MARQUETTE– A local legacy fund distributed more than $100,000 to Marquette County organizations this September.

The Paul F. Blewett Legacy Funds were established in 2010 through the Community Foundation of Marquette County in order to honor the late donor by supporting what he loved most in his community.

“It is an honor to administer the Paul F. Blewett Legacy Funds through the Community Foundation of Marquette County because we know that this funding honors Paul’s legacy of giving while providing vital funding to support projects and programs that meant so much tohim,” said Zosia Eppensteiner, CEO of the CFMC.

Funds were sent to Blewett’s hometown for use in the Ishpeming Independence Day celebration, the Skiers Training Facilities Inc., as well as Ishpeming High School and even the church he was a lifetime member of, Bethany Lutheran Church.

Bark River-Harris’s School District–where Blewett taught as a math teacher for 43 years–additionally received funding.

Other local recipients include: Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp, WNMU Public Radio 90 and Salvation Army locations in both Ishpeming and Escanaba.

Development Director of the Upper Peninsula Region of the Salvation Army, Cari Detmers, said, “We are grateful to the Blewett Legacy Funds for their ongoing support of The Salvation Army.

Their deep investment into the most vulnerable in our community is vital to our ongoing mission of meeting human need without discrimination.”

On a national scale, the following organizations also received donations: the Michigan Education Association, National Education Association Foundation, National Planned Parenthood, The American Civil Liberties Union, National Public Radio, American Cancer Society, National Alzheimer’s Association, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, American Lung Association and the American Red Cross.

Alexandria Bournonville can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 506. Her email address is abournonville@miningjournal.net.