TRAVERSE CITY — Northwest Michigan Toys for Tots volunteer and the founder of “Piper’s Project This Girl Can” was given the Governor’s Youth Volunteer of the Year Award on Thursday.
Fourteen-year-old Piper Shumar was honored at the Detroit Opera House. She is one of 38 Michiganders to receive the 2024 Governor’s Service Award.
Six years ago, Piper started collecting deposit cans and redeemed them to purchase new bikes and helmets for kids in need. The bikes were donated and distributed through Toys for Tots of Northwest Michigan. The first year she raised enough money to donate 10 bikes. Last year she hit a milestone of donating her 1,000th bike to the program. In 2023 alone she contributed 270 bikes to the annual Christmas toy program.
“Shumar is a tireless advocate for the underserved in northwest Michigan,” Toys for Tots of Northwest Michigan Coordinator Maggie Kent said in nominating Piper for the award. “Piper is the poster child of youth involvement. She is an advocate for the community, and people in need of a little help.”
Piper was born with a chronic illness, and as she grew up, she used bike riding to take her mind off the multiple surgeries. She is driven with her fundraising because she wants others to experience the sense of freedom she enjoyed while riding her bike.
Piper has also served as a Toys for Tots National Youth Mentor and Youth Ambassador. In 2022, she served as the Grand Marshal of the National Cherry Festival Community Royale Parade. Piper is a student at Grand Traverse Academy.
The Michigan Governor’s Service Awards have been presented since 1994 as a way to recognize the critical role volunteers, organizations, and businesses play in improving the lives of people in our communities.
