WHITEHALL — The White Lake Community Fund distributed its latest round of grants Monday afternoon at the White Lake Community Library, giving away nearly $44,000 to local nonprofit organizations.
The largest gift was $10,195.37 to the Muskegon Conservation District. The MCD is using the grant money for a revitalization of pollinator habitats at local parks, which will include Svensson Park, Covell Park, the Slocum Switchback and the pocket park next to Napa Auto Parts. The program will target invasive species that have found their way to the area and will plant native seeds and seedlings. Andi Kantola of the MCD said the Dirt Dauber Club has volunteered its time to assist with the plantings. The project will last two years, which Melanie Knapp, executive director of the MCD, said will allow time to nurture the plants and also ensure that the plan to keep invasive species from the area is working.
The Montague High School Band Boosters were given a $10,000 gift, which will be used to facilitate an upcoming visit from Dr. Matthew Arau, the founder of Upbeat Global, which aims to inspire leadership through music around the world. Emma Greenwood, MHS band director, said Arau is "maybe the most sought-after person in this field." Arau, she said, will visit the area for two days. He will offer a presentation to which any local student is welcome on the first day of his visit before focusing his attention to the Montague and Whitehall high school band students on his second day.
Greenwood said she wanted to bring in Arau because she believes students are not being pushed into leadership positions in recent years; "It's a lot of work, and they're just too darn busy," she smiled. She hopes a visit from Arau can change that. She and Whitehall band director Abby O'Connell, who was not at Monday's event, both look forward to the opportunity.
"I am giddy excited for this," Greenwood said.
The library itself received a $7,000 grant for the construction of a 'teen library zone.' Beth Wise Hall, youth program coordinator at the library, said in a year-plus on the job, it's become clear that teenagers are the most difficult age group to draw to the library. The library already hosts teen nights, where teenagers have provided feedback on what they'd like to see in a teen zone, and the library hopes to implement some suggestions. Hall said the new zone will be near the existing kids' zone but will provide "a more inviting area" and will include a divider that will give teenagers their own space at the library. Hall hopes in the future for the creation of a "teen advisory board" that could assist in the creation of future library events.
The Arts Council of White Lake-Nuveen Center received a $5,000 grant in support of the in-progress pocket park mural project. ACWL-Niuveen director Erin Peyer said the grant will support the artist's commission once they've been chosen. Peyer noted that a committee of community representatives has narrowed down a field of 42 applicants to paint the mural to three. Those artists will be submitting drafts of their ideas to the committee by Jan. 15, at which time it will decide how many of the three artists will present their ideas directly. More community engagement will follow, including one session the finalist will be required to participate in. Peyer hopes the finalist will be inspired to have more such sessions. The plan is for the mural to be completed by the end of summer 2025.
An additional $5,000 grant went to the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, which will fund scholarships for students to attend. Development coordinator Stacy Farmer said families often reach out to the camp in hopes of some financial support, and this grant will help "invest in those families." Camp attendees can choose from several different focuses, including art, band, choir, theatre or a musical instrument.
The Michigan Youth Ballet Theatre received a $4,050 gift, which will also fund scholarships - 20 of them, said Erin France, executive director. The scholarships will be open to any child who has not previously taken a class at MYBT. France said she reached out to the WLCF because fewer children have enrolled in classes this year. Eleven people - including three boys, France happily noted - have already reached out about taking advantage of the scholarships.
An additional $2,500 gift was given to the White Lake Music Society to fund the White Lake Music Series, a schedule of local performances. Bob Swan was scheduled to attend the WLCF presentation but was unable to make it.
WLCF vice chair Jen Hain expressed appreciation to all those who applied for grants this year and said it means a lot to the fund administrators to be able to help local area missions.
