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Geri Allen awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship
for 2008 |
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Jazz pianist, composer, and educator, Geri Allen, has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for 2008. Ms. Allen, an Associate Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan, received her fellowship in the area of music composition. Her project “celebrates humanity and embraces the continuity of innovation as personified by three artists: pianist-composers Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Cecil Taylor.”
Geri Allen grew up in Detroit, where she attended Cass Technical High School, and obtained degrees from Howard University and the University of Pittsburgh. She has performed with such jazz luminaries as Mal Waldron, Charles Lloyd, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Oliver Lake, Ornette Coleman, Jack DeJohnette, and Betty Carter. She is critically acclaimed as a jazz composer and devotes a great deal of time to educating young jazz performers.
On April 10, 2008, Prof. Allen, who attended Blue Lake as a child, kicked off a series of five broadcasts on Blue Lake Public Radio’s “Live from Blue Lake,” hosted by Lazaro Vega. She played solo piano selections and was interviewed over the course of the hour-long program. For more information on the remaining “Live from Blue Lake” broadcasts—underwritten by Mack Avenue Records, the Holland Area Arts Council, and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs—go to http://bluelake.org/radio.
Blue Lake offers its best congratulations to Geri Allen for receiving the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.
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Blue Lake is continuing its fundraising activities for a new Health Lodge facility.
Each summer, our Health Lodge staff cares for the health and first aid needs of over 5,100 campers and more than 450 staff. 20% of our campers have daily, mandatory medications that are required to be distributed from the Health Lodge. 30% of our campers and staff report to the Health Lodge for a variety of illnesses or first aid treatments, some on multiple occasions.
Our Health Lodge was constructed nearly 40 years ago for use as administrative office space and was later converted into the camp’s medical facility. We need a new building.
In order to address both the limitations of the current facility and the expanding health needs of the camp’s community, Blue Lake is planning a new, 4,000 square foot, fully ADA-compliant Health Lodge building (pictured), more than double the size of the present facility.
Blue Lake is offering dedication opportunities corporations, foundations, and individuals for the new Health Lodge. In return for the contributions listed below, the building or other parts of it will be named in honor of the donors. The contribution levels are as follows:
Building |
$300,000 |
Dispensary (1) |
$ 20,000 |
Treatment Rooms (5) |
$ 15,000 |
Overnight Rooms (Double) (6) |
$ 12,000 |
Overnight Rooms (Single) (7) |
$ 10,000 |
Administrative Office (1) |
$ 8,000 |
For more information on these dedication opportunities, please contact Blue Lake’s Development Office at 231-894-1966 or 800-221-3796.
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Other ways in which you can help
support Blue Lake |
Blue Lake frequently makes its supporters aware of specific fundraising efforts that it undertakes: for the new Health Lodge, for camper scholarships, etc. However, we often need specific items, some large, some small.
If you have any of the items on the list below that you are no longer using, perhaps you might consider donating them to Blue Lake. You can take a tax deduction for the fair market value of the item (although IRS regulations prohibit us from placing a value on the item for you). All items should be in good working condition.
One of Blue Lake’s aims is to preserve the beauty of the camp’s property, in part by having as little impact on the environment as is possible. The items requested below reflect that aim.
Here is our current “wish list:”
- Used mountain bikes: We encourage our faculty and staff to move around camp on foot and on bicycles, rather than driving. However, nearly eighty percent of them fly to camp from various parts of the country and can’t bring their bikes with them. Blue Lake has several old bikes that we loan to faculty and staff while they are here, but we could use more. Mountain bikes work best in our sandy and forested terrain.
- Electric golf carts: These energy-saving vehicles are needed to help campers and parents who have problems with mobility move about camp. The Camp Store also uses them to restock vending machines and to deliver care packages to various parts of camp.
Blue Lake Public Radio also has a “wish list,” which includes:
- A utility van: the current radio van is 22 years old and is very difficult to operate and maintain. A late-model, commercial-style van would greatly increase our ability to safely and efficiently transport people and equipment.
If you would like to inquire about contributing any of these items, please contact Blue Lake’s Development Office at 231-894-1966 or 800-221-3796.
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