Grants Fund Local Projects

Grants awarded from the Flushing Area Community Fund Advisory Committee helped fund several projects this year. We are grateful to local donors whose gifts helped fund the following initiatives. Main Street Bridge has a new look this winter season thanks to a $1,450 grant to the City of Flushing. Four LED snowflakes were purchased for the bridge that arches over the Flint River. The decorations are energy efficient and the plan is to keep them up throughout the entire winter.

Flushing Area Senior Citizens received a $900 grant that activated volunteers to build raised planters for gardens to serve the hungry. "Our goal was to grow food for those in need that come to the Flushing Christian Outreach Center," said Gary Dearing, Senior Center Director. "Once we learned that a majority of their clientele were seniors, we felt this was something that we could and should do."

Dearing said the group formed a Garden Club to come up with the ideas of what to plant and how to maintain the garden. They purchased materials to build five elevated gardens that were constructed by woodshop volunteers. Volunteers filled the gardens with soil and planted plants donated by the membership. Garden Club members maintained the gardens and harvested a variety of green peppers, lettuce, carrots and tomatoes. The plants flourished and produce was taken to the Outreach Center and enjoyed by local people in need.

Three young people were employed to help maintain the grounds of Flushing Nature Park last summer, funded in part by a $1,800 grant to Flushing Township. The crew removed brush from the trails, removed ntrees from the Prairie, repaired and refinished picnic tables and constructed five new benches for the Park. Youth were supervised by township employee Norm Goddard.