Lake Jump raises over $72k for Lakeshore Food 4 Kids.

Lake Jump raises over $72k for Lakeshore Food 4 Kids.

LUDINGTON — The 21st annual Ludington Lake Jump looked a lot different than the previous 20 lake jumps, which normally take place in early spring with a group of people jumping into Lake Michigan at Stearns Park. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 jump was reimagined with the theme “Jump Where You Are.”

This year’s beneficiary, Lakeshore Food 4 Kids, raised $72,674.18, the second highest amount raised in Lake Jump’s history. The total included a $10,000 matching grant from Pennie from Heaven foundation.

Lakeshore Food 4 Kids recently has provided weekly bags of food for 80 families — over 300 individuals —  in the Ludington area each Friday for the past 12 weeks.  That’s 1,920 bags of food, each containing snacks, breakfast, lunch, and dinner items which were delivered personally to each family by volunteers from the Lakeshore Food 4 Kids. The money raised from the jump will provide weekend food bags for more than 484 kids for a full school year.

“The Ludington Lake Jump Board is incredibly proud of this year’s beneficiary, Lakeshore Food 4 Kids,” said Ludington Lake Jump Board President Linda O’Brien. “The Board was inclined to cancel the event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but this group was amazing in their ideas, their strategy, and their results.”

“We witnessed jumps involving water from a fire hose, sprinklers, a kiddie pool, swimming pools, a slip n slide, buckets of water, a puddle, a bird bath, the PM River, and area lakes,” said Tara Autrey, co-founder of Lakeshore Food 4 Kids. “Creativity abounded with jumps featuring farm animals, a polar bear suit, mermaid tails, a t-rex costume, a TikTok dance, the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and bright floaties. Jumpers included teachers, counselors, administrators, school board members, students, entire families, clergy, medical staff, a senator, and area business leaders. Videos were posted from as far away as Arizona, Florida, and Connecticut!”

Co-founder of Lakeshore Food 4 Kids, Sara Ewing, commented, “Lake Jump 2020 was such an uplifting community event for Lakeshore Food 4 Kids. We were entertained by the numerous jumps and experienced the heart that this community has for our children.”

Carrie Brandt, another co-founder, added, “We continue to be humbled by the community’s support for Lakeshores Food 4 Kids. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all those that jumped, donated, and shared jumps on social media. It’s because of your support that LF4K will continue to serve Ludington kids in need.”

“Seeing the strong community involvement has truly created the sense that we’re all in this together–this fundraiser, the pandemic, and the pursuit of lifting up one another. We are grateful,” said Autrey.