Duffy's to host weeklong fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity
PETOSKEY — Supporters of affordable housing in Northern Michigan will have an opportunity to contribute to the cause next week during a fundraiser for Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity.
The fundraiser, called Give Back Nights, will be hosted by Duffy’s Garage and Grille at 317 E. Lake St. from Feb. 13-19.
For the whole week, Duffy’s will donate a dollar to Habitat for every draft beer poured and on Feb. 16, will donate $2 for every pizza while Habitat staff members spend the evening at Duffy’s to answer any questions about the organization’s work. In addition to the donations from Duffy’s, there will be a donation box for anyone who would like to make their own contribution.
“Every winter in particular, we try to partner with our local businesses because there's just this misconception that winter comes and people think that we stop building. So we like to remind people that our home builds are ongoing, they go on all year,” Habitat Marketing and Communications Manager Gina Stegehuis said.
“With all the work going on, (Give Back Nights) are just a really helpful way to connect with the community to be able to go out to a restaurant, to have them put up a flier for us, offer us some sort of fundraiser. It helps us to raise money during the slower months of fundraising.”
Currently, the organization has about 15 home builds being worked on. Aside from building new houses, Habitat has a year-round, home repair program for low-income homeowners to make necessary improvements like insulation and roof repair that they can’t afford on their own.
According to Stegehuis, donations tend to slow down during the winter months, so Give Back Nights fundraisers help them keep donations coming in while also sharing information about what Habitat is working on.
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“Whenever we do a give back, we always try to have a night where the staff goes down. For one, because it's good to have habitat's staff there because we typically do get a lot of questions about the program and about how it all works, but also because it's a show of support for the business who is supporting us,” Stegehuis said.
“So it's a good excuse for our team to get out, have a little bonding time and just patronize some of the local businesses, especially in the winter when it's slower for them.”
Typically, these fundraisers are held at restaurants, but Habitat has had successful Give Back Nights at retail businesses as well, like Grandpa Shorter's and Bear Cub Outfitters.
For Duffy’s, this is the first fundraising event the restaurant has hosted since opening in 2016. Owner Dustin Slanec said Habitat reached out to him to ask if he would be interested in hosting. He agreed and decided to do a full week because he didn’t think one day’s profit would be enough in the middle of winter. He also chose this week in February because President’s Day is Feb. 20 and that is Duffy’s busiest winter weekend.
“(Affordable housing is) something I very much believe in. We decided to do it in February, just to raise a little bit of money for them and their ongoing housing projects,” Duffy said.
“The housing issue is terrible in Northern Michigan. It's hard to find and when you do it's very expensive. So for a lot of local people, it's a major issue. So obviously, we're big supporters of what Habitat for Humanity is doing currently.”
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Habitat is in the midst of its biggest home building campaign ever. The Foundations for our Future campaign is aiming to raise the $5 million needed to construct 42 homes by 2025. The organization has already broken ground on the Meadowlands Subdivision in Alanson, where 32 homes will be built.
On top of that, the organization continues to do other home builds like the annual build with Pellston Public Schools, operate its repair program and advocate for affordable housing in Northern Michigan.
Generally, Give Back Nights only raise a few hundred dollars, but Stegehuis said the face-time with the community is much more important, which is why the staff will be at Duffy’s on Thursday to meet community members and answer questions about their work.
“We get a lot of questions about (the repair program). It's not as well known. People think ‘Habitat’ and they think of the home builds. So we've been trying to really promote the repair program because it is such a need up here,” Stegehuis said.
“We have an older population in this area and many of their houses are in need of repair. So, we can answer all the questions like that. It's nice to have that opportunity to do a face-to-face, I think it's a little less scary for people.”
Habitat will continue to host Give Back Nights throughout the winter. From Feb. 20-26, Vernales at 3018 M-119 in Harbor Springs will donate $1 for every order of wings sold. On March 15, Sky's the Limit, 413 Michigan St., will host a tulip sale. Tulip bunches will be sold for $15, and $10 of that sale will go to Habitat. The fundraiser will continue until the tulip bunches are sold out.
— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Tess_Petoskey.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Duffy's to host weeklong fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity
