Grants help community projects take root

Seed grants have sprouted and will soon bear fruit across Allen County.
Susan Michael, executive director of the Allen County Community Foundation, announced this week eight local organizations were awarded Seed Funding for 2015.
Earlier this year a group of anonymous donors approached Michael with the idea of having residents from across the county submit ways to improve their communities. The Foundation was asked to administer the grant.
Project ideas could range from $30 to $30,000. Requests were reviewed on how they could best serve the community. From 77 applications, eight were selected. A total of $24,940 will be dispersed.
“The Community Foundation is grateful for the partnership we have with the Seed Fund,” Michael said. “This is a group of people who care about giving back to the Allen County community, and the Allen County Community Foundation is happy to assist them.”
Those receiving grants are:
— Allen County Community Food Pantry, $4,000, for walk-in cooler
— ANW Cooperative Special Olympics, $500, to help pay expenses for athletes
— Elsmore City Council, $4,500, to create a community garden
— Hannah’s Promise Pregnancy Life Center, $1,140, for a computer for client use
— Humboldt Lions Club, $7,800, for a Pediavision Spot Screening Device
— Humboldt Ministerial Alliance, $1,000, to help residents with utility bills
— Santa’s Toy Shop, $1,500, to repair gently used toys for kids at Christmas
— USD 257 Alumni Endowment Association, $4,000, for a technology initiative
— USD 257 Food Service, $2,000, to expand its summer meal program

ELSMORE’S Seed Grant money will take root soon. The $4,500 grant will go toward building a community garden.
Karen Price, Elsmore resident, said she read about the grant opportunity in the Register and approached the Elsmore City Council to generate ideas for their community. The group came to the conclusion a community garden would benefit residents greatly.
“We want to get this garden going as soon as possible,” Price said.
Those involved are considering a wall garden for easier access for the elderly. They’ve also contemplated doing raised beds. Two possible locations exist for the garden, one being on the west side of the Elsmore Community Building and the other near new playground equipment in the park.
“I’m hoping to visit the community garden in Iola to get ideas for our plan,” she said.
The Seed funds will help purchase items such as a lawn tiller, sprinklers and lumber. Price would also like to plant a few fruit trees for the garden.
“We are so excited to be approved and get this started here,” Price said.

IN HUMBOLDT the Lion’s Club has set its sights on a county with healthier vision. Chris Bauer, Humboldt’s Lion Club treasurer and secretary, said the $7,800 will help purchase a Pediavision Spot Screening Device.
The device will be able to scan the eyes of children beginning at age six months to detect if they any problems. The device can detect six different vision problems.
“This machine screens quickly and automatically,” Bauer said. “A lot of times we’re relying on the child to tell us what they see and this isn’t always accurate.”
Bauer said the machine will help make parents aware of an issue early on so they can follow up with an eye doctor.
“About 95 percent of vision problems can be corrected if they are detected early on,” Bauer said.
The Humboldt Lion’s Club is part of the SEK district and has had to borrow devices when doing screenings in the Humboldt area. There are only six devices in the district, which spans as far north as Ottawa and west as Wichita. The club is hoping to use the device in Moran and Iola as well.
“We are excited to get this device and hopefully we will be able to get it into other schools and help those kids, too,” Bauer said.

FEEDING THE multitudes is a mission for a couple of Iola organizations.
Tom Waters, director of the Allen County Community Food Pantry, said the $4,000 grant money will help tremendously when it comes to preserving food.
“The cooler will give us more room to help keep produce cool and last longer,” Waters said.
The food pantry currently has two refrigerators.
“We are very grateful for what God has provided us,” Waters said. “This is really a blessing for the pantry.”
Kathy Koehn, USD 257’s food service coordinator, applied for the grant to help expand the district’s free summer meal program in Iola. This year, meals are served at three different locations in Iola feeding children 1 to 18 for free. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses the district for cost of the meals.
“In our mission to expand the summer meal program the idea of going to where the kids are requires more resources to make that happen,” Koehn said. “Transportation cost has increased as we transport food to more locations.” 
Koehn has created clever ways to increase attendance.
“We are trying to increase participation with random prizes,” she said. “As we raise awareness of the benefits of the summer meal program and give kids a taste of the great meals being provided at no charge, we expect participation to increase.”