The Community Foundation of St. Clair County has announced a $105,000 grant to support the programs and operations of SONS in their new home at the former Harrison School in Port Huron.
According to the Community Foundation the grant came from the Acheson Donor Advised Fund, the Marian Pollock Moore Fund and the unrestricted endowments of the Foundation.
“We’re so thankful for our long-term relationship with the Acheson Foundation and the Community Foundation,” said Tyrone Burrell, executive director of SONS. “The Foundation and their donors have been supporting our work since we first created SONS 30 years ago.”
SONS is a leading faith-based organization that provides a wide and growing range of youth development programs and activities for children and their families from throughout the greater Port Huron area.
After several years of planning and due diligence in their search for a permanent home, SONS purchased the former Harrison School from the Port Huron Area School District in late 2023.
“We wanted to provide a significant boost for their operations in 2024,” said Randy Maiers, president of the Community Foundation. “So that it would free them up a little bit to continue their focus on some more capital needs and fundraising for their new home at the Harrison School.” Maiers added that the Foundation’s unrestricted endowments give it the ability to respond to emerging opportunities such as supporting SONS in their new home.
The Community Foundation is also collaborating with the City of Port Huron in seeking a major grant through the Michigan DNR and the Council of Michigan Foundations in the final round of Spark grant funding. That grant, if successful, would help pay for the complete redevelopment of the outdoor space around the SONS campus, at what is known as Harrison Pointe Park.
“We can’t wait to see the full impact this will all have on the neighborhood and the families,” added Burrell. “Between what we have planned for programming inside our new home, to what the City has planned for Harrison Pointe Park, this area will soon become a focal point for not just the south side of Port Huron but the entire area.”