BUILDING COMMUNITY LEADERS
We live with a spirit of generosity. Our goal is to use our gifts to touch the lives of others and build a thriving community through volunteerism, altruism, and community involvement.
50 DREAMS FOR FIFTY KIDS
We recognize the foundation of any great community are the families that make up that community. We gave back in a small way to the center piece of any family, its children.
Our 50 Dreams for Fifty Kids initiative recognized not only the value of kids having a dream, but also the importance to the success of dreams coming true! We recognize a huge piece of this is the schools that serve the communities where we live and the role our teachers play in that success. That can be seen every day throughout Northern Michigan!
At the beginning of the 2022/2023 school year, the 5th grade teachers from the Petoskey Schools prompted their students to write an essay on the topic of dreams. The students discussed that dreams are a cherished aspiration or a goal. They can be small or large, short-term or long-term, and personal or for others. Each student was asked to write about one of their short-term dreams. Why was it important? Who would benefit from this dream coming true and how would they feel if it did?
These dream essays were shared with the Birchwood Family anonymously. Working with several benevolent individuals and businesses, together we made 50 of those dreams come true!
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THE BIRCHES AT PERRY FARM VILLAGE
The Birches is Northern Michigan's premier senior living community at Perry Farm Village. It proudly fosters compassionate, professional care in an environment that encourages physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
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The Birches at Perry Farm Village is an important project near and dear to the Birchwood Family in our role as the developer of this community. Tom Adams, Chief Business Officer of Birchwood Construction had a vision in 2017 while serving on the board for Perry Farm Village. Larry Beck, previous owner of Birchwood, and his wife Nancy gave so much of their time and resources to Perry Farm Village over the years and embraced this vision which came to life in January of 2023.
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A gratitude of thanks goes out to the architect, Elaine Keiser. What you see at this space is her vision.
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Our construction team, Mike Brown and Dan O'Brien from Burdco. Not only is their skill to carryout the vision unmatched, they did so on budget and on schedule.
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​Bob Howard, of Birchwood Landscaping, has been doing work at Perry Farm Village for 20 years. He completed the project in July of 2023. In recognition of Bob's love and affection for the Becks, Bob donated and planted two birch trees on property in memory of both Larry and Nancy.
​While we may have built the building, Barbara Woodward-Boonstra, Executive Director of Perry Farm Village, has made this place a home.
​We are forever grateful for the Birchwood Construction Family and the Manthei Family. Without their investment and commitment to Northern Michigan, the Birches wouldn't have happened.
Larry passed before the project was completed, and Nancy is still with us living near her daughter in the Chicago land area. We can only hope Larry is looking down smiling and proud of the work we have done together. View more images of the project here.
CAMP PARADISE
Camp Paradise is a beautiful faith based summer camp located on a 1,000 acres in the Upper Peninsula on the banks of the Tahquamenon River. The camp offers a peaceful and remote opportunity to truly "unplug" while strengthening the vital role God and Dads play in the lives of their sons and daughters.
Partners Tom Adams and Ken Provost have both experienced Camp Paradise with their own kids. Over the years, members of the Birchwood Family have volunteered to help build cabins, finish the interior of a beautiful new chapel, and played a part in recruiting a network of Dads from the Petoskey and Harbor Springs area to attend camp with their own kids. We encourage you to consider creating your own memories at Camp Paradise: Learn more here.
LITTLE TRAVERSE CONSERVANCY
The mission of the Little Traverse Conservancy is to protect the natural diversity and beauty of Northern Michigan by preserving significant land and scenic areas, and fostering appreciation and understanding of the environment across Chippewa, Mackinac, Emmet, Cheboygan, and Charlevoix counties. The Birchwood Family does not take for granted the place in which we live and work. Our recent Open House benefitted the Little Traverse Conservancy and we were both grateful and proud to have the opportunity to present a check to support the Little Traverse Conservancy and their mission on behalf of the Birchwood Family. If you have not, check out the 107 miles of wonderful trails at the various preserves and consider financially supporting this tremendous organization.
THANKS 4 GIVING EVENT
The Birchwood Family came together in December for our Thanks 4 Giving event. It was an opportunity to thank everyone for their contributions made during the year as well as expressing our gratitude for each other.
Recognizing not all are as fortunate, Birchwood Family members generously donated money to help pay the lunch debts of 13 students at Ottawa Elementary school in Petoskey. We hope to have brought comfort to the children’s families who are struggling to make ends meet.
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We are thankful to employ generous individuals who care about our community’s children and their futures!