LAKE CITY — Being involved in education has always been in Jeanene Brandt’s and Julie Coon’s natures.
Both women were educators for more than 30 years, with Brandt working as an elementary school teacher at Lake City and Coon working at Ferris State University as the associate dean of nursing.
While they are now both retired, they have continued supporting educators and students alike in Wexford and Missaukee counties through the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel (MARSP).
“If you’ve had any part in education, it just gets in your blood and you can’t help it,” Coon said.
The women are two of the 200 members that make up MARSP’s Wexford Missaukee chapter. Brandt is the chapter’s president, while Coon is a chapter member.
MARSP is a statewide non-partisan organization that was established in 1951. Brandt said the organization has around 22,000 members in the state.
She explained that their main mission is to protect the retirement and health benefits of Michigan’s public school employees. The organization currently has a member on the state’s Office of Retirement Services board who monitors teachers’ benefits and ensures they are protected.
“We feel that’s crucial,” Brandt said. “As long as we keep our membership numbers up, we will continue to have that person on the retirement board.”
The organization’s Wexford Missaukee Chapter has been around since 1966 and is made up of local retired school employees. This includes teachers, bus drivers, janitors and school cafeteria workers.
Brandt said they meet four times a year, including an annual meeting that’s required by their bylaws.
These meetings help keep members aware of what’s happening at the state level.
Brandt said they also have a legislative meeting where they invite local political candidates running for office and ask them about state funding and education.
While MARSP focuses on teachers, the organization has an interest in helping students, too.
Brandt said in the past, they would give out two $500 scholarships to high school seniors in the area. Then the organization discovered a new way to help more students.
For the last couple of years, MARSP has been in a partnership with a national organization called DonorsChoose. Brandt said DonorsChoose allows teachers from all over the country to post projects they need funding for.
The organization allows teachers to submit a project application. These projects have to be something that wouldn’t be covered in their regular school budgets. Anyone can then visit the DonorsChoose’s website, scroll through the projects and select the ones they’d like to donate money to.
Since Aug. 2023, the Wexford Missaukee Chapter has donated over $5,700 to seven projects submitted by area teachers. Many of the projects the chapter has donated to early childhood and elementary teachers.
“Even though we’re retired, we can continue to make a difference,” Brandt said.
Many of the projects are geared toward literacy and helping students develop their skills at a young age. Coon said they’ve also had teachers request items to help students with sensory issues, something teachers like her never had to deal with before.
“The world of education is so different from what we experienced,” she said. “This is why it’s so important to be able to give teachers the tools to help them be better and to do what they need to.”
While the chapter’s focus is on supporting teachers and students, they’re hoping their charitable efforts will attract new members. Brandt said membership has been declining not only for their chapter but for the organization as a whole.
“We work really hard on membership,” Brandt said. “I think that’s the biggest challenge for the whole state organization. At one time, there were 40,000 and I think we’re down to half of that statewide.”
With more members, Brandt said they’d look to send them into schools to inform current teachers about DonorsChoose and encourage them to submit projects.
“We just hope to keep (the chapter) alive and to be able to give our money away,” she said.
Those interested in learning more about DonorsChoose can visit their website, donorschoose.org.
Coon said teachers can submit an application online for the organization to review and decide whether to post it on their website. If it is accepted, people can find and donate to it.
Those interested in learning more about MARSP can visit the organization’s website, marsp.org. Brandt said people interested in joining the Wexford-Missaukee MARSP chapter can call her at (231) 394-0364.
Members are asked to pay dues, with a portion going to help fund projects on DonorsChoose.
Story Highlights • The Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel (MARSP) is a statewide organization dedicated to protecting the retirement and health benefits of Michigan’s public school employees. • Besides protecting retiree benefits, the MARSP has been supporting classrooms through DonorsChoose — a national platform where teachers request funding for projects outside their regular budgets. • The MARSP Wexford Missaukee chapter’s goal to help teachers adapt to changing educational needs and to keep growing membership to sustain their impact.