New Lothrop in 2014, Emily Feuka from Perry in 2013, Sam Whaley also from Perry in 2012, Adam Stewart from Laingsburg in 2011, Valerie Foster from Byron in 2010, Adam Dingens from Corunna in 2009, Randy Piper from Owosso in 2008, Dan Frechtling from Perry in 2007 and Kendra Frye of Owosso in 2006.

You can follow the Foundation’s scholarship efforts on Twitter @GoBlueGoBruce

 

Recognizing Nonprofit Boards

Cook Family Foundation Posted on by

Serving on the board of a local nonprofit may be one of the most important, under-recognized volunteer actions in any community.  Nonprofit board members guide community organizations, support their work, and help them achieve their mission. The Cook Family Foundation seeks to strengthen Shiawassee-based nonprofit organizations, and thus we support the work of nonprofit boards through our Nonprofit Capacity Building Program.

DSC00662 - Version 2

Congratulations to the board of the Arc Shiawassee for their 100% participation in our recent survey contest.

Recently, we held a survey contest to gain the ideas of board members about what they wanted to know more about.  The 119 board members that responded identified three top concerns:

  1. Fund Development, to raise more support for their nonprofit
  2. Technology, to be able to respond to the changing times
  3. Effective Board Meetings, to make the most of their time together

In response to this survey, the Cook Family Foundation will be sponsoring two workshops from our partner, the Nonprofit Network.  These will be held October 22 and November 12 from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Baker College Welcome Center, with refreshments provided. The first workshop is entitled Board Governance in the Digital Age; the second will be about Building a Better Board.  More details will be available soon, but reserve the dates now.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey; your feedback was very valuable.  Thank you for serving the community through your nonprofit board.

DSC00664 - Version 2

Congratulations to the board of Respite Volunteers of Shiawassee for their 100% participation in our recent survey contest.

 

Fellows to Share Their Experiences

Cook Family Foundation Posted on by

convesationsavatarr
Do you need a new perspective on our community?  Sometimes we think we know all that we need to know about Owosso and Shiawassee County, the issues we need to deal with, and the organizations and people we work with.  At the Cook Family Foundation, our view is often refreshed when we talk with the next generation, and we are fortunate that several of our programs brings us that opportunity.

On July 31, six Owosso Fellows will be offering us a new perspective on our community.  For the last several weeks, these college students have been working for local organizations, doing several service projects, and learning about small town life. On Thursday, July 31, from 4-8 p.m. at the Jordan Gallery (118 N. Washington St. in Owosso), they will share “Conversations on Community: A Visual Journey.”  This will be a personal and collective expression of their experiences in Shiawassee County, something they have captured by taking a photo a day during their time here.  The Fellows will be in the gallery in an open house format, so stop by anytime.

The Cook Family Foundation’s Owosso Fellows program (see more info here) has brought together three of our local scholarship recipients attending the University of Michigan together with three students from Yale University.  From Michigan they are: Christian Van Epps, who has been working for the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership; Courtney Crawford, promoting early childhood health through Great Start Shiawassee; Emma Tompkins, an intern at the Shiawassee Arts Council.  The Yale students are: Mary Shi, who is helping plan pedestrian and bike improvements for the City of Owosso; Chloe Larkin, promoting tennis and fitness through the Shiawassee Family Y;  and Spencer Klavan, who is directing “Robin Hood” with the Owosso Community Players.

For more information contact the Foundation office at 989-725-1621