Right Start Up celebrates 10 years in the Keweenaw Peninsula, making a difference. Since 2015, the non-profit organization has supported several projects. Board of directors secretary Sara Lahti says the group’s recent acquisition of the Hancock community hub in 2024 moved the organization closer to providing more impactful support.
So we see it as a very dynamic space that we don’t come in with a mission and say, we’re putting this in Hancock. We’re coming and we’re setting up and making sure that the building can be viable and remain open. And we’re saying, hey community, what can you do? Bring it. – Sara Lahti, secretary, right start up board of directors
Inside the Hancock community hub, several organizations have set up their non-profit organization. Another has set up a child care center. There are also businesses growing in the space.
We were also very excited that the maker space, which is a collaboration between kiwanak cape, an organization on the fourth floor, as well as the superior fab lab, and that will bring in community members interested in all kinds of creative activities, and they can either use their skills or learn new skills. And so that’s a true community space. And we have a couple more in the works. We have a music practice and recording space that will be a community space. As well as a fitness area and an art creation station. – Sara Lahti, secretary, right start up board of directors
Last evening, right at the start, we celebrated more to come and dedicated the facility’s theater to Rachel Marie Blau. Lahti adds that the blau was a constant reminder of the joy people bring to communities.
You know how we all like to start singing pop songs or something? Well, when she sang them, they sounded nice. And she was also obsessed with Halloween costumes. And so she would dress up two, three, four times per season. So in other words, she was very theatrical, and it’s very fitting that a theater be named in her memory. – Sara Lahti, secretary, right start up board of directors
The Hancock community hub and Right Start Up expect to share more about projects, event schedules, and organizations moving into the space as the fall gets closer. Those interested in learning more about the Hancock community hub or are interested in setting up space inside the hub can find more details online.
