02 Oct Boomerang Sisterhood Annual Grants Awarded
Left to right: Ruth Fuchs and Cole Beckley from Rotary Club, Angie Case and Sara Welke from St. Vincent de Paul, Carol Biddle and Sue Gulley from Harvesting Capabilities
The Boomerang Sisterhood, a women’s giving circle established through the Miami County Community Foundation (MCCF), granted $5,000 to support three community projects. The grants were awarded at the Boomerang Sisterhood’s annual social on September 26 at the Riverview Event Center.
The members of the Boomerang Sisterhood bring strength in numbers for good causes by pooling their resources and giving yearly grants. The group of women vote for their favorite programs and initiatives to receive these funds from dues and a growing endowment fund.
This year’s grant recipients were selected from a pool of 11 applicants. The grant committee of the Boomerang Sisterhood reviewed all submissions and selected Harvesting Capabilities, Peru Rotary Club, and St. Vincent de Paul to give presentations about their projects before the entire group. All finalists receive grant dollars.
Each finalist made a short presentation to the audience who cast a vote for their favorite project or program. The members’ votes determine the grant size.
The largest grant of $2,000 was given to Harvesting Capabilities for their HC Park project. The all-inclusive park will be adjacent to Miami’s Fort on the Riverwalk in Peru. The park will be accessible to all children. The park will be strategically built to be inclusive to those who are confined to a wheelchair and those with physical, sensory, vision, hearing, and autistic challenges. Harvesting Capabilities Playground Committee has set a goal of July 4, 2019 for the completion of the project.
St. Vincent de Paul was awarded $1,750 for its bedbug program. Two representatives of the organization explained to the Boomerang Sisterhood that bedbugs are a growing problem in Miami County and that it can affect any person in the community. Families who are affected often need assistance from St. Vincent de Paul because they have to leave all of their clothes and belongings behind. This grant will enable St. Vincent de Paul to purchase pillow cases and bed covers to help families in need get rid of bedbugs.
Peru Rotary Club received $1,250 for its Peru Rotary Harmony Park project. The group’s goal is to establish a park area alongside the Nickel Plate Trail that will consist of large instruments that both children and adults can interact with together. This will provide a free recreational experience, bonding time for families, and early exposure to music.
Connie Cutler, MCCF Director of Development, said, “The Boomerang Sisterhood is now ten years old, and in the past decade, the group has truly made a difference in Miami County. In total, we’ve awarded more than $37,000 to support 44 local projects. We’ve also grown our endowment fund with the Community Foundation to more than $50,000.”
The Boomerang Sisters fulfill their mission through annual dues of $120 to the Miami County Community Foundation. Half of the dues are distributed each year through grants. The remainder are put into a growing endowment fund for current and future grant cycles.
Women interested in joining the Boomerang Sisterhood should contact Connie Cutler at the Community Foundation at 765-475-2859 or by e-mail at miami@nicf.org.