Carol Shaffer of Traverse City, who is in her 80s, got off the Cherriot bus one day in March, took about eight steps and slipped on the ice in her driveway. Luckily, her injuries, which could have been serious, were limited to a cut lip and a skinned face.
"Thank goodness for the wonderful Cherriot bus driver," Carol wrote. "He helped me up and to the door. On his next trip around, he stopped to check on (whether) I had someone with me. I did. He was very thoughtful, however I didn't get his name."
Carol went on to say that she has ridden other BATA buses and she has nothing but good feelings for all the drivers, who have been unfailingly kind, thoughtful and courteous.
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Cadillac Area O.A.S.I.S. depends on the support of the community to continue to offer services to women and children in need. Currently the shelter is out of several items.
Donations of paper towels, toilet paper and general cleaning products are needed. Donations are tax deductible and may be dropped off at the O.A.S.I.S. administrative office, 601 Chestnut St. For details, call 775-7299.
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Deb Johnson of Lake Leelanau would like to thank the man who rescued her pug puppy on April 2 at the Holiday Gas Station on M-22.
The 4-month-old puppy jumped from Deb's car when she stopped to get gas and headed straight for M-22.
"I ran after her, but either fear of her surroundings or my panicked voice scared her, and she ran away from me instead of toward me," Deb wrote.
The puppy stopped at the edge of the highway while cars stopped, waiting to see which way she would head. She then turned and ran toward Tom's West Bay.
"A man appeared and ran into the grass calling her. She ran to him and he picked her up and handed her to me," Deb continued. "By that time I was shaking and crying, so he gave me a hug, and I hugged him back for saving my puppy's life. I don't know who he was, but I am so grateful to him and think he's wonderful. Thank you so much!"
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Preggers on South Union Street recently donated a shopping experience to all the young women in the Women's Resource Center's Doula Teen Parent Program. The business is co-owned by Rebecca Zipser Hoffman, her mother, Ann Zipser of Traverse City, and Emily Zipser of Chicago, who also manages their Chicago store.
"We opened Preggers to make the experience of shopping during pregnancy a special one," said Rebecca. "As our business continues to grow we wanted to thank the community by offering a little something to those women who are less fortunate. A partnership with the Women's Resource Center provided the perfect opportunity to make this a reality."
The WRC's Doulas Program offers services that include Doulas (volunteer mentors), labor and delivery support, access to a baby pantry, empowerment groups, newsletters with parenting tips and community information, referrals to and advocacy with community resources, and a 24-hour crisis line.
"We are currently providing services to 50 young women," said coordinator Shelley Burns. "This is such a treat for our teens and it has turned into a beautiful way for new Doulas to break the ice with their teen parents."
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The second annual Suds & Snow microbrew tasting and snowshoeing fundraiser at Timber Ridge was a surprise hit in terms of attendance and the amount of money raised for Bethany Christian Services' foster care program in Traverse City, with the final donation to Bethany amounting to more than $6,000.
"I knew that we had a solid event with an enthusiastic core audience, but the rate at which Suds & Snow has developed is tremendous," said Timber Ridge Resort Marketing and Events Director Sara Klebba.
Timber Ridge co-owner Kristin Levesque added that she figured attendance might double from 2007, if they were lucky.
"We were actually nervous that we might have purchased too much product in advance," Levesque said. "Between the afternoon before and the day of the event, almost 400 tickets were sold, (and) we ended up on the phone with beer distributors the evening before Suds & Snow trying to order more kegs
Part of the success of any fundraiser is dependent on its volunteers and sponsors.
Suds & Snow is no different. Roughly 50 people helped with set up, monitored the trails, poured beer and "bounced" to name a few of the job assignments and the generosity of the monetary and in-kind donations made by the sponsors contributed greatly to the size of the donation to Bethany.
"Bethany Christian Services is appreciative of Timber Ridge Resort's generous support of our foster care program," said Craig Bultsma, Bethany's branch director in Traverse City. "Scores of abused and neglected children in the Greater Traverse Bay region will benefit from the event proceeds as we complete the furnishing of two family visitation rooms."
Items for this column may be sent to Northern Notes, Record-Eagle, P.O. Box 632, Traverse City, MI 49685-0632; e-mail sbeach@record-eagle.com.
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