NEWS RELEASE
Approved Community Grants List for 2009
(Wednesday, June 17, 2009) - Halifax Regional Council approved 69 grants to local groups throughout the region for a total of $464,011.
With over one hundred applicants and $1,300,000 in requests, competition was strong and a diverse range of ages, locations, and programming received valuable assistance.
Seniors in Spryfield will get help improving the Golden Age Social Centre’s energy efficiency and comfort with replacement windows ($5,000) while the Musquodoboit Harbour Lions Club is giving the former seniors club a new lease on life with fixtures and furnishings to accommodate small social gatherings ($3,900).
Children and youth should also see an improvement in summer programming offered by camp sites with grants to Mount Traber, Middle Musquodoboit ($10,000), Scouts Canada’s Camp Lone Cloud in Waverley ($4,000), and the development of new amenities at the Bayside Camp in Sambro ($10,000). “These community-owned and operated campgrounds fill a gap in municipal facilities. Hundreds of young children throughout the region, some from lower income families, can return to school and share ‘What I did on my vacation’ stories with their peers” asserts the Chair of the HRM Grants Committee, Councillor Russell Walker.
Inclusion was also a strong theme in several community-based arts education grants. The Veith Street Gallery Studio Association ($1782) encourages the participation of persons with disabilities, while the Nova Scotia Sea School ($2,990) will engage rural youth in surf art culture, and The Mariners Quilt, a local ‘teaching guild’ will exhibit works by both beginners and experienced quilters this summer ($1,000) - a prelude to next year’s Quilt Canada 2010 event to be hosted in Halifax and Dartmouth. Inclusion was also a strong theme in the Shubenacadie Canal Commission’s exhibit ($2,000) to be hosted concurrently in five communities along the historic waterway. Each exhibit will feature the work of Nova Scotian artists featuring canals and waterways. The proposed development of performing arts facilities serving the professional arts sector also received support with grants to the Atlantic Film Festival ($10,000) and Kinetic Dance Studio/Halifax Dance ($10,000) for consulting fees.
Young adults will be active participants in several history projects. University students will gain valuable experience helping the Holy Cross Cemetery Trust ($5,000) inventory gravestone inscriptions in this registered heritage site. The material will then be posted on-line to assist genealogical enthusiasts and heighten awareness of the cemetery’s historic roots. Cole Harbour Parks & Trails Association ($3,800) will be returning to the Halifax County Poor Farm for another year with the help of archaeology students and volunteers of all ages.
A complete list of awards is posted on the HRM web site at: http://www.halifax.ca/boardscom/bccgrants/grants.html
- 30 -
Contact:
Peta-Jane Temple
Tax, Grants & Special Projects
490-5469
Councillor Russell Walker
Chair of the HRM Grants Committee
497-7215
