Sharing a piece of the pie
Fall is in the air as harvest is underway. As Thanksgiving approaches, freshly baked pie is on everyone’s mind. This fall the “pie” is being divided among several local non-profits. The Nemaha County STEP Foundation Board of Directors has announced recipients for the fall-round of 2024 grants. The grants are awarded for charitable purposes to enhance and improve the quality of life for the residents of Nemaha County Kansas.
Three local non-profits (Cardinal Community Foundation, NCEMS, and Sabetha Playground Partners) will be improving their playgrounds thanks to the STEP General Endowment Fund granting $3,000 to each of the playground projects. The Cardinal Community Foundation will be receiving this grant funding for playground improvements and safety. The Nemaha Central Elementary and Middle School will make playground improvements for students with disabilities and the Chad Baker Memorial Fund will grant an additional $8,000 to this project. The Sabetha Playground Partners also plans to begin playground improvements. Nemaha County children of all ages will enjoy and benefit from these terrific projects.
The Meadowlark Extension District #7 will receive $500 from the STEP General Endowment Fund along with $2,000 from the Chad Baker Memorial Fund for an educational landscaping project. David Key, District Director and grant writer, explained the purpose for the grant in the application. “The location of the landscaping beds and the adjacent sidewalks and road provide easy, handicap-accessible access to the garden. Our parking lot wraps around the entirety of the beds, so patrons can drive around our gardens if they have mobility issues. Installing a few raised beds at wheelchair height will allow gardeners of all physical abilities to participate in gardening workshops and demonstrations. Beyond increasing the physical accessibility of the garden, we seek to make our information available to a variety of learners. We will install physical signage for plants and include QR codes that lead to more information on the plants and their use. The QR codes will help those with visual impairments by allowing them the option of digital text that can be read aloud with a text-to-speech app. We also plan to employ the use of the use of long-range radio broadcast transmitter to create self-guided audio tours so that citizens can drive around the building and listen to a recorded broadcast sharing information about the landscape and its care. Through this, the garden will serve to educate the public on plant species, soil fertility, water quality, and insect populations on a 24/7 basis. Beyond educating visitors, the garden will serve as a location for community members to gather and practice gardening skills.”
The Nemaha Valley Community Hospital will be receiving a grant award of $10,000 from the Nemaha County Dementia Fund. Karla Hermesch, social worker and grant writer, shared information in the grant application. “We work hard to provide wonderful care to our patients. With the funding, we are able to provide so many valuable activities to help our patients”. Some of the items that will be purchased, include baby dolls, fidgets, activity books and training for staff and local EMS to better assist their patients.
The final grant will be awarded from the CNB/CNB Custody/Invisor “Underprivileged Children’s Fund”. The $4,000 grant award to USD 115 (Nemaha Central) will be used to purchase coats, hats, gloves, backpacks, shoes, and meals (including snack milk) for students who are unprivileged.
Congratulations to all the grant recipients. The online grant application is open and available at www.nemahastep.org. Grants are awarded twice a year through the STEP Foundation with the next deadline being January 15, 2025.