Community Fund of the South Cumberland Awards New Grants

The Community Fund of the South Cumberland Plateau (CFSCP) announced its second round of grants on June 2 at the Heritage Center in Tracy City. 

According to Scott Parrish, CFSCP co-chair, the new grants total almost $65,000. The selected group of recipients submitted proposals that best meet the charge of promoting progress with initiatives to help solve community problems and build on community strengths, he said.

“We believe that the seed money provided for these exciting proposals will result in measurable changes on the Plateau—in economic growth, education, arts, recreation, healthcare, job training, and community building,” said Parrish. The following are the 2013 grant recipients:

Blue Monarch—$10,000: This 10-year-old organization provides a residential program for women and their children who seek to rebuild lives that have been damaged by abuse, addiction, and incarceration. The land and facilities for the program were purchased with a $980,000 loan. This grant is in support of a final push to clear the remaining balance of $101,000 and enable Blue Monarch to undertake new plans to expand its services.

Grundy County Health Council—$3,685: Seeking to improve the health of local residents and decrease health disparities in the community, the Grundy County Health Council is focused on obesity and diabetes prevention through educational programs and physical activities. This grant provides equipment to support the monitoring of weight, blood pressure, and blood glucose in the Reversing Diabetes program. 

Grundy County Historical Society—$6,464: A grant from the CFSCP last year provided for the renovation of a Farquhar Locomotive Boiler that once powered a saw mill in Beersheba Springs. This supplemental grant will enable the Historical Society to complete an outdoor exhibit area for the boiler.

Grundy County Youth Leadership—$3,050: Providing monthly programs for selected high school sophomores and juniors to train them for leadership roles in the county, Grundy County Youth Leadership introduces the class to local and state government, economic opportunities and the natural assets of the South Cumberland State Park. This grant provides seed money to reactivate the program with broader community support.

Mountain Goat Trail Alliance—$15,000: The Mountain Goat Trail Alliance’s work on a long-term project to extend the walking and biking trail along the old rail line from Cowan to Palmer will be advanced by this grant, which will provide for the purchase of additional railroad property in Grundy County.

North Elementary School —$14,750: In partnership with the Grundy County Health Council, North Elementary in Altamont is developing a quarter-mile walking track around the school perimeter. This grant will complete the funding needed to build the track, which will serve as a safe environment for walking and running for students and the local community. 

S-Double-A Ranch—$8,500: Created to assist uninsured individuals and their families to overcome substance abuse through interaction with horses, art, music and other faith-based recreational activities and 12-step programs, the S-Double-A Ranch will use the grant funds to establish a recycling program. The recycling program will generate revenues to support the recovery programs at the Ranch, while encouraging a strong work ethic, creating an outlet for community service hours mandated by the courts, and fostering environmental awareness.

The June 2 event also included a slide show of the progress of the first recipients, who were awarded a total of $101,673 last November, as well as scenes from “The Other Side of the Mountain” GrACE production, a student musical based on a book by May Justus and funded by the CFSCP.