Midland Firefighters Youth Foundation

04/17/2026

That's a wrap, folks. Our 2026 St. Baldrick's event is finished! We met this past Sunday at the Boulevard Lounge and enjoyed some time together while some of us got to and raise some money for the St. Baldrick's Foundation .

There were some return shavees, and also some new faces, most notably the father-son duo of Lane Peters and his father, Martin! If you remember, Lane and his dad held a friendly little competition on who could raise the most money. To add to that, Lane is a Midland Firefighter, and Martin works for MyMichigan Health as a paramedic, so there was an added weight to who could raise more. In the end, Lane topped the fundraiser board at $535, and Martin came in at $308, but we'd like to think the real winners are all the children who will benefit from the treatments, medication, and research that their fundraising efforts will help pay for.

Speaking of money, we absolutely CRUSHED our $2000 goal...we raised $3,070!!! We could not have accomplished that without all the help from our donors, especially The Boulevard, who graciously sponsored our event as well.

We would like to extend a HUGE, bald thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible. To St. Baldrick's for their help with getting us the supplies, shirts, and swag that we had at our event. Cooper & Co salon group did a fantastic job with the hair cutting, and we cannot say enough good things about our favorite head-shaving and cancer research fundraising event location, The Boulevard Lounge. The staff are friendly, the owners are one of a kind, and we are proud to partner with such an important hub in the Midland Community.

Thank you to EVERYONE who supported us, whether you donated online or came out and hung out with us. This is truly a great event, and since we started this in Midland, we have raised over $30,000 for the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

04/13/2026

We had such a fun time yesterday at our event at the Boulevard Lounge. While we finish tallying money and finalizing the event, here are some sneak peek pictures from it!

04/12/2026

Well, folks, today is the day! We're meeting at the Boulevard Lounge today at Noon for our St. Baldrick's Foundation head-shaving event. We'll be getting our hair cut by the staff from Cooper & Co salon group, who have been helping us shear our way to thousands of dollars raised since 2018.

If you're in the area and would like to stop by and say 'HI,' we'd love to see you! If you are curious about what we're doing, stop by; we'd love to see you! If you have someone in your life who DESPERATELY needs a haircut, bring them out, and for a *donation,* we can get them trimmed up AND raise money for our event!

Also, there is a friendly father-son duel going on between Lane Peters and his father, Martin. Lane is a fireman here in Midland and is attempting to raise more than his dad. Both have goals of $500, and we can't wait to see who raises more. Lane hinted that if he raises enough, his mustache *could* be on the chopping block, but we'll just have to see.

Our event goal is $2,000, and we would appreciate any of your support. Donations can be dropped off during our event from noon to 2 p.m. TODAY, or you can donate online at https://www.stbaldricks.org/events/MFFYF2026. If you are looking to donate to a particular shavee, make sure you select that person's shavee page. The money will still go to the event, but it will also count towards that person's individual goal.

Message us with any questions you might have, and we'll do our best to help you out. See you later today!

04/07/2026

04/03/2026

Now that we are less than two weeks away from our 2026 St. Baldrick's Foundation event, there is still time to support it or even participate in it! You can sign up at the event, or if you want to do it sooner, go to https://www.stbaldricks.org/events/MFFYF2026 and follow the prompts to create an account and get signed up.

If you are interested in attending, we will be meeting at The Boulevard Lounge on Sunday, April 12th, from noon to 2:00 pm, where we will be doing our last push of fundraising as well as getting our heads shaved by the staff of Cooper & Co salon group. The head shaving is not mandatory, but it is a nice way to show support and solidarity for those (kids) who have or are currently battling cancer.

We hope to see you all on Sunday!

03/24/2026

This is Lane. He's currently in a competition with his father, Martin, to see who can raise the most money for our 2026 St. Baldrick's Day head-shaving event next month. Lane's goal is $500, and he JUST let it slip that if he raises $1000, he will shave his head AND his mustache. This is a big deal for Lane, because under that nose broom, he looks 16. While Lane isn't big on getting carded everywhere he goes until his hair comes back, he does know that this is for a good cause, and he wants to do his part and help out! If you are interested in helping him out, scan the QR code, and you can donate to him directly.

If you are interested in watching him get his head shaved, we are meeting at the Boulevard Lounge on Sunday, April 12th, from noon to 2 pm. We will have shirts for sale and other swag items available to help us get to our $2000 goal. Come on out and say hi!

03/18/2026

So there is a little challenge going on between the City of Midland Fire Department - Michigan and MyMichigan Health for our upcoming St. Baldrick's Foundation event. A little father-son duel, if you will. One of the EMS Supervisors, Martin, has agreed to shave his head if he raises $500 for the event, AND if his son, Lane, participates as well. Lane has agreed to do it, too, but he needs to raise an additional $500. Naturally, we're pulling for Lane, because we have to work with him, but the EMS family at MyMichigan has already raised $150 for Martin.

If you would be interested in supporting either of these shavees, scan their QR code below. If you would like to watch them get their heads shaved, swing by the Boulevard Lounge on Sunday, April 12th, between noon and 2 pm, and watch the hair come off!

03/10/2026

Hey Midland, we are hosting another St. Baldrick's Foundation event next month. That means that NOW is the time to sign up, donate, become a 'shavee', and help us reach our goal of $2,000! Here is the link to our St. Baldrick's event page:

https://www.stbaldricks.org/events/mffyf2026

For those who don't know, the St. Baldrick's Foundation is an organization that raises money for children's cancer research. The money raised goes back to companies and organizations all over the world that are looking for new ways to learn about and fight childhood cancer. This is a great organization to donate to!

Fundraising works like this: Individuals sign up via the link above, set a fundraising goal, and ask friends, family, and others to help support this cause. Teams can also be created (friendly competition between businesses or other groups), so a group of people can work towards a certain goal. Participants fundraise up to the day of the head-shaving event, when everyone meets to turn in their raised money and get their heads shaved, as a way to show solidarity to every child who has ever been affected by Cancer.

This year, we are meeting at the Boulevard Lounge in Midland on Sunday, April 12, from noon to 2 pm, and our heads will be shaved by the wonderful staff of
Cooper & Co salon group, who have graciously donated their time to help us with this event.

Please ask if you have any questions! The Youth Foundation does not benefit from any of the money raised; 100% of the proceeds go back to the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Hope to see you there!

02/10/2026

Yesterday, we posted about how we supported Youth-based organizations, clubs, teams, and extracurricular opportunities throughout the Great Lakes Bay Area. Today, you learn about who WE are. The Youth Foundation board is made up of five members: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Trustee. Each member serves a three-year term and can re-up that term as many times as they would like.

Max Kopplin is the President of the Youth Foundation. He is a twelve-year MFD member and is a Driver/Acting Lieutenant for B-shift, Station 1. He has been a Youth Foundation Board member since 2014.

Garrett Pochert is a six-year member of the MFD and is the Vice President of the Youth Foundation. He was hired in January of 2020 and is a Fireman/Acting Driver at Station 2, on B shift. He became a board member shortly after starting.

Josh Martinski is a five-year member of the MFD and is the Treasurer of the Youth Foundation. He was hired in September of 2020 and has been a board member since 2021. He is a Driver on A-shift, Station 1.

Tracey Pohl is the Youth Foundation Secretary. He is a two-year member and was hired in 2023. He is a fireman on B-shift at Station 1.

Gabe Howard is the newest Youth Foundation member, having been recently elected to the 'Trustee' position of the Board, effective January 1st, 2026. Gabe was hired in December of 2024 and is a firefighter on C-shift, Station 1.

We would like to reiterate that all requests can be submitted either by an online request through our website https://www.mffyf.org/sponsorshipapplication, email ([email protected]), or by mail to:

Midland Firefighters Youth Foundation
816 E. Haley St.
Midland, MI 48640

02/09/2026

Now that our is over and we've had a chance to catch our breaths, we'd like to reintroduce ourselves to everyone. Namely, what it is that we do, and who we are. This will be a two-part post, in case you're wondering.

We are the nonprofit organization of the Midland Professional Firefighters - Local 1315, the 'charitable arm' if you will. Every member is a part of the Midland Firefighters Youth Foundation (MFFYF), and we are run by a Board of five elected members. The Youth Foundation provides monetary support to local youth organizations, programs, schools, teams, and clubs to help further their goals and plans. We provide monetary sponsorships or gift donations to requesting parties within the Great Lakes Bay Region, which last year included twenty-four different groups. These groups ranged from after-school programs, school and travel sports teams, local teachers' classrooms, friends and families requesting special aid (i.e., from a fire or other family tragedy), and school clubs, to name a few. We provided them with as much of the requested funding, or in some cases, specific items, as we could. All in all, we gave out $25,500 in total sponsorships and requested items, with $3,000 of that going into our 2025 Shop with a Hero Events in December.

We held a St. Baldrick's Day event in early 2025, which raised around $1,800 for their national organization. If you aren't familiar with the St. Baldrick's Foundation, they are a nationwide nonprofit that raises money for childhood cancer research, and have awarded over 360 MILLION dollars in research grants all over the world since it began raising money in 2000.

In December 2025, we held two separate Shop with a Hero events in Midland, with one each being held at Walmart and Midland. 53 children and 37 families were supported from both events. We received grant help from both Walmart and Meijer, and also received a sponsorship from The Lions Club of Midland, and a donation from Eudici's Pizza of Midland. All in all, over $13,000 was invested in our two events. Each child received money to purchase Christmas presents and the opportunity to pick a First Responder to go shopping with. After purchasing the items, volunteers were on hand to gift wrap every one of them, and each family was not only fed before the event started, but left with groceries for a Holiday meal afterwards.

All requests can be submitted either by an online request through our website https://www.mffyf.org/sponsorshipapplication, email ([email protected]), or by mail to:

Midland Firefighters Youth Foundation
816 E. Haley St.
Midland, MI 48640

02/02/2026

It may be Groundhog Day, but for us here at the Youth Foundation, how much winter is left this year does not compare to how our went. We had another blowout event, with over 180 people attending! We all met at the this past Saturday, and everyone showed up in style. There were many returning guests, but the really neat thing about this event was all of the new faces! It was so nice to see everyone, and each and every person who attended stepped up and helped us have a wonderful night.

The Holiday Inn didn't disappoint when the food came out. The salad was crunchy, the entrees warm and juicy, and everything coming out of the bar either had ice in it or was ice-cold and deliciously refreshing.

Our silent auction was another hit, with almost 120 items given by donors ranging from local to Ohio and the Pacific Northwest. This year's silent auction not only had the most items, but also raised the most funding in any silent auction we've ever held.

Thirty-six businesses, organizations, and individuals sponsored our 2026 Charity Ball. These sponsors were the backbone of our event, ranging from $100 'Probie' sponsors to our $5,000 event sponsor, Three Rivers Corporation.

Towards the end of the night, we were treated to some late-night carbs donated by Eudici's Pizza Of Midland . Everything wrapped up at 11:00 pm, and we even had a few people stick around to help clean up ;).

The ballroom was top-tier with the help of the Holiday Inn staff, and also decorations from Blooms Boutique and Floral. Throughout the night, tunes were spun by Nightlife Entertainment, and a mirror-style photo booth from Enchanted Mirror & Photo Booths helped cement 'memories' in the brains of everyone who attended. The event programs were designed, printed, and donated by Ware Smith Woolever Funeral Directors.

All of this boils down to one thing: Our 2026 Charity Ball raised us over $23,000!!! The final total is $23,816.30, and that will cover our funding for the 2026 calendar year. We have raised almost $100,000 in total since we brought back our Charity Ball events in 2015, with $74,000 raised since our 2023 event. See you all next year!!