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With the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the United States, we have decided that there is no way we can confidently conduct trips while keeping clients safe. We have flip-flopped several times throughout the summer on being able to operate or not. Unfortunately, this is our final decision for the year 2020.

With new partnerships in the Traverse City region, I am thrilled to announce that we will be hosting a 5-day canoe trip on the Manistee River from August 4 through August 8 of 2020. With the help of our partners and contributions from Founders Brewing Company, the Sand Hill Angels, the Richlie Family, and several other generous donors, we can host a total of ten scholarship recipients on this trip!

We received a large donation from Founders Brewing Company, which helps us tremendously in reaching our goals this year. Combined with individual contributions, we'll be able to purchase gear to host up to seven individuals on our trips. This was our biggest goal in 2020 and a massive milestone for Origin. This gear provides the foundation we need to allocate future donations towards scholarships, making fundraising much more accessible and helping us serve our community more efficiently.

Several things have brought us to this decision, primarily the risk of bringing individuals from different households to one gathering while the virus is still present. The Manitou Island Transit is also not running boats this season, eliminating any possibility of running our two Manitou Trips. Also, the National Park Service has issued this statement:

In response to the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, we have made several changes to our summer programs.

As winter begins to wind down and summer (Petoskey stone-hunting season) approaches, it's time for an update on developments at Origin.