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The volunteers at Grand Island East Channel Light Rescue Project decided to sell raffle tickets to help raise money for saving the historic Michigan lighthouse. One of the three prizes was a beautiful hand-made lighthouse quilt. Raffle ticket sales raised the tidy sum of $4000 for the lighthouse. As the headline says, there’s more to the story.
A number of issues ago, we published an appeal on behalf of the American Lighthouse Foundation for the lighthouse. The story told how ALF would match dollar for dollar the first $2500 in donations received. (Since then ALF did send $5000 to the Rescue project). One of the letters received with a donation was published in the Mail Bag section of Lighthouse Digest. It was from Jennifer L. Cupec, age 14, of Slippery Rock, PA. Her letter read:
“I know $4 isn’t much, but every little bit helps. It’s the last of my Christmas money and since I love lighthouses and horses, I want to donate this $4.00. I hope you can save the Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse. We would like to visit it when it is restored. SAVE THE LIGHTHOUSE.”
When Anne Rzanca of the Grand Island Rescue Project read the letter in Lighthouse Digest she was so touched that she contacted us so she could personally thank Jennifer for her donation. Anne sent Jennifer a thank you note and some information on the lighthouse. Jennifer answered that letter and there have been several exchanges of correspondence since then. During one of those exchanges, Jennifer’s mother, Diana, asked if there was merchandise for sale. She subsequently bought some merchandise and also purchased some raffle tickets.
Well, my friends, if you have guessed the rest of the story by now, you’re right . . . Jennifer’s mother’s name was drawn as the quilt winner!
That small donation of $4 not only inspired many other contributions, but it built memories and friendships that will last forever and a treasured quilt with a story that can be told from generation to generation.
This story appeared in the
November 2000 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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