KCF Funds Supporting CTE Home Building Project

Keweenaw Community Foundation is proud to support the Copper Country ISD Career & Technical Education with special grants from the Herman Gundlach Fund and Funding Youth Initiatives. Both of these donor-advised funds will contribute $5,000 to the CTE Construction Technology program for its new home-building project. 

Students from the Construction Technology program will work to build a home from the ground up. Many local contractors and businesses are committed to assisting with this project in every stage, from initial financial backing to offering vocational support and supervision during the build. There are plans to include students from CTE Graphic Arts & Marketing and CTE Business & Entrepreneurship programs, for instance, to create the informational signage at the building site, and to work with real estate agents to learn the process of selling a home. 

The home build is more than a chance for students to gain real-world experience - the home will be put on the market to not only increase local housing stock, but the CTE Construction Technology program will use the profits from the sale to support the sustainability of this program for years to come. 

CTE Director Corey Soumis states, “Our primary goal is to expose as many students as we can to potential career opportunities and skill development while at the same time helping our community address both the housing shortage and skilled tradespersons shortage.” 

“From providing learning opportunities for students to helping contribute to our housing and workforce development needs, this project is a shining example of what it looks like for a community to come together to support each other and their needs,” states Robin Meneguzzo, KCF Executive Director. 

The Keweenaw Community Foundation thanks the Herman “Winks” Gundlach family and Bernadette Yeoman-Ouellette for their generous contributions, enabling us to support our youth and the wider community.