The Sunset Project

Written by Bret Hauff

Winter Issue '24 - Online Shop

In high school, three friends sat in the grass with their heads in their hands. Sawyer, one of their best friends, had just died by suicide. 

They met that evening on the campus of Central Michigan University, their new home, to find their classes that began the next day. A week later, Gavin MacDonald “had a visceral reaction” to do “something.” Nick Poli remembers “blowing him off;” Kevin O’Brien “was like, ‘Yeah, OK.’ … it just felt like a pie in the sky.’” 

Now, eight years later, MacDonald, Poli and O’Brien—collectively known as “the guys”—have built a nonprofit in Northeast Michigan with growth that can be quantified in square feet, collaborations, and partnerships. But The Sunset Project’s influence extends beyond numbers. It has changed lives. It could have changed Sawyer’s.

High school students have learned about Sawyer's story and the value of mental health care as part of the Northeast Michigan Wellness Initiative (NEMWI). FOCUS45 has supported and promoted artful community space, and Sawyer J. Boyd Creatives Grant has endowed creative young people in pursuit of their passion.

The Sunset Project advocates for mental health care, fosters creativity, and builds community. The organization embodies Sawyer as a creative young person and dear friend who battled depression to its bitter end.

At its inception, the guys realized their organization needed restraint. They prioritized programming to match their individual expertise and assembled a board to ensure measured success.

What began as an unrefined vision in 2016 has since turned into a mission to “invest in the betterment of Northeast Michigan” through a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. And it's just getting started.

An indelible mark

Amy Swinson anguished for years. She grappled with guilt and grief after losing her only son to suicide. But by 2021, she finally felt ready to act. She just wasn’t sure what to do. The guys had a plan.

In the idle hours of the pandemic, they schemed for hours at a time, often late into the night, to rekindle the idea they imagined at the onset of their grief. They wanted to honor Sawyer’s memory while also recognizing his struggle. 

As they thought of a name for the organization, they recalled a trip years before, and a picture of Sawyer’s name written in sand as the sun dipped below Lake Superior—a moment like the thousands he had captured in his photographs.

Swinson and her daughter Maddy Boyd felt a blend of relief and excitement when the guys invited them into The Sunset Project. It meant they could reframe Sawyer’s legacy. Swinson wanted to get into schools: part of her “motherly instinct.” Boyd knew it meant the start of “something beautiful.”

Boyd and Swinson have since shared their story with dozens of high school students in Alpena and Alcona through NEMWI. They, alongside O’Brien, legitimized the program with the National Alliance on Mental Health’s Ending the Silence—an evidence-based presentation and discussion designed to promote mental health care awareness for young people. 

Swinson hurt for students she saw restraining tears. Boyd cherished notes from students. Speaking in front of a couple dozen high school students frightened O’Brien. He “felt nervous about how receptive they were going to be to it.” 

O'Brien, a soft-spoken outpatient behavioral therapist, has since become comfortable speaking about mental health through his work and The Sunset Project. He’s led NEMWI in its mission to “really normalize the struggles youth are facing.” He keeps a collection of hand-written gratitude in his desk, including a note in which a student confided that they had attempted suicide.

The Sunset Project partnered with Northeast Michigan Community Mental Health to jumpstart NEMWI, which validated the guys’ vision. CMH Executive Director Nena Sork saw in the guys a palpable energy. “Their enthusiasm, their age, I thought, ‘These guys are going to walk into a school, and I think students will listen to 'em.’”

An unbreakable bond

There’s a sense of closeness that comes with living in Northeast Michigan’s most populous city, counting about 10,000 residents. The pandemic fractured that. But the community has since reconnected in Alpena’s historic downtown around murals painted as part of Alpena Downtown Development Association’s Fresh Waves public art project.

The Sunset Project in spring of 2023 offered its support. Alpena DDA Executive Director Anne Gentry welcomed the help. The Sunset Project coordinated with the DDA, a building owner, and an Ann Arbor artist to refresh a 15x15-foot wall with a painting of a woman on a beach, gazing into the distance.

“When young people make change, it provides a model for others,” Gentry said. “Whether it be starting a project or a nonprofit or a new event, that is the key to community transformation.” 

Poli, The Sunset Project’s fast-talking creative director, and the guys embraced community building as they developed FOCUS45. Amorphous in its mission, FOCUS45 is a “place-making program” that has leveraged partnerships to link physical spaces and creative people in a “cyclical fashion.”

Almost 60 people in 2022 applied to The Sunset Project’s first FOCUS45 Amateur Photography Contest—a program inspired by Sawyer’s art. That number grew by more than 30% a year later. 

The Sanctuary Selections Film Competition, organized by The Sunset Project in partnership with the Thunder Bay International Film Festival, featured five films by Great Lakes regional filmmakers in 2024, drawing over 150 attendees and awarding more than $5,000 in prizes. The recognition encouraged one pair of filmmakers to tour their documentary, Marqueetown, across the state.

Grand Rapids-based mural artist George H. Eberhardt III painted a 550-square-foot mural as part of FOCUS45’s 2024 Fresh Waves partnership. As he worked, people took notice. Anglers offered critiques of the freshwater fish he drafted on the wall. A pair of older women stopped him in Home Depot after seeing his picture in The Alpena News.

He didn’t expect to see “progressive, interesting artwork” in rural Northeast Michigan. “That’s one of the things that comes with mural work … you automatically get seen as [a] more accepting, interesting art-based town.”

An everlasting legacy

Five young people stood giddy on a rooftop overlooking the Thunder Bay River in the late-summer haze. Each fidgeted with their Sawyer J. Boyd Creatives Grant plaque in front of a crowd of proud parents and excited friends. 

The ceremony capped a months-long process during which The Sunset Project reviewed applications from young people who sought up to $2,000 to advance their creative work. The Sunset Project hopes that the grant, open to people ages 16 to 23, serves as a springboard for professional development and creative expression. 

Alpena-based artist Mariah Brancheau, one of the first Sawyer J. Boyd Creatives Grant recipients, learned about the opportunity years ago on Instagram. She sold her neat, swooping calligraphy and floral designs at art shows for years as a teenager. She did it for fun. Seeing local photographers recognized at the FOCUS45 Amateur Photography Contest encouraged her to apply for the grant and transform her hobby into an enterprise.

Etsy’s crowded platform made it challenging for Brancheau, now a young professional, to establish her art business, Lovely Little Lettering Co. Sawyer J. Boyd Creatives Grant helped her build a website, funded and designed by The Sunset Project. It “skyrocketed” her career. “The fact that … they were willing to put all that time into little old me and my artwork was just really special.”

MacDonald, The Sunset Project’s executive director, thought of young people like Brancheau as he and the guys developed the Sawyer J. Boyd Creatives Grant. It's easy to find financial support for academic or athletic success—The Sunset Project offers support for creative people like Sawyer “who don’t really fit this scholarship mold.” It’s designed to provide a platform for “that next step.”

One recipient hired an editor for her novel, while another purchased a professional-grade camera. The grant is open to musicians, fashion designers, woodworkers, and more—if an applicant can make a strong case for their proposal, The Sunset Project will consider it.

The guys’ enthusiasm, love for Sawyer, and diverse skillset have generated infectious momentum. They’ve developed alongside the organization, which has been more of a hobby than work. They’ve started a small endowment, professional accounting, and leadership to improve and expand existing programs.

For Sawyer J. Boyd Creatives Grant, that means more awards. For NEMWI, that means getting into more schools. MacDonald said FOCUS45’s future is less defined, which leaves room for the “raw creative energy [that] helps propel The Sunset Project.”

This year, MacDonald moved The Sunset Project’s headquarters out of his family’s house and into an office space overlooking the Thunder Bay River. With the guys in Grand Rapids, increasing The Sunset Project’s influence in Northeast Michigan requires a full-time employee—which it has been operating without since its inception. 

The Sunset Project is now focused on sustainability. But as the organization grows, MacDonald said the guys will always “draw it back to Sawyer, and his life, and what he struggled with and what he was interested in.” 

Anyone interested in supporting The Sunset Project can visit thesunsetproject.com/donate. 

BIO

Bret Hauff

Story Author

Bret Hauff is an accomplished journalist and educator based in Alpena, Michigan. After discovering his passion for storytelling through writing, Bret traveled across the country, using his skills to advocate for marginalized people. He draws inspiration from the diverse community around him, believing that creative expression fosters connection and understanding. Today, Bret remains dedicated to empowering others and promoting community.

Gavin MacDonald

Executive Director, The Sunset Project

Gavin MacDonald is a dedicated community leader based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a passion for mission-focused work across diverse sectors. In his role with the Conservation Resource Alliance, he champions communication for impactful river restoration and reforestation programs that enrich Michigan’s landscape. Gavin also draws inspiration from the state’s creative communities, fueling his work with The Sunset Project. Deeply connected to Northeast Michigan, he is committed to fostering growth and resilience in the region that will always be home.

Nick Poli

Creative Director, The Sunset Project

Nick Poli is a multidisciplinary creative based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, passionate about using nontraditional strategies as a tool for positive community impact. Nick channels this passion through his work with The Sunset Project and in product communications at Steelcase, where he is helping define the future of sustainable, collaborative, and impactfully designed products and spaces. He hopes to serve Northeast Michigan as a catalyst for future development, and as a voice for creative communities into the foreseeable future.

Winter Issue '24 - Online Shop