ISHPEMING — The Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) is a group of Philanthropists that came to the town of Ishpeming today to talk about its future.

The group worked with the city and invited all of the public to come and have a voice of how they would like to see this community change and grow. The group went over the challenges, the opportunities and the vision of what the people want to see in the coming years.

The public was very interested in what was brought up and what they want to see changed. Their goal is to bring more people to the town and have them join this community and help it thrive.

Even some city officials see that people make the difference in a town’s development, especially when it needs a little more engagement.

“Communities are only as strong and as successful as the people who are living in them want them to be,” said Ishpeming City Manager, Mark Sloan. “So the more the public gets involved, engaged and participates in decision making processes as well as you know volunteers time. The stronger the community is over time will make it more sustainable over time and then have better places for people to live.”

The only way for communities to get better will involve collaborating at events such as these, where they can bring the public together and have a conversation about a town’s future.