Just a few hours ago, a fire swept through the Harbor Place Shoppes at 49 N. Madison Avenue in Sturgeon Bay. Thankfully, no injuries were reported, but the structure is totally destroyed. While there were several businesses that suffered a tragic loss this morning, a particularly important charity in our community saw its office completely wiped out. Door-Tran is critical to transportation in Door County.  They recruit volunteers for transportation programs and offer half-price transportation vouchers to Door County residents in need. They also coordinate rides to and from Veterans Administration clinics.

Our friends at Door-Tran have lost everything. Yet amazingly, by 9 a.m. the morning of the fire, Door-Tran's remarkably committed professional staff has already set up a temporary office in a conference room at Sunshine House and a phone line of (920) 559-9915 so they can continue to help those in need.

The Community Foundation has set up a temporary fund to collect contributions for Door-Tran as they try to find a new home so their services to the community can continue. 100% of all money received by the Community Foundation will be passed on to Door-Tran to help them rebuild their operation.

The impetus for Door-Tran began with what is now known as the Advancement Grant program of the Door County Community Foundation. Advancement Grants invest in collaborative efforts which lead to systemic change and advance our quality of life in Door County. These grants support initiatives which look at entire systems in our community and work to bring about greater efficiencies if not a whole scale change in how things are done.

The United Way of Door County answered the call. Their needs assessments and focus groups all agreed that the improvement of transportation services was a significant need in Door County. A transportation steering committee made up of nonprofits, for-profits, and government agencies was formed and eventually launched Door-Tran.  Door-Tran was also instrumental in working behind the scenes to obtain funding for our community's first shared ride taxi system, Door 2 Door Rides, which now services virtually the entire Peninsula.

Door-Tran is a critically important service for those people in our community who cannot afford a car or who cannot operate a vehicle for health reasons. Sadly, their entire office was completely destroyed in this morning's fire.  

Let's do our part to help the organization that works so hard to help the people of our Door County.  Please consider making a gift online today to help Door-Tran rebuild. Or you can mail your contribution to "Door-Tran Rebuilding Fund" c/o Door County Community Foundation, PO Box 802, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235. 100% of all dollars received will be passed through to Door-Tran.

The Door County Community Foundation named Reverend Anthony Birdsall as the 2014 Door County Philanthropist of the Year at a luncheon last month before a full house of nearly 200 guests at the Horseshoe Bay Golf Club in Egg Harbor.

Philanthropists champion the causes that resonate in their heart, said Bret Bicoy, President & CEO of the Community Foundation."They cannot help but openly share their passion with those around them.  Their enthusiasm for service is contagious."

"Most importantly," said Bicoy, "A philanthropist is one who believes that the best way to lead is by serving others."

These are the qualities the Community Foundation sees in Reverend Anthony Birdsall.

Father Tony was born in Maplewood in 1934 and was raised on his mom's home farm, the Bretl Farm.  He entered the Salvatorian Seminary as a high school freshman in September 1948 and was eventually ordained at St. Francis Cathedral in Green Bay in 1954.

Over the next 49 years, Father Tony served parishes throughout the Diocese of Green Bay, retiring from his last parish of Corpus Christi in 2008.  Although retired, Fr. Tony is constantly filling in from the southernmost to the northernmost parishes on the peninsula, saying masses twice a month on Washington Island.

Fr. Tony has given tirelessly and quietly within our entire community.  His love of children has inspired him to give of both his time and his treasure.To this day, he has playground duty at St. John Bosco and takes time to have lunch with the children.

His love of farming and farm animals has made him a fixture at the Door County fair, where he has taken ribbons for both his chickens and his flowers.His beautiful roses have brought smiles to many.  He stays involved in 4H and Rotary projects as well.

The Celebration of Giving is free and open to the public thanks to the generosity of its sponsors. Particular thanks goes to Gold Level sponsors Thrivent Financial - Grace & Glen Rossman and Hawkins Ash CPAs.

Other thanks go to Silver Level sponsors Baylake Bank, C&S Manufacturing Corp., Jacobus Wealth Management, Ministry Door County Medical Center, and Pinkert Law Firm, LLP.

Bronze Level sponsors include Inge Alverson Bacon, CPA and Just In Time Corporation. 

Each year the Door County Community Foundation identifies a person whose generosity of spirit has touched the lives of many in Door County and bestows the honor of Philanthropist of the Year.Previous honorees include Ruth & Hartley Barker (2006), Cythia Stiehl (2006), Marian Hislop (2007), Dave & Vonnie Callsen (2007), Tim & Sue Stone (2008), Josephine Guenzel (2009), Miriam Erickson (2010), Lee Traven (2011), Anne Haberland Emerson (2012), and Spencer & Barbara Gould (2013).

Tickets are still available for the second annual Bill Boettcher Dinner & Golf Event, presented by Horseshoe Bay Golf Club and the Door County Community Foundation.

Sunday, July 20

Elegant Five Course Dinner Paired with Select Wines

The Bill Boettcher Dinner and Golf Event originally was the idea of the Horseshoe Bay Golf Club whose members wanted to give back to the Door County Community. The former Chairman of the Club's Executive Committee, Glenn Timmerman, approached the Community Foundation with the idea of hosting an event.    

Reservations for the Sunday Dinner are $75 per person. Monday Golf is $70 per person for Horseshoe Bay Members and $125 per person for non-Members. Guests may participate on either or both days. 

To register, call (920) 746-1786 or email Kacie Wilson. Horseshoe Bay members may charge the event to their membership account. Other guests are invited to pay by check or credit card. More information is available at GiveDoorCounty.org.

The Community Foundation's Sustainability Grants are reviewed on a quarterly basis, but checks are presented weekly to charities around Door County. Here are just a handful of examples of recent grantees.  

The Door County Community Foundation awarded We Are HOPE, Inc. a Sustainability Grant from its Health & Human Needs Fund to upgrade their office IT equipment. The word "HOPE" in the organization's title is an acronym for "Helping Others Prosper and Excel." The grant will help We are HOPE, Inc. continue to serve the Door County community as residents turn to them for a helping hand.

As the staff at We Are HOPE, Inc. continues to experience an increasing community need for their programs and services, We Are HOPE's IT system struggled under heavy use from both clients and staff. Bret Bicoy, CEO of the Door County Community Foundation said, "A significant upgrade was needed to enable them to continue to assist clients as they search for jobs, unemployment benefits, home energy and weatherization services. The upgrade provides a secure and reliable resource that benefits the Door County community."

host an environmental forum as an outreach effort to initiate a dialog to increase collaboration between many Door County individuals and organizations in order to address our changing environment. This day long event was an opportunity for persons of differing beliefs and backgrounds to work together in preserving and caring for Door County's unique lands and coastline.

Among the featured expert speakers were Tia Nelson, Executive Secretary of the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, Paul Robbins, Director of the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies in Madison,WI, Robert Krumenaker, Superintendent of the Lake Superior National Lakeshore, National Park Service, local expert Roy Thilly, former CEO of WPPI Energy, and Jane Elder, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

The Community Foundation also awarded the Egg Harbor Historical Society a Sustainability Grant from the Historic Preservation Fund and The Clifford & Clara Herlache Heritage Foundation to support the development of a Master Plan to determine what is needed to preserve and re-purpose the Horseshoe Bay Farms structures.

The Master Plan will identify the steps needed to maintain the existing structures, determine placement of the Egg Harbor Historical Society office within one of the buildings, establish uses of the property that will foster the telling of the Horseshoe Bay Farms story, and propose creative options on how the property might be used for other community initiatives.

The Community Foundation is honored to display the works of Cheryl Stidwell Parker and Sally Everhardus in its Lobby Gallery. More than 80 guests attended the exhibit's opening reception on May 31. Each quarter, different Door County artists are invited by curators Annie Egan and Nancy Sargent to exhibit their work.  

Cheryl Stidwell Parker studied art education at the University of Northern Iowa and attended the College of Design at Iowa State University.  After teaching art in Iowa public schools for several years, in 1977 she became a Museum Educator and Assistant Director of the Blanden Memorial Art Museum in Fort Dodge, Iowa. In 1991, Stidwell Parker was honored with the Iowa Art Museum Educators Award and was named the NAEA Western Division Museum Educator of the Year.

In 1999, Stidwell Parker moved to Door County to accept the position as Executive Director of the former Fairfield Museum. She retired in 2002 and eventually settled in Bailey's Harbor with her husband, Stephen Lavell.

Together they established Chez Cheryl Art space, home to the annual Door Prize for Portraiture.  Cheryl has been painting full time since 2003 and continues to pursue new challenges in water based oils, found object collage, photography and drawing. Initially inspired by the water and light of Door County,  Cheryl  practiced plein air approach to landscape and has had a long term interest in the land.

At age six, Sally Everhardus planned on a career illustrating children's books. She always drew, constructed "stuff" and observed nature on walks/rides with her numerous dogs and horses. While putting herself through school at the University of Michigan, Everhardus worked as an illustrator.

Everhardus had to continue working at a "real" job, but the creativity always poked through with art classes and projects. Now a warm weather plein air painter, winters are spent in drawing and fabricating art with tongue-in-cheek humor or social commentary. Everhardus has exhibited in several venues in Door County, the J.M. Kohler and Appleton Art Centers, Jack Richeson Gallery, and has won several awards. Her work is represented locally May through October at Woodwalk Gallery, appears in the 2014 Door Prize for Portraiture, and in the "Eggstravaganza" that celebrates Egg Harbor's 50th year as a village.