Floyd County Community Foundation awards almost $154,000 to 24 projects

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Twenty-four community groups, communities and organizations shared in grants totaling almost $154,000 at the Floyd County Community Foundation award ceremony held Wednesday evening at the county fairgrounds.

Foundation Governing Committee members Kurt Hoeft and Teresa Stevens-Marth took turns introducing the organizations and announcing the award amounts, totaling $153,920.23, then representatives of the groups explained a little bit about their plans.

The awards will help fund projects including a “shark encounter” exhibit at the Floyd County Fair, renovations at a Sportsmen’s Park baseball diamond, improvements on the Charley Western Trail in Charles City, providing food for people through the local Messiah Food Pantry and Northeast Iowa Food Bank, and, in a moment of poignancy, preparations for emergency situations at TLC: The Learning Center child care.

Noting the recent shooting at Perry High School, TLC Board President Lisa Garden said that group’s $10,000 grant would be used for safety and emergency preparation.

Part of the grant will go to purchase a carport to be placed in the parking lot so staff and the young children have a covered location at which to gather in case of a fire, a drill or other reason to evacuate the building.

The rest of the grant will be used for lockdown preparation. Although the grant had been applied for long before the Perry incident, Garden referred to that event in describing the plans.

It will include one-way coverings for windows so people in the child care center can see out but people can’t see in, and will also include “a cart that will be filled with water, diapers, wipes, formula, snacks and stuff for the children in case there is a lockdown,” Garden said.

Hoeft, chair of the FCCF impact committee, said, “We are fortunate to have these local nonprofits in our region. The Floyd County Community Foundation is proud to uplift organizations that strive to create impact in our communities.”

The foundation awards grants each year to non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations or government entities serving Floyd County, and grants are awarded in five categories — Arts and Culture, Community Betterment, Education and Youth Development, Health and Human Services.

“Our committee works to support Floyd County nonprofits and government entities through our grant making, development of permanent endowments, participation in the programs funded by our community foundation, and by advocacy for long-term financial support to our communities,” said Stevens-Marth.

Members of the 2023 Governing Committee are Hoeft, Stevens-Marth, Jen Burton, Lisa Garden, Randy Heitz, Melissa Jones, Amy Leaman, Sarah Murray and Amy Staudt.

Grants awarded Wednesday evening were:

Arts & Culture:

• Cedar Valley Engine Club –  $3,500 for a building project.
• Charles City Arts Council – $10,000 to upgrade the current gallery lighting system and add track lighting.
• Floyd County Fair Society – $10,000 to bring the Live Shark Encounter Exhibit to the Floyd County Fair.
• Floyd County Historical Society & Museum  – $7,198 to restore the historic Charles City popcorn wagon to make it functional so it can be used at special events, and for work on the historic surrey.
• Nora Springs Historical Society – $1,500 for two smart TVs, in the Adams house and in the Memories building, to play a documentary for tours and open houses.
• Rudd Historical Society – $5,000 to construct units to hold the upper parts of dress forms and contain storage space, to display vintage clothing, to replace parts that were destroyed in the December 2021 tornado.

Community Betterment:

• City of Colwell – $4,800 for installation of handicap parking spaces and a sidewalk from the parking spaces to the park shelter house.
• City of Marble Rock, Walter F. Bohl Community Center – $10,000 to renovate one of the classrooms and the bathrooms to be used for the Little Warriors wrestling program and other meeting needs.
• City of Rockford, West Park Improvement Phase II – $9,200 for new sidewalks and handicapped-accessible curb cutouts.
• City of Rudd, Library – $10,000 to install a monument-type sign outside the new library.
• Main Street Charles City, Charley Western Trailway Committee – $10,000 to help complete a historic trail rest stop project called “End of the Line.”
• Main Street Charles City Design Committee – $ 1,100 to put garland roping on the railings of the Main Street Bridge for the winter holidays, and matching large flower pots and plantings along North Main Street.

Education & Youth Development:

• Charles City Baseball Club – $10,000 for renovations of Lou Koenigsfeld Field at Sportsmen’s Park to convert the field from high school size to intermediate size.
• Charles City Library – $1,300 for “Cooking Around the World,” a program for grades 3-6  to learn different cooking techniques and styles of cooking.
• TLC: The Learning Center – $10,000 for an emergency preparedness plan for the new facility.

Environment & Animal Welfare:

• PAWS – $3,900 for microchips to chip cats and dogs adopted from PAWS and to chip Floyd County residents’ pets at low-cost microchip clinics.
• Rotary Club of Charles City – $5,000 to assist with replacing trees lost to the emerald ash borer disease in a joint project with the city of Charles City, the Lions Club, Floyd County Ikes and the Iowa DNR.

Health

• Floyd County ISU Extension & Outreach – $3,000 to purchase a “Blender Bike” to be used to provide pedal power to create smoothies, to be used at events for all ages.
• Senior Citizens of Charles City Area – $8,000 for a convection oven to replace the two original ovens at the center.

Human Service

• Jordan River Messiah’s Food Pantry – $5,000 to help provide food to below-poverty-level families.
• Lutheran Services in Iowa – $4,000 for a Healthy Families Iowa program to provides free, evidence-based child abuse prevention services.
• Messiah Lutheran Church – $4,157 to install an automatic door opener for easier access.
• Northeast Iowa Food Bank – $10,000 to distribute food to families in need.
• Trinity United Methodist Church  – $7,265.23 for Our Brothers Keeper, an outreach of Trinity that helps residents with such things as rental assistance, utility payments and sometimes other help.