Wednesday, October 18, 2023–9:00 a.m.
-News Release-
The South Rome Alliance and the Community Foundation for Greater Rome announce the first-ever South Rome Community Grant to support groups and organizations working to make South Rome an active community where all residents can thrive.
The purpose of the grants is to support projects that create greater community health, wealth, and cohesion in the South Rome neighborhood.
“We really did not know what the response would look like when we came up with this grant program,” said South Rome Alliance board member Bobby Jones. “We’ve been blown away by the response from the community and know these grants will make a big impact in South Rome.”
There were more than ten applications received from organizations working in South Rome. A grant committee made up of South Rome Alliance board members, South Rome residents, and Community Foundation board members, selected six projects to receive awards totaling over $50,000. Those grant recipients are as follows:
· Braids & Blessings – Tanieshia Nicholson is a South Rome resident and owner of Braids & Blessings, a Black-owned hair company in South Rome. Tanieshia submitted a grant to help create positive self-esteem and provide job training skills for 48 middle- and high-school girls through a summer camp and after-school programming.
· iFocus Program Tutoring – South Rome resident Marquita Wright-Davis will provide free after-school tutoring for Anna K. Davie students at the South Rome Community Center.
· NAACP Youth Council – Grant funds will provide free memberships and programming for up to 50 youth to join the newly-formed NAACP Youth Council.
· South Rome Community Garden – $8,000 – Grant funds will cover the costs of re-building raised beds and purchasing a storage shed for the community garden. Community garden tools have been stored inside the Community Center classroom that will now be used for tutoring.
· Lovejoy Community Services – Grant funds will help fund Lovejoy’s Summer Explosion Camp, a free summer camp that runs the entire summer break at Lovejoy.
· South Rome Community Association – Grant funds will help make necessary building repairs to the Community Center, including repairing termite and water damage and adding gutters to prevent additional water damage. The Community Center has become a very active hub of neighborhood activity.
“We have some great stories to tell about these organizations and grants, and I think they will generate a lot of interest in the South Rome Community Grant program.” Ashley Garner, The Community Foundation. For more information on the South Rome Alliance, head to southrome.org. You can find more information on the Community Foundation at www.cffgr.org.
