Outstanding National Service Program - Portage Health Foundation

Portage Health Foundation sprang into action in Houghton County when the Father’s Day Flood of 2018 left the community with over $120 million in storm-related damages. The Portage Health Foundation immediately developed and executed its Flood with Love response which funded the provisions of crisis-based mental health services. The response also coordinated and financed the supply of tools, personal protective equipment and emergency supplies for the Volunteer Recovery Center which engaged 2,131 volunteers in an estimated 28,000 service hours. It also activated a response plan to aid those citizens who were directly impacted by the flood.  The foundation directly coordinated and paid for repairs to homes; relocation of those families which were completely displaced from their destroyed homes; and helped mitigate many public health risk factors that affected the community. To date, the Portage Health Foundation has expended over $2 million in direct support to families affected as well as raising over $950,000 in private and corporate donations to help offset those costs. The Portage Health Foundation’s efforts to aid in the community’s overall recovery were a part of what makes their UP community #CopperCountryStrong.