Michigan Architectural Foundation
This article was sent in the June 2017 Michigan Architectural Foundation (MAF) newsletter. We share it here to celebrate MAF and their Build Imagination book collection for children.
"You could say the roots of the Michigan Architectural Foundation go back as far as the fur trade. The Michigan Society of Architects formed the MAF in 1957 to save the Biddle House, a Mackinac Island fur trader's home dating back to the 18th century. "The organization saw an important artifact that was in dire need of repair," explains MAF Vice President Tom Mathison. Saving the house became the catalyst, he notes, to establish the Foundation as the Society's fundraising arm.
Patients at Munson Hospital Cowell Cancer Center now have the opportunity to enjoy a new collection of books during their stay, thanks to a donation from the Rae Dumke Fund of the Michigan Architectural Foundation (MAF).
With help from the Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham, Rae Dumke, Hon. AIA, will be presenting the Build Imagination collection, a set of 100 books on topics that help foster children's imaginations and raise awareness about architecture, to five children’s hospitals and cancer centers around the state.
Covering everything from architecture, art and color to LEGO, graphic design, shapes, and famous landmarks, the Build Imagination collection includes board books for the very young to more advanced informational texts for children as old as fourteen. Stephanie Klimmek, Head of Youth Services at the Baldwin Library, selected each title in the collection.
Michigan Architectural Foundation Board of Trustees Rae Dumke, Hon. AIA, and Tom Mathison, FAIA, of Mathison | Mathison Architects in Grand Rapids and Vice President of MAF, presented the set of books to Munson Hospital Cowell Cancer Center staff on Friday, October 21. Mathison, a Traverse City native, is currently working on several projects in Northern Michigan, including the new Glen Arbor Art Association headquarters.
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