More than $112,000 is being invested in communities across Jackson County through grants that will help feed hungry children, equip volunteer firefighters, preserve a historic community building, create new educational opportunities and improve parks, trails and public spaces.
The Alabama Mountain Rivers Valleys Resource Conservation & Development Council, in partnership with the Jackson County Legislative Delegation, announced the funding during a series of presentations last Tuesday, September 8.
Senator Steve Livingston and Representative Mike Kirkland have worked with AMRV RC&D to bring funding back to projects throughout the county. In all, the grants announced Tuesday totaled $112,030.
During the main presentation at the Scottsboro Boys Museum, AMRV RC&D representatives explained that demand for the program continues to far exceed the money available.
More than $3 million in requests were submitted this year, demonstrating both the needs that exist across the region and the competition organizations face when applying for the grants.
AMRV RC&D funding is supported through state appropriations, including funding from the education and general fund budgets.
One advantage of the program, officials explained, is its flexibility. Education dollars must support an educational purpose, but other RC&D funding can address a wide variety of local needs.
Decisions are also made close to home, with local representatives involved in reviewing applications and determining where limited funding can make an impact.
That impact can look very different from one grant to the next.
Perhaps one of the most sobering presentations of the day came from Buddy Bags, Inc., which received $10,000.
Emily Campbell explained that the nonprofit provides food for children who may leave school for the weekend without knowing when they will have another meal.
The organization is currently serving just under 100 children, she said, after serving slightly more than 100 last year.
“Some of our children go home on the weekend and do not see any food in front of them on the table until they come back to school on Monday,” Campbell said.
It is a reality, she acknowledged, that can be difficult for many people to imagine.
Buddy Bags was founded in 2014 and operates entirely through volunteers.
Businesses, churches and individuals help support the organization, but increasing grocery prices have made that mission more expensive each year.
Volunteers purchase and transport food to participating schools, where teachers and students help pack shopping bags for the children.
The food is distributed every other Friday.
The organization intentionally uses shopping bags instead of backpacks after learning through experience that backpacks often did not make their way back to the program.
For Buddy Bags, the $10,000 grant represents much more than an organizational award.
It represents groceries going home with children who might otherwise face an empty table.
Hytop Volunteer Fire Department received $15,000 toward the purchase of a used pumper/engine.
A department representative said the funding is helping replace a 1986-model fire engine with a 2004 Freightliner fire engine.
The newer engine will provide an important upgrade for the volunteers who depend on their equipment to respond when their neighbors need them.
The department said the replacement will make driving and operating the engine safer for firefighters while helping improve the department’s ability to respond to calls.
“It is going to be much safer for our members as far as driving and operating the fire engine,” the representative said, adding that the engine will help the department better serve the community during fires, wrecks and other emergencies.
The department thanked AMRV RC&D and local legislators for helping make the purchase possible.
The City of Bridgeport received $10,100 for its Bridgeport Connector Trail, part of a larger effort to develop recreational opportunities along the Tennessee River.
Bridgeport Parks and Recreation has already laid out approximately a mile of trails and has begun placing a base on portions of the trail system.
The project is being developed alongside a campground, where work is underway on infrastructure, including water service.
Those involved with the project believe the trail system could become an important part of attracting visitors to Bridgeport and, just as importantly, encouraging them to return.
“Once we get our campground built, the trails are what will bring the people back,” a Bridgeport representative said.
The city’s location along the Tennessee River gives the project a natural asset to build around.
“We’re sitting on a beautiful spot right on the riverbank,” he said.
The work has not been without challenges.
Because of the project’s proximity to the Tennessee River, some portions require coordination with the Tennessee Valley Authority, and invasive aquatic vegetation has created additional concerns.
Still, work continues.
The Bridgeport representative also praised the city’s mayor for taking a hands-on role in the project, saying he regularly comes to the site after work and helps with the physical labor.
The Scottsboro Multicultural Foundation, LLC received $10,000 to improve accessibility to a new outdoor exhibit space at the Scottsboro Boys Museum.
The project includes the Ada Wright Memorial Garden and plans for an ADA-accessible sidewalk extending from the front of the property into the outdoor exhibit area.
Foundation representatives said approximately half of the groundwork has already been completed, with the grant helping move the ambitious project closer to completion.
The goal is not simply to create another outdoor area, but to ensure that visitors of different physical abilities can experience it.
The Jackson County Twenty First Century Council received $5,000 for STEM Days at area schools.
The project’s goal is to expose students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics through engaging, hands-on activities.
The program is designed to reach students throughout the school systems and introduce them to subjects and experiences that could ultimately influence future educational and career choices.
Auburn University and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System received $12,430 for “Gone ‘Gazing at GFNC,” a project at Graham Farm & Nature Center.
The program will use stargazing as a way to connect participants with the natural environment while providing education about light pollution and its effects.
During the presentation, the difference between looking at the night sky in a more developed area and viewing it from the countryside was used to illustrate how artificial light can obscure stars that would otherwise be visible.
The project will combine recreation and education, encouraging participants to slow down, look upward and learn more about the night sky and the environment around them.
The Macedonia Fire Protection Authority received $7,500 for replacement bay doors at its fire station.
Years of use had taken a toll on the existing doors, and replacement parts had become difficult or impossible to obtain because of their age.
For a fire department, reliable bay doors are not simply a cosmetic improvement.
Firefighters must be able to quickly and safely move out of the station when a call comes in.
The grant will allow the department to address the aging doors before they become an even greater problem.
The Town of Skyline received $5,000 for a community improvement project.
The Pisgah Civitan Club received another $7,000 for construction of a boardwalk at Pisgah Civitan Park, continuing investment in recreational opportunities and community spaces.
Together, the projects demonstrate one of the hallmarks of RC&D funding: grants do not have to be enormous to make a visible difference in a small community.
Earlier Tuesday, AMRV RC&D and legislators gathered at Dean’s Chapel Community Center in Henagar to announce a $15,000 grant to the Jackson County Board of Education for repairs to the building’s roof.
The funding will help preserve a building with more than a century of history behind its walls.
Those involved with preserving Dean’s Chapel said permission to construct the building dates to around 1919.
The building once served as a school, and much of that history is still remembered and preserved by former students and community members.
The old school operated in an era when one teacher could be responsible for students across several grade levels.
Former students have recalled completing their own lessons and then listening as the teacher moved on to teach another grade, learning material years before they would ordinarily encounter it.
Records preserved by the community indicate Dean’s Chapel students often performed well after leaving the small school and continuing their education elsewhere.
Inside the building are reminders of that earlier era, including historic photographs and artifacts connected to the school.
Community members have even preserved one of the plates once used to serve meals to students.
Stories remain, too, about beloved teachers and the meals prepared for children, including memories of a tomato soup that former students still recall decades later.
The school eventually consolidated, but the building survived.
It even survived a tornado that damaged other property around it, including playground equipment.
Today, Dean’s Chapel continues serving the community in a different role, and the $15,000 roof grant will help protect the building and the history contained inside it for another generation.
A third presentation was held at Stevenson Middle School, where another $15,000 grant was announced.
The money will be used to create a versatile outdoor learning space for students.
The project expands the idea of what a classroom can be, allowing teachers to take instruction outside and giving students opportunities to learn in a different environment.
With that award, the day’s three grant announcements reached a combined $112,030 for Jackson County.
The dollar amounts tell only part of the story. A $10,000 grant becomes food in the hands of a child who may have little or nothing waiting at home.
A $15,000 grant becomes a safer fire engine headed toward someone’s emergency.
Another $15,000 helps keep a roof over a century-old community landmark, while other grants create places for children to learn, families to walk and communities to gather.
Taken individually, they are local projects.
Taken together, they represent more than $112,000 being put back to work in Jackson County, one community, one organization and one need at a time.
by Heather Dohring
