The Gun Lake Tribe will donate $500,000 to Allegan County schools and county government to assist in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The donations will fund school safety mitigation efforts and a county mobile vaccination unit.
“We are happy to provide our friends and neighbors with additional funding during these very difficult times,” said Bob Peters, chairman of the tribal council for the Gun Lake Tribe. “The mobile vaccination unit will play an important role in getting our community back to normal but, in the meantime, helping to keep our local school teachers and students safe is the next best thing.”
The $500,000 donation is directly coming from the tribe’s Coronavirus Relief Fund that resulted from the federal CARES Act, which the Tribe decided to forgo. As a result, 11 local school districts each will receive $25,000.
“Allegan County school districts, like all districts nationwide, are being faced with unprecedented situations due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said William Brown, superintendent of the Allegan Area Educational Service Agency. “The generosity of the Gun Lake Tribe will help ease the financial burden associated with remote learning, PPE and sanitation procedures. We sincerely thank the Gun Lake Tribe for their unwavering support.”
Allegan County will receive $225,000 to purchase a mobile vaccination unit that will provide residents with a COVID-19 vaccine once one is available to the general public.
“The donation of the mobile clinic serves as another example of the support the Gun Lake Tribe provides for the overall Allegan County community,” said Robert J. Sarro, Allegan County administrator. “The mobile clinic will be an instrumental tool to help bring various public health services closer to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic and long after.”
Gun Lake Tribe CARES Act money will be distributed as follows:
- Allegan County mobile vaccination unit – $225,000
- Allegan AESA $25,000
- Allegan Public Schools – $25,000
- Fennville Public Schools – $25,000
- Glenn Public School – $25,000
- Hamilton Public Schools – $25,000
- Hopkins Public Schools – $25,000
- Martin Public Schools – $25,000
- Otsego Public Schools – $25,000
- Plainwell Community Schools – $25,000
- Saugatuck Public Schools – $25,000
- Wayland Union Schools – $25,000
