Financial Aid Workshop January 7

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Applying for financial aid may be the most important task many a high school senior and their family will undertake; it may also be the most daunting. To help academically talented students sort through this process, the Cook Family Foundation is holding a workshop on Tuesday, January 7 from 7-9 p.m. at the Baker College Welcome Center in Owosso.

The Cook Family Foundation strives to increase access to the University of Michigan for students from the Shiawassee County region. Since fall 2019, as in every year, we have been working with students to apply to the University of Michigan. We will continue to assist students with the admissions process and help them make their college decision this winter and spring. We provide a scholarship to any student from the greater Shiawassee County area admitted to the University of Michigan. We welcome questions and can provide some answers to frequently asked questions.  These are important first steps, but maximizing financial aid can open doors and increase higher education options.

At the upcoming workshop, a representative from the University of Michigan Office of Financial Aid will provide important information about qualifying for financial aid, as well as some useful tips on making college more affordable. U-M is the only public university in Michigan to cover 100 percent of demonstrated financial need of in-state students. The University’s Go Blue Guarantee promises four years of free tuition for families with an income of less than $65,000 and assets of less than $50,000.  Reduced tuition is available to families making up to $180,000.

While the workshop will provide particular insight to financial aid from the University of Michigan, the presentation will be applicable no matter what four-year university a student ends up attending. The first step is to complete the FAFSA, the qualifying form used by all institutions of higher learning. To be eligible for financial aid from UM, students and their families will also need to complete a CSS Profile. Both of these applications are now available; the sooner they are submitted the more quickly a student will get a financial aid offer.

Students and/or their parents are invited to attend the January 7 workshop.  While it is not necessary to RSVP, please contact us if you have questions (call us at: 989-725-1621 or email us at [email protected]). To keep up-to-date on financial aid, scholarships, and other UM information follow us on Twitter @GoBlueGoBruce

What Are You Doing to Raise Up Shiawassee?

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The Power of Many.  In a time when many have become discouraged or cynical, we look for evidence of how we, together, can make a difference.  Shiawassee County found it on Giving Tuesday when the community donated more than $78,000 to 19 local nonprofit organizations.

Also, we have had concrete demonstrations of the power of volunteers in two holiday traditions in Shiawassee County.  This past weekend, more than a hundred volunteers put on six magical performances of Holiday at Lebowsky. At the same time, and for several weekends before and after, volunteers at the Steam Railroading Institute are conjuring twice daily trips on the North Pole Express.

Too often, we think that it’s too difficult for one person to have an impact, that our problems are beyond our ability to fix, and that change will come only when someone else somewhere else takes action. Then look at the power of a holiday show, with not only scores of our neighbors (and their children!) performing for us, but volunteers backstage constructing sets, running lights, taking tickets, and sustaining an organization that rebuilt a burned down theater. And just across the river, people give of their time to dress up as conductors, serve as greeters, and run a historic steam locomotive, which was rebuilt, and now painstakingly maintained, by volunteers. 

Making trips to the North Pole possible

Raise Up Shiawassee serves as the banner under which we can rally together as a community to make a difference. We are fortunate to have several effective nonprofit organizations in Shiawassee County fiercely dedicated to missions which improve the quality of life for our residents. Many of them began collaborating in 2017 to raise funds to assist them in their endeavors. As part of the global social media movement known as #GivingTuesday, this year 534 people gave $78,639 on December 3 (donations are still being accepted through the end of the year at www.raiseUPshiawassee.org )

Generosity cannot be limited to just money, and nonprofits are also working together to empower individuals to give back their time and talents. On November 19 at The Armory an open house allowed people to learn about the missions of 19 organizations and find their “nonprofit soulmate.”  Volunteer recruitment continues through the Shiawassee Serves website where people can search and sign up for volunteer positions. 

The Cook Family Foundation, Shiawassee Community Foundation, and the United Way provide a backbone for collaborative efforts by local nonprofits, and help create a platform for individuals to give back to their community.  A Facebook page, Raise Up Shiawassee, provides an online place to share, announce, and promote activities which can bring us together to create positive change in our community. The hashtag #raiseUPshiawassee has become a quick way to highlight on social media those efforts which make us a better place to live, work, and make a difference.

What can you do to raise up, or support, or create that will make our community better?

You Too Can Be A Philanthropist

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We at the Cook Family Foundation are proud to be philanthropists, but we don’t want to be the only ones.  On Giving Tuesday, December 3 this year, you too can be a philanthropist and help raise up those who do good work in our community. 

The literal definition of a philanthropist is lover of humanity.  The word derives from the Greek verb “philos” which means love and “anthropos” which means humankind.  A person who practices, or believes in, philanthropy is a philanthropist.  

Andrew Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth”

Often, when we think of a philanthropist, we think of a man towards the end of a successful business career who makes a decision to give back to the place of their upbringing or advance a cause near and dear to their heart.  The 19th-century industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, who donated the funds to build the library in Owosso (and much more), often comes to mind. For us, we think of Donald Cook, who translated his success at Wolverine Sign Works into the founding of the Cook Family Foundation (see a video here that tells his story).

But times have changed, and we strive to be a more egalitarian society where all can participate in strengthening our community.  Philanthropy and democracy go together, and neither should be the arena of only the wealthy. Giving Tuesday is an opportunity where everyone who has had even a modest amount of good fortune can give back, or pay it forward, or help those in need.

Giving Tuesday was born in 2012 out of an aspiration to encourage generosity around the world, and to use the open tools of social media to inspire individual actions of philanthropy.  These can include financial donations, but Giving Tuesday also appreciates the fact that volunteer efforts and acts of kindness also promote a more generous society and stronger communities.  

In Shiawassee County, for the third year in a row, local nonprofit organizations have come together on Giving Tuesday under the banner of #raiseUPshiawassee to improve our communities.  We have a strong collection of locally-based groups committed to missions which serve the residents of Shiawassee County, whether they be young or old, in crisis or seeking enrichment, or care about history, the environment, or animals.  All of them are worthy of your support.

Perhaps less obviously, the collaboration of #raiseUPshiawassee also demonstrates that none of us alone is as good as all of us together.  Three organizations–the Shiawassee Community Foundation, the United Way, and the Cook Family Foundation–serve as the coordinators of our local Giving Tuesday effort, but the effort is driven by collaborate efforts of Shiawassee-based nonprofits. In addition, the Shiawassee Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership have engaged area businesses in this philanthropic endeavor. Working together, community organizations, local businesses, and caring citizens can make a real difference in Shiawassee County, and beyond.

December 3, 2019

In our country, we champion individual achievement, but we also know that when we jointly commit to a common goal we can accomplish even more. Giving Tuesday takes individual acts of kindness and charity and powers them up to create a society of generosity. And locally, #raiseUPshiawassee shows that the value of small donations are greater than the sum of the individual parts. Last year, 588 philanthropists made donations on Giving Tuesday to local nonprofits and together we raised $73,086 to make our community a better place. Next week, we hope you too can make a gift to one or more of our local groups and show your love for humanity and the place where we live. You can learn more about specific initiatives and make a donation to one (or all) at www.raiseUPshiawassee.org. You can also find volunteer opportunities at www.ShiawasseeServes.org.  

And as we start the holiday season, we give thanks for the people who have a love for humanity and reach out with acts of kindness and generosity. Won’t you be one of them?