Rotary Club of Cheboygan makes $10,000 donation to new behavioral health center
CHEBOYGAN — The Rotary Club of Cheboygan recently decided to donate $10,000 to the McLaren Northern Michigan Cheboygan Campus' new behavioral health wing as a way to celebrate the club's 100 years in the community.
Julie Jarema from the McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation and Laura Danial of McLaren Northern Michigan had attended a Rotary Club of Cheboygan meeting several months ago. At that meeting, the two discussed with Rotary members about the new behavioral health wing being constructed at McLaren's Cheboygan Campus.
"We have been talking about it as a board since then," said Amy Essex, Rotary Club of Cheboygan president.
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Essex said the donation was not in response to the recent challenge put out by Citizens National Bank in Cheboygan, which challenged other businesses and organizations to help support the new medical facility coming to Cheboygan.
Essex said the donation was more because, as a club, the group was looking for something impactful to do for the Cheboygan community, in conjunction with its 100-year celebration.
"We immediately saw this project as an opportunity for us to help fill a much needed gap in health care in Cheboygan," said Essex.
Essex said the $10,000 donation is a large one for the community service organization to be making. Usually gifts of this size are only made by the club once every five years or longer.
"We donate a significant amount each year in smaller grants and scholarships," said Essex. "But a project like this is more rare for us. We are thrilled to be involved in the funding of this project."
In December of last year, McLaren Northern Michigan announced its plans to build an inpatient behavioral health center in Cheboygan, in the former Cheboygan Memorial Hospital.
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The new Justin A. Borra Behavioral Health Center will be a 16-bed, adult unit with partial hospitalization.
Several local organizations and businesses have been stepping up recently to help support the construction of the facility, which is slated to open by the end of this year.
"We are extremely happy to donate to McLaren's behavioral health wing. It is a much needed facility and we are thrilled to be a part of what this unit will bring to our community," said immediate past Rotary Club President JL Sumpter.
Cheboygan City Councilwoman Diane Raab, who is also a member of the Rotary Club, said she is happy to see this behavioral health wing being constructed in Cheboygan.
"As a retired clinical social worker, I've watched the decline in access to mental health care going on for years. When I first heard about this project, I could not have been happier, great use of our old hospital," said Raab. "Rotary has always done so much for the Cheboygan community and it only made sense to contribute to this vital program."
Contact Reporter Kortny Hahn at khahn1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @khahnCDT.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Supporting new behavioral health wing, Cheboygan Rotary gifts $10,000
