A grassroots effort to raise tens of thousands of dollars to help a Leelanau County farm employee pay for massive dental expenses has officially met its goal, organizers of the fundraiser say.

In November, the Leelanau Ticker reported on the story of Dick McCulloch, an orchard manager for Northport’s Hallstedt Homestead Cherries who was struggling with severe dental pain. Last spring, McCulloch’s employers – Philip and Sarah Hallstedt of HH Cherries – vowed to help McCulloch raise the estimated $41,000 he needed for extensive tooth extraction and reconstruction, including dental implants and crowns. At the time of the Leelanau Ticker’s report, the campaign was six months in and had raised roughly $28,000, leaving about $13,000 to go.

Now, that additional $13,000 has been raised.

Last week, on Thursday, January 18, Phil Hallstedt shared on GoFundMe that the fundraiser for McCulloch had officially met its goal.

“This will leave [McCulloch] with no debt and a smile that is pain free,” Hallstedt wrote. “We want to say THANK YOU to all the donors, the dentists and their staff, the articles published by the Leelanau Enterprise and Leelanau Ticker, and all of the other supporters in this endeavor. This has touched the hearts of so many and drawn awareness to severe dental pain in our community. Dick’s life is changed for the better forever and he, as well as we, are so grateful to everyone for their support.”

The Hallstedts previously shared that, immediately following the Leelanau Ticker’s coverage, the McCulloch fundraiser raised over $4,000.

Pictured: McCulloch thanks donors at Suttons Bay Congregational Church.