March 23, 2005
TIPS provide positive change
Third annual TIPS for Kids raises funds for Michael's Place in Traverse City
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Hockey Heroes rang with laughter and good cheer Monday night during the Third Annual TIPS for Kids fund-raiser. Dancers, singers, artists, and a range of community circulated among the more than 300 diners at two seatings, entertaining or providing a service for tips.
Benefiting Michael's Place, TIPS for Kids raised an estimated $16,000 and counting to fund programs that help area families grieving the loss of a loved one or who have survived domestic violence.
"I'm just here to help Michael's Place, it's a good cause," noted Vern Gauthier, co-owner of Fit for You who worked the evening seating for tips based on cumulative bicep curls.
The rowdy crowd at the evening seating enthusiastically put friends and family members in the penalty box, paying both for the privilege of putting them there and, sometimes much later, getting them out. Others reveled in a chocolate fountain, filling their plates for $5, while the more health minded enjoyed a mini-massage or hand massage.
St. Francis High School teacher David Peck dusted off his cruise ship entertainer skills and juggled knives and burning torches. In addition to winning legions of new fans, Peck had his own fan club in the audience.
"This is our first time here, we came on the spur of the moment," said Sara Karpinski, a student at St. Francis High School who attended the event with her family. "My teacher is juggling here."
Kelly Denny, special events coordinator for Michael's Place, noted that volunteers for entertainment or services readily said 'Yes' when she approached them. The range of more than two dozen offerings reflected community-wide support for Michael's Place.
"I think that everybody has a connection one way or another with Michael's Place, it touches them either through a family member or a friend," she noted.
TIPS for Kids had been held at Dills Olde Towne Saloon for the past two years. When that facility closed recently, event organizers scrambled to find a venue they could take over for an evening on short notice.
"Hockey Heroes was awesome, they took it right on and have been totally willing to do whatever we have needed to do," Denny said. "We approached them just three weeks before the event."
Chris Dendrinos founded Michael's Place in October of 2001 in honor of her cousin, Michael, who had died in 1971 at age 14. Her goal was to help families cope with the loss of a loved one, providing a safe place to work through the myriad emotions of grief.
The organization has served more than 300 individuals directly since opening and also offers weekly dinners every Monday for families.
In September 2004, Michael's Place expanded its services to include serving surviving family members of a suicide and victims of domestic violence. The organization also has a separate support group for parents who have lost children and will be starting a separate support group for parents who have lost infant children or very young babies because of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or stillbirth.
"Suicide is such as different grief, they go through the same stages of grief but they have a lot of remorse and guilt that only someone who has gone through it can understand," said Mindy Buell, executive director of Michael's Place. "We are blessed with some remarkable facilitators who have been through this."