Annual Report

This year marked a significant transition for Mid Michigan Community Action Agency. Following the April retirement of Jill Sutton, I was honored to step into the role of Executive Director. Jill’s 36 years of leadership helped mold us into the strong, resilient organization we are today, and I am deeply grateful for the foundation she bolstered. It is upon that foundation that we continue to grow, innovate, and expand our reach.

Fiscal year 2025 brought challenges that tested our resolve and resilience. Head Start, a program with decades of research-based success for children and families, came under fire. Federal offices that we rely on for guidance, training, and support were decimated with layoffs. Yet, through it all, our agency remained steadfast. We continue to serve families, protect vital programs, and advocate for the communities that depend on us. The accomplishments on the following pages are not just organizational milestones; they are proof of the strength, compassion, and commitment of our staff and supporters.

The theme of this year’s report, “Shore to Shore,” reflects both our geographic service area and our desire to connect programs and resources across the region. Across our eight-county region, we are meeting people where they are—bringing stability and opportunity to thousands of households.

As we look ahead, we remain hopeful and prepared. We know challenges will come, but we also know that together, we can meet them. From shore to shore, our agency is united in purpose: to empower individuals, strengthen families, and build communities.
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As I head into my first full year as the Executive Director, I am inspired by the persistence and resilience of our staff, customers, and communities. Together, connected, we can continue helping people, changing lives.

Thank you for your continued trust and support.
Mark Polega, Executive Director

Dear Friends,

As I reflect on my time with Mid Michigan Community Action, I am overwhelmed with gratitude and pride. This marks my final annual message as your Executive Director, and it has been an absolute honor to be a part of this incredible journey of empowering communities.

Over the years, I have witnessed the remarkable strength and resilience of the individuals and families we serve. I have seen how a helping hand, a listening ear, and a supportive community can transform lives. Our work has always been about more than just providing services; it has been about creating opportunities, inspiring hope, and building connections that uplift us all.

This year, as we focus on the theme of Empowering Communities, I am reminded of the power we have when we come together with purpose and compassion. Whether it’s expanding our programs, fostering partnerships, or advocating for those in need, we have consistently shown that collective action can create lasting change.

The accomplishments highlighted in this report are a testament to the dedication and hard work of our staff, volunteers, partners, and supporters. You have all played an essential role in ensuring that our neighbors have the resources and support they need to thrive.

As I prepare to retire, I do so with a full heart, knowing that this agency will continue to make a difference long into the future. Mid Michigan Community Action has been my professional home for decades, and it has been the privilege of a lifetime to lead such an extraordinary organization.

​Thank you for allowing me to be part of this mission. Thank you for your unwavering support. And thank you for continuing to believe in the power of community. Together, we have built something truly special, and I can’t wait to see all that you will accomplish in the years to come.

With heartfelt gratitude,
Jill Sutton, Executive Director

As we reflect on the accomplishments and challenges of the past year, our commitment to empowering individuals, strengthening families, and building resilient communities has never been more evident. The challenges of the past year have only served to reinforce the importance of unity, collaboration, and support. Together, we have found strength in our shared mission to create positive change.

We have seen growth across our organization as we continually work to ensure our programs and services are meeting the most pressing needs in our communities. This includes expanding our Weatherization program to new counties making us the second largest Weatherization provider in the state, creating a new department by splitting Outreach Services into Outreach & Opportunities and Community Empowerment, and everything in between. Through our various initiatives, we have provided critical support, fostering a sense of community strength that goes beyond the sum of its parts.

Because of this growth, we have seen our staff and volunteer numbers continue to expand as well. We are thrilled to continue to be able to welcome new voices and perspectives! Together, we have combined our resources, expertise, and passion to create lasting change in the lives of those we serve.

As we move into the coming year, we are excited about the possibilities. Our commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and responsiveness will continue to drive our efforts. We are exploring new avenues for collaboration and growth, ensuring that our impact is not only sustained but expanded.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to each member of our organization, our partners, and our supporters. Your unwavering dedication and collaborative spirit have been instrumental in achieving our goals. We have proven that when we stand together, we are indeed stronger.

Fondly,
​Jill Sutton, Executive Director

This past year has been full of change for all of us. Even as we have all wanted to find a sense of normalcy, the pandemic has lingered on, the job market continues to shift, and not all communities have felt the economic recovery equally. Through all this change, we have remained focused on one simple idea—we are here for you. We are here for our customers, our communities, our volunteers, and our staff.

As our environment and communities have changed, our programs continued to adapt to meet needs. In some cases that has meant bringing services to new areas. As we head into our first full year of being the Community Action Agency for Muskegon and Oceana Counties, we have worked diligently to bring even more services to these communities. Our Weatherization program doubled in size under the new infrastructure package and added five new counties. Not all programs were growing; many services that were available during the height of the pandemic began winding down meaning we had to find innovative ways to empower families to meet their goals.

All this expansion and change requires a team of people who are dedicated and willing to learn on the fly. Like so many employers across the country, recruitment and hiring have been moving targets. The shift in the job market has pushed us to re-evaluate our strengths and focus on why so many of our staff do stay with us. I have been with the agency for 34 years, and I am continually inspired by this amazing group of people who work so hard to help people and change lives.

As we move forward into a new fiscal year, the hard work will continue. We will be taking our Community Needs Assessment to help build and support our new strategic plan. We will work to continue building programs and presence in our new counties as well as our existing service area.

We will, simply put, do everything we can to be here for you.

Fondly,
Jill Sutton, Executive Director

We thought that 2020 was a tough year, but 2021 seemed to be just as hard to get through. Although, once again, I saw our agency and staff reach levels I have never seen before!

The pandemic has changed our way of life, inflicted dire consequences in our communities, and challenged the strength of our collective spirit. Most importantly, it has caused us to plan better, think clearer, and act faster.

Thankfully, I am continually reminded that, despite the constant adaptations and obstacles, our communities have pulled together to get through. Pulling together, working together—concepts that are at the core of Community Action.

Our team has worked diligently with tenants and landlords alike to avert hundreds of families from being evicted. Our Weatherization program has built bridges with private contractors to increase our ability to help people’s homes be warmer, more comfortable, and more affordable. Our early childhood team has worked to build even stronger relationships with our families and partners to ensure continued delivery of services. Our commodity food programs continue to provide nutritious edibles to people in need. Our housing counselors have helped many people remain in their homes. And our partnership and collaboration in Gladwin and Midland counties have helped move the recovery of those communities forward after the devastating flood.

All in all, we have had a busy year even as the pandemic remains in the forefront of our conversations. We just hope that this next year brings us positive thoughts and solutions.
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Enjoy this report that highlights the amazing reach and outcomes of our programs. The undercurrent of all that good work is the unheralded efforts of our staff, volunteers, partner agencies, and community-minded businesses to build a network to lift those most in need.

We truly appreciate your ongoing support as we continue to serve people the best we can!!

Fondly,

Jill Sutton, Executive Director

Who would have thought that 2020 was going to be a year to remember for a lifetime? Worldwide, we have experienced a pandemic that has changed our perspective and the way we do business. In the United States, far too many of us have lost a loved one or have witnessed the adverse health and economic impacts of COVID-19.

Looking back, we started the new year with good ideas and plans, but things changed quickly. Within a month of the pandemic hitting, most of our staff were working from home. We tried to adapt as quickly as we could not knowing what would come next. Our food program lost all its volunteers which fortunately we could fill with some of our regular staff to pack food because their jobs had suddenly changed. Throughout, our staff rose to meet the rapid-fire changes to our work.

New programs have been developed to meet the pandemic crisis. The Eviction Diversion Program has helped pay rent for people during this crisis so they did not have to go without a place to live. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) was initiated and allowed the agency to meet community needs to include providing personal need kits to over 1,200 people! Expanded funding allowed the agency to do more for the homeless population than ever before. Zoom and other technologies became a critical tool for our Head Start and Early Head Start staff as they maintained services and support to their families. Then there were additional grants received such as the Water Assistance Program that paid past due bills from March through December. Also, the agency received additional funds to help homeowners with their plumbing needs. All in all, the agency’s funding was increased by over $3 million with some of the services remaining available this next year.

Early last summer, amid the pandemic, two of our counties experienced a catastrophic flood, which required a rapid mobilized response not experienced before. The agency began by delivering water and cleaning supplies later inheriting the charge of hosting multiple committees for the recovery process. This will last a couple of years, but many of the houses are being repaired to be lived in once again.

While this is not the way we generally do business, we are appreciative of being asked to serve our communities in a way we’ve never done before. By giving our customers a hand up, we can see them improve their situation with hopes that no more struggles are in their future. Soon enough, we’ll be seeing a hopeful vaccination for this disease.

As always, we truly appreciate your support and guidance along the way. May the new year be kind to you and may we continue “helping people, changing lives.”
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Fondly,
Jill Sutton, Executive Director

“The secret to growth is helping others grow.” Julian Hall

It is a privilege and honor to help others grow while working in the Community Action network. We strive to identify opportunities to expand our ability to serve and to overcome obstacles. In my 30 plus years with the agency, I have rarely seen two years that look the same. This past year has been extraordinary as each of our departments have worked diligently to prepare for growth in programs and staff numbers while strengthening and enhancing our infrastructure.

“Somewhere along the way, we must learn that there is nothing greater than to do something for others.” Martin Luther King Jr.

In Fiscal Year 2019, we maintained our quality programs surpassing many goals and outcomes. We received outstanding scores on monitoring reviews and audits, and overall, served more individuals than planned. As we identified growth needs for the agency’s programs, we sought new funding sources as well as secured expansion support. Moving forward in the new year, we will have the ability to assist more young children and families through Early Head Start, increase and intensify our services to support homeless veterans, create educational classes on home energy conservation, and increase free tax assistance to seniors.

“Helping others in need is not only a responsibility of life; it is what gives meaning to life.” Mollie Marti

It takes special and skilled people to make community action work. In the past year, I have proudly watched our staff excel in their roles. They have recruited new employees that are full of energy and ideas, created internal and external partnerships resulting in teamwork at high levels, developed and enhanced service delivery methods, and conducted more community outreach resulting in expanded resources. Due to program and financial growth, we have also created several new jobs expanding the economic base in our communities.

“An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success.” M. Shawn Covey

With this year’s accomplishments as described throughout this report and our impending growth, we will continue to consider all the logistics that make our programs work, as well as the infrastructure needed to support this progression. This includes physical space to operate our programs, development of new sites, expansion of technology systems, purchase of new vehicles, and enhancement of administrative capacity. It has been and will continue to be all hands-on deck as our program staff work closely with Human Resources, Finance and Operations to make sure that new and expanded programs roll out with all systems good to go. It is never without growing pains, but we are nothing if not persistent. Persistent in our vision, persistent in service delivery, and persistent in our effort to empower our customers on their path to self-sufficiency. All in a day’s work.

Fondly,
Jill Sutton, Executive Director

Another year behind us with a new year upon its heels… this transition provides a unique time to reflect on what we have learned along the way…

Continuing to embrace life’s lessons provides each one of us, young or old, rich or poor, male or female, representing any culture, a chance to consider the path we want to take based on the path we may have left behind. We may encounter obstacles along the way causing us to think critically on whether we want to turn left or right; however, if you can identify the appropriate supports to lean on, or walk upon strong stepping stones that keep us balanced, we may find the way to our desired goals.

Let’s think about it. Whether we’re stuck in an avalanche of snow blinding our ability to see clearly; or we find ourselves neck deep in quicksand, something outside of our control may be holding us back. This may be a time to lean on a friend, family member or call your local Community Action Agency. Reaching out for help is truly a sign of strength and we value the opportunity to help others as they help themselves.

And for those that find themselves in these difficult situations, our Community Action continues to step in and provide stepping stones to direct individuals and families on a new or enhanced pathway. Programs, services, staff and volunteers all provide a solid foothold helping our customers find their way.

We are fully committed to providing quality programs aimed at empowering our participants. It is a privilege to be welcomed into their lives, families, and homes. We promise to seek out new resources to support our communities and will strive to be outstanding stewards of these funds to ensure continuity for those seeking our help.

Whether you are a volunteer, participant, community partner, stakeholder, board member or employee, we salute each and every one of you for your contribution to this process. May the new year bring us hope and balance as we contemplate the best way forward…

Fondly,
Jill Sutton
Executive Director

Looking back at this past year leaves me with mixed emotions. While trying to remain optimistic, I can see the triumphs of our local communities inviting new industry to the area; enhancing rural downtown buildings and housing options; economic growth continues to rise; and, residents continue to support retail buying. While on the flip side, we have also seen a fractured government that cannot seem to agree; saddened families and communities as a result of shootings in schools, churches, and at special events; residents worried about what could happen next for their health care; and, specifically in our region, low income people still struggle to make ends meet. So how do we find a way to remain positive and move forward?

John Lennon included some enriching thoughts in a song stating, “imagine all the people living for today.” Well, I believe his words remain accurate decades after the song “Imagine” was released. Our customers—people living on limited incomes or those working multiple jobs to pay the way—do have to live for today. They have to find a way to pay their bills, put food on their table, provide clothing for their children or care for extended family while remaining upbeat in a society that is not always supportive.

Furthermore, less people can afford to buy a home so they do not get the opportunity to earn equity for later years. Pay day lending firms require astronomical interest rates so if a person does need to borrow money, they may never get ahead with this liability. Student loan debt has grown to the point that they are in poverty before entering the workforce. Pensions and retirement accounts are most likely out of the question as the focus is on the ability to survive today.

So how can we help our customers and communities through this intense time and create potential for upcoming opportunities? We need to ensure that resources remain available for them locally, and at the State and Federal levels. We need to make sure we invest in supporting our neighbors through tough times so they can return to a stable life style. We need to advocate to the stakeholders, leaders and legislators that our country needs to support its own. Most of all, we need to let others know we care. We need to bring hope to their lives so that the positives outweigh the negatives. We need to remind everyone that small victories can have a big impact. We need to find ways to create bright pathways ahead.

“Imagine all people living life in peace.”

Warmest regards,
Jill Sutton
Executive Director

A half of a century…five decades…50 years… no matter how it is said, our non-profit organization has built a legacy serving people in poverty. The agency was incorporated in 1966 shortly following the federal creation of grassroots agencies known as a Community Action Partnership (CAP). To this day, you may hear historians refer to a CAP agency which have now coined the name Community Action Agency (CAA). Although our agency moved its central operations from a family garage, to a rental, and now to a permanent residence in Farwell and 14 satellite locations across the region, the organization has achieved great strides in developing a solid foundation of a highly performing community based establishment.

The “War on Poverty” spearheaded by President Lyndon B. Johnson, began a multitude of programs designed to help economically disadvantaged people work toward self-sufficiency. We continue this journey as we administer federal, state and local contracts that have been developed to respond to needs of local people residing in our regional service district. As you will see throughout this report, our programs range from homeless prevention, emergency heat and utility assistance, food support, home empowerment, and a wealth of early childhood and family programs.

We continue to listen to local guidance through our advisory councils and community needs assessments which allow us to our adapt our services to meet identified needs. We continue to fight the effects of poverty by providing educational support, case management, financial assistance, and more. We remain on the leading edge of our service delivery to ensure the best possible outcomes for our participants—young and old—as we deliver quality programs that meet or surpass monitoring reviews by the funders.

The heritage of Community Action can be found here in our region as we reach out to thousands each year while our peer agencies do the same throughout the state and nation. Although we may not see an end to the war on poverty, as President Johnson had predicted, we will continue to focus on the growth of Community Action impacting successful futures for many. Join us on this voyage and do your part to support children, families and seniors, as they move from surviving to thriving, while navigating the systems of care provided by the public or non-profit social service organizations in your community.

Fondly,
Jill Sutton
Executive Director