Bourbon County Senior Citizens, Inc., which helps facilitate the Meals on Wheels program in Fort Scott and surrounding areas, was awarded $5,000 for repairs to their distribution center in historic downtown Fort Scott.
The funds will go toward the cost of installing helical masonry ties to secure the building’s brick veneer to the structural frame, which had begun separating due to missing or deteriorated brick ties. With these repairs, the facility can continue to serve as a safe base of operations for the staff and volunteers that package and deliver hundreds of meals each month.
The project was among six selected for a total of $29,300 in funding by the Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative Board of Directors through the cooperative’s Concern for Community grant program.
“We had a great batch of proposals this year,” said Mark Scheibe, Heartland CEO. “We look forward to working with some outstanding partners to put these funds to work for the good of Heartland members and their communities.”
As a non-profit, member-owned cooperative, Heartland issues capital credits to members each year, but sometimes those capital credits go unclaimed. Because those monies were intended to be returned to the communities from which they came, Heartland’s Board of Directors decided to use those unclaimed funds for community grants and started the Concern for Community program in 2019.
The Concern for Community program provides grants of up to $5,000 for capital improvement projects throughout the Heartland service area, which covers parts of 12 counties in eastern Kansas. Capital improvement projects are those that involve investment in structures or equipment that will last for many years.
Applications were accepted from June 1–July 31 and selected by the Heartland Board of Directors at their August 23 meeting. Heartland plans to reopen applications in summer 2025 for the next round of funding.
This year, six applications out of 30 received were approved for funding by the Heartland board. The other projects selected are as follows:
- Cherokee County Kansas Fair Association, Inc. was awarded $5,000 to help purchase cooling fans for the show barns at the fairgrounds in Columbus.
- Dream Big Little One Association was awarded $4,300 for repairs and renovations at their distribution center in Columbus.
- Sugar Valley Lake Homes Association, Inc. was awarded $5,000 toward a playground project at the Sugar Valley/Hidden Valley clubhouse in Mound City.
- USD 362 Prairie View was awarded $5,000 toward a new childcare center in La Cygne.
- USD 413 Foundation was awarded $5,000 toward a new animal science learning center at Chanute High School.
About Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. powers rural lifestyles throughout more than 11,000 locations in eastern Kansas. Heartland’s service area includes consumer-members in 12 counties, including Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Labette, Linn, Miami, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson.
Heartland REC traces its roots back to three original rural electric cooperatives: Cooperative Electric Power & Light Company, Sugar Valley Electric Cooperative Association, and Sekan Electric Cooperative Association. Cooperative Electric Power & Light Company joined with Sugar Valley in 1975 to form United Electric Cooperative; United Electric Cooperative joined with Sekan Electric Cooperative Association in 1996 to form Heartland.