In the year 2002 members of the Saugatuck/Douglas gay community were concerned that many donations were being made to the local community without any true acknowledgement of us. At the same time there were still a lot of negatives being addressed against us. It was discussed that a new organization such as a gay mens’ and woman’s business association could be formed to direct our donations of money, time and talent thru this association
A party was held at Herb Bills Lakeshore home with Michael Holmes performing to get everyones suggestions. From that event the founding fathers of West Shore Aware were elected and the rest is history.
Our first fundraiser was held at Fairview Farms in which over 100 attended for a fun hoedown. The next 2 years was held at the Blue Star Antique Pavilion with special themes. Since then the Laketown Conference Center has been our home with sellout crowds of over 400.
In 2023 we celebrated our 20th Anniversary event and have now raised over $1,200,000 and we look forward to expanding our volunteerism in the community.
