The Moundridge Community Foundation is pleased to announce the following grant awards to the Moundridge Community, administered by the McPherson County Community Foundation.
West Zion Mennonite Church – 2022/2023 West Zion Children’s Meal program – $2,000.00
Our congregation serves hot, nutritious meals to children and volunteers for the K-4 Moundridge Youth Ministries program hosted at our church. It’s part of how we engage families in Moundridge with the love of God through age-appropriate Bible teaching. The program aims to cultivate personal morality and spirituality among children and families, as well as building up the faith life of the community.
Valley Hope Foundation – Valley Hope of Moundridge Outdoor Project – $2,000.00
Established in 1967, Valley Hope is a national nonprofit drug and alcohol treatment organization with a strong legacy of providing accredited, evidence-based programs and services. Valley Hope of Moundridge was opened in 2010 and has provided lifesaving treatment to more than 8,000 patients and their families.
Moundridge Public Library – Increasing Capacity for Community Enrichment – $7,000.00
The Moundridge Public Library will be opening the new location later this year. Due to shortfalls in fundraising and increases in cost, the facility will have less amenities then we had hoped. Phase two of the library renovation will include amenities and features we had to shelve due to cost. The new library needs tables and shelving for displaying new, rotating, and interesting collections in our newly remodeled facility. Keeping with our big concept for the new library of being flexible; to modify and accommodate to changing needs, the display table are mobile and can be easily moved. Marketing and displaying our products, materials, and programs are a big part of keeping libraries and library service relevant and in minds of our patrons and communities. Other amenities, such as an additional ADA automatic doors, paved drive up book drop drive, angle parking off Durst, and new lounge and collaborative seating will be a part of the second phase of the library’s renovation.
Mercy Hospital – “The Doctor is In” – $4,500.00
Mercy Hospital and the Partners in Family Care (PIFC) Clinic have been working together the last 3 years to bring the next generation of physicians to our community. Typically, certain physicians are more interested in coming to practice in a small rural community, but many times the decision comes down to family financial concerns. A doctor can usually make more by going to practice in a larger community or working for a hospital that is part of a large system. One of the key tools rural communities have used over the last 30 years to “level the playing field” is the Bridging Program sponsored by KU School of Medicine. Mercy Hospital has successfully participated in this program in the past to bring new doctors to our town. The program combines tuition loan payback from KU with matching funds from the community. Mercy would like to partner with the City of Moundridge and the Moundridge Community Foundation to create an attractive pool of matching funds for the next doctor.
Cradle to Crayons Childcare Center – Cradle to Crayons foundation repair, Basement, gutters – $15,000.00
The original building that Cradle to Crayons is in was constructed in 1915. We are having foundation issues in that half of the building that need to be repaired. The crawl space has collapsed. There is no longer a sill plate. We are having cracks in the walls, doorways are shifting, and we have hills in our floor. I have checked on the price to repair the foundation and it is almost just as expensive as adding a basement. A basement is also less intrusive to our daily functioning. To add a foundation they have to tear up our new flooring and displace our children. We are going to replace gutters and downspouts and place them in better spots to get water away from the building. The second part would be to dig a basement. The basement will fix the rotted out foundation. Adding a basement will also provide an additional storm shelter for our growing center, a gym for them to play in during inclement weather, extra storage, and extra classrooms.
Associated Ministries of Moundridge – Associated Ministries support of Moundridge Senior Center – $2,000.00
The Moundridge Senior Center was started by the Associated Churches in 1975. Ever since that time, the Associated Churches has made quarterly payments to the Senior Center to support its operations. When the Associated Churches became the Associated Ministries of Moundridge in 2017, the executive committee continued its financial support. The memberships of the churches that are supporting the Associated Ministries are declining and consequently the donations from these churches are declining also.
Steps to End Poverty of McPherson County – STEPMC – Providing the Missing Steps for Local Families to Overcome Poverty – $7,500.00
Currently, our community helps people survive in poverty, but it does not help people get out of poverty. Providing food, rent assistance, clothing, and other concrete resources is helpful and certainly needed in Moundridge. But, these resources do not help people actually overcome poverty because they only address one small part of the reason that people are stuck in poverty.
This proposal seeks to provide the missing step in the stairway out of poverty here in Moundridge. By supporting STEPMC’s work, you are supporting an innovative, community-driven framework for solving poverty. With your help, we can build relationships across economic lines to form a community around those in poverty, foster these connections, and create pathways of opportunity so that people can overcome poverty. Will you help plant seeds of hope here in Moundridge, and walk alongside our neighbors who want to work hard to get out of poverty?
Moundridge Recreation Commission – Cardio Room – 5,000.00
The Moundridge Recreation Commission would like to add a dedicated cardio room to our space in Greer Gymnasium for our patrons to use. In addition to the regulation size basketball court, Greer Gym has a complete weight room available for the annual key rental of $40.00