Bay Area Community Foundation Awards Eight Mini-Grants Through Dow’s communityGives

BAY CITY, MI – The Dow Chemical Company has again demonstrated great civic character by granting $500 to eight different youth programs in Bay and Arenac Counties through the Bay Area Community Foundation.

Granted through the Dow communityGives Program, a component of Dow Gives, youth organizations were encouraged to apply through local community foundations in Bay, Midland and Saginaw Counties.  K-12 school groups, sports teams and clubs were challenged to complete 50 volunteer hours in order to secure a mini-grant for their respective programs.

Rob Vallentine, Dow’s public affairs director, has expressed a strong belief in this program stating “…youth can pay it forward and really make an impact.”  Bay Area Community Foundation President & CEO Eileen Curtis reciprocated this feeling, saying “It’s refreshing to see a large corporation encouraging the youth in their area to take an active role in shaping their community.”

Grant awardees in the Bay Area this spring included: Pinconning Girls Varsity Soccer, Hampton Elementary French Exchange Program, Pinconning Boys Track, Bay City Players Youtheatre, Pinconning High School AP English Classes, Bay City Public Schools Special Education Department, Linsday Elementary International Learning Partnership and the Washington Elementary Student Council.

These groups, completing a total of 400 hours of community service, have elected to take part in several charitable events such as the Riverwalk/Railtrail Spring Cleanup, the M-13 Highway cleanup and preservation projects at local cemeteries.  Volunteers will also be working closely with organizations which include Habitat for Humanity, Brian’s House and the Carriage House.  Projects will range from planting flowers and performing yard work all the way to performing skits for senior citizens.

Additionally two regional grant awardees were named through the collaborative efforts of the Midland, Saginaw and Bay Area Community Foundations.  These two groups included Great Lakes Bay Region BMX and the H. H. Dow High School Varsity Tennis Team.  Great Lakes Bay Region BMX, composed of members from Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties, will be completing cleanup projects within the three counties while the H. H. Dow High School Tennis Team will presenting tennis camps for the youth of the region.

The Bay Area Community Foundation would like to encourage groups to participate in the Dow communityGives Program.  Applications for the fall are due October 1st and can be found on the Bay Area Community Foundation website, www.BayFoundation.org.   There are seventy-two $500 grants available and ten $1,000 grants for groups completing volunteer projects with a regional scope affecting the entire Great Lakes Bay Region.