Building a Better Decatur County

Sharon Hollowell

Adam comes to the office fairly frequently. He has been known to shred papers or label and stamp envelopes, but I think what Mommy does is still a bit of a mystery. One of the best teaching moments for me is when he sees a community foundation sign. A recent one was down in New Point.

As we are driving down the road, “Mommy the sign in front of the fire station says funded in part by the Decatur County Community Foundation.”

“Yes Adam it does.”

I go on to tell him that the firemen in New Point wanted to build a new building so that they could have room for the fire engines and so that they could help keep all the people that live in New Point safe. In order to do that, the Decatur County Community Foundation gave them money through a thing called a grant. They used it as a match to get a larger state grant. They got their grant and built that great building. I could have gone a little further and told him about the truck the DCCF helped them buy or some of the other equipment.

Now Adam is seven, so the conversation probably went onto firemen or fire trucks or something different, because we were further down the road. However the talk could have continued. I could have told him to look at that brick building sitting behind the fire station. I would explain that was the New Point Community Building and that the Community Foundation did the same thing. The people of New Point used the grant from the DCCF to get a bigger grant to build the building. The DCCF then did a subsequent grant that helped them buy pieces that would buffer the sound in their large room.

The connection to the DCCF gets a little stronger. Recently, the building has become a WIFI hotspot for the community. The New Point Community Center now has a room with computers and high speed internet. It is open for the community to use. Another state grant made this possible. This was made possible out of the EcO15 initiative, which the DCCF is a part of.

I could have asked him if he remembered coming down when there were tents set up in the park area (and he would have, because he has the memory of an elephant). I would tell him that was part of Crack-a-Way days. The DCCCF has helped fund that, because the DCCF supports more than just the capital investments.

From the walking trail in St. Paul to the new fire station in Westport to the Arts Programs going on at Lake Santee, no matter what area of the county you are in you can see the impact of the Decatur County Community Foundation. Through the generosity of donors who give the DCCF the ability to make grants to serve the entire community, we can work to make Decatur County a better place for all the residents of Decatur County - no matter where they live.

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