Story By John Mann
There was a special presentation at the Boaz Public Library on Thursday by the Alabama‘s Mountains, Rivers and Valley’s Resource, Conservation and Development Council where, in conjunction with the Marshall County Legislative Delegation, 56,495 dollars’ worth of grant funding was presented to various county organizations for their projects.
“We spend a lot of money in Montgomery, billions of dollars every session and sometimes it gets lost in the bureaucracy of Montgomery,” District 26 Representative Brock Colvin said. “We can’t always see the impact it makes on our communities but with RC&D we can always see the direct impact of the money we’ve appropriated and how it’s spent in our district, it’s always my favorite way to spend money.”
The total was divided out amongst six organizations which included two Marshall County schools. The RC&D is an organization which supports educational and community development projects in North Central Alabama including Morgan, Madison, Limestone, Marshall, Jackson and DeKalb counties.
The Boaz Public Library received 5500.00 dollars which they used for both their tower garden and seed library. Produce and herbs grown in the garden are fed back into the community and used in the libraries’ programs. The seed garden, built from a repurposed card catalog, contains packets of seeds for various flowers and vegetables as well as informational packets. The library was refilled three times during it’s recent operation with over seven hundred packets distributed. The library also added new books on gardening to their collection as well as backpack kits of tools and books which can be checked out.
Six thousand dollars of the grant went to Arab High School for their JORTC program, which is using the funds to operate a drone instruction and licensing program, which has already produced six FAA licensed drone pilots after starting last year. Douglas High School meanwhile received grants to two departments, with 10,130.00 dollars going to the science department for their “Natural Environments of Alabama” which helped place ecosystem aquariums in agricultural classrooms, while another seven thousand went toward Step Two of the Conservation Lab project.
“To be able to see a positive impact of some dollars is important and to know it is directly affecting people in a way that will make their lives a little better,” District 27 Representative Jeana Ross said. “That’s what we care about, one person at a time doing what we can to make those lives a little better whether it’s a child or a senior.”
Marshall County People Against a Littered State (PALS) received 6,539.00 dollars in their first ever grant, having been funded to this point solely on membership dues. The group works to educate the public on the importance of cleaning up litter, particularly in schools, and currently has seventy-one Adopt-A-Miles in Marshall County. The grant money they received was used for roadside safety gear, decals and reusable litter bags, scales to weigh collected litter during pick-ups, grabbing tools and gloves and to help better advertise the organization.
The Boaz Legacy Museum also received a portion of the grant in the amount of 7,700.00 dollars, which was used to provide renovations and upkeep to the site’s exterior. This included replacing the grass on the front lawn and installing a new irrigation system.
Finally, Caring Heart Outreach, Inc. of Arab received 13,626.00 dollars from the grant. Last year the group used grant funds to establish a food pantry for seniors over the age of sixty-five, which they plan to continue operating and expanding. It was reported that last year the group gave out over a half million dollars in benevolence which included food, hygiene items, clothing vouchers and appliances to name a few. Between the two food pantries they saw around 2400 visits.
“I just really want to thank RC&D for their hard work,” Alabama Senator Wes Kitchens said. “Any time we call them after someone reaches out and we have a request they don’t try to say no. A lot of groups, especially Montgomery groups, will try to find out how to say no instead of sating yes and we never get that with them. Thank you to RC&D and thank you to each and every one of you for the work you do in our communities.”
More information about RC&D can be found on their website at alabamarcd.org. The organizations who received grants can be found under the following:
Boaz Public Library – on Facebook under “Boaz Public Library”
Arab High School – arabcityschools.org
Douglas High School – marshallk12.org
MCPALS – Facebook under “Marshall County PALS”
Caring Heart Outreach – caringheartoutreach.org
Boaz Legacy Museum – 114 North Broad Street, Boaz (open Tues, Thurs, Sat from 10-2)
