— Submitted photos EHCF Board member Pat Hill presents the ISU Hamilton County Extension grant to Sue Schmitz.

The Enhance Hamilton County Foundation awarded $90,764 in grant funds to 14 Hamilton County organizations Tuesday night during their annual Grant Awards ceremony held at the Stratford Community Center. More than 40 guests attended to receive grant monies and to learn more about the projects being funded.

The following grants were distributed during the ceremony:

Iowa State University Hamilton County Extension – $1,000: The funds will assist with putting together a family-based educational program, Juntos Para Una Mejor Educacion (Together for a Better Education) focused on improving educational outcomes for Latino youth;

Stratford Spirit 4-H Club – $5,000: The funds will assist with purchasing a new electronic sign to allow for easier distribution of community announcements from the current system that is manually updated by the 4H Club;

Youth and Shelter Services – $3,000: The funds will assist with providing Crisis Intervention Counseling in Hamilton County schools to at-risk students and their families;

Hamilton County Freedom Rock Committee – $5,000: The funds will assist with completion of the park that will honor veterans and provide educational opportunities for those visiting the monument;

Webster City Lions Club – $10,000: The grant funds will be used to assist with renovation of the Lions Park located in Webster City to make it a safe, all-inclusive and accessible facility for all;

Stratford Fire & Rescue Department – $5,500: The funds will be used to assist with restoration of the outside of the current fire department;

The Hemken Collection – $500: The grant will assist with printing of new catalogs to help the museum further its cultural and educational mission of sharing automotive history with visitors;

Mighty Trojan Childcare Center Hamilton County School – $3,500: The funds will assist with covering meal expenses for the children utilizing the daycare facility;

Stratford Public Library- $2,114: Grant funds will be used to assist with expansion of their library into an adjacent building and make it handicapped accessible;

BEE Inspired CAPP Program/Building Families – $1,000: The funds will be used to assist with launching a marketing campaign to boost awareness of adolescent sexual health topics within Hamilton County;

JADE Foundation – $2,000: The funds will be used to assist with the preservation of an old church and renovating it to become the new Jewell History Museum;

Arts R Alive – $1,500: The funds will be used to continue the promotion of sculpture as a form of public art through a two-day event that features local artists and their work in West Twin Parks; and

Your Own United Resources – $650: The funds will be used to assist with the purchase of a Hatch computer to be used by Head Start students in Webster City that will allow teachers to quickly and easily understand their students’ needs.

In addition, $50,000 was awarded to the Briggs Woods Conference Center as part of a matching fund grant that was part of a two-year commitment from 2016.

The Enhance Hamilton County Foundation has had a successful start to 2017 according to Rick Young, Enhance Hamilton County Foundation President. Young shared with the attendees that the Foundation has grown their fund portfolio to over $2 million since the beginning of 2017. The Foundation is ranked fifth in the state of affiliate partners within the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines network and they grew their fund portfolio by over 45.5 percent in 2016 ending the year with a balance of $1,825,806.

Young also highlighted the Foundation’s involvement in youth programs by granting monies to the South Hamilton School District dance marathon which resulted in $3,092.10 being raised and evenly split between All Cultures Equal (ACE) and Kids Cancer Squad. In addition, the Foundation provided grant monies to the Webster City Middle School for their Character Counts packaging meal project where over 40,000 meals were prepared and distributed throughout Hamilton County.

The grant monies that the Foundation distributes are a result of the County Endowment Fund Program which distributes a percentage of the State’s gaming revenue to qualified community foundations. The Foundation to-date has granted over $1 million to charitable causes throughout Hamilton County since the organization was formed in 2005.

The Enhance Hamilton County Foundation’s mission is to foster private giving, strengthen service providers and improve the quality of life for citizens in Hamilton County. To these ends, it will promote endowment collaboration, and public leadership for the benefit of the designated area.

Through the affiliate partnership with the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, the Enhance Hamilton County Foundation is able to provide access to resources to assist charitable donors with their charitable goals. In addition, the Foundation works closely with organizations to establish funds to create opportunities for charitable donations and to establish sustainability for their organizations.

For more information on the Foundation and the resources they provide to assist with charitable giving, visit their website at enhancehamiltoncounty.∏ or contact Darcy Swon, Development Director, at 515-835-0437.