Animal Alliance South Cumberland
Animal Alliance South Cumberland is an all-volunteer organization that makes accessible and affordable spaying and neutering for pets across the Plateau. This year’s grant will specifically support pet spaying and neutering programs for lower-middle-income families who do not qualify for AASC’s low-income program but still have difficulty paying for the service.
Coalmont Elementary School
Coalmont Elementary School serves 266 students, pre-K through grade 8. With this grant, the school will purchase of 30 Chromebooks and a charging cart so that students in the upper grades can utilize this technology. The Chromebooks will remain at the school so they can be used by different teachers for different types of instruction.
Friends of South Cumberland
In the 1930’s, as the coal and iron industries were failing and the Depression deepened poverty in the area, the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) provided employment to area residents and completed multiple public works projects. The CCC site near the Fiery Gizzard has all but disappeared. FSC wants to redevelop the original campsite by creating framing that suggests the former structures and signage to help visitors understand its historical significance. The Friends and the park management will develop and maintain a program of enhanced interpretation for the nearly 700,000 visitors who come to the park each year.
City of Gruetli-Laager
The City of Gruetli-Laager is host to many community and county-wide events, including the revival of the Grundy County Fair in 2016. The current amphitheater was built more than 20 years ago and has rotted, making it unsafe for use. This grant will build a new, sturdy amphitheater designed for larger audiences to be used by people from all over the area, including next year’s Fair.
Grundy County Sheriff's Office
Grundy County Sheriff’s Office wants to provide specific programming to support inmates and former inmates in their recovery and reentry to society. This grant helps create a Recovery Community Center, a space that will connect individuals with resources, support, and care. This project is a collaboration between the Sheriff’s office, the South Cumberland AmeriCorps VISTA Program, and Project LifeLine Peer Project (part of the state’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services).
Housing Sewanee
Housing Sewanee has constructed 17 homes in the greater Sewanee community in its 24-year history. This grant provides funding for two energy-efficient projects that will be part of its next new house: a rainwater capture system and a geothermal-assisted heating and cooling project. This new house will be a demonstration home, with systems in place to monitor the efficiency of these additions and to educate other home-building organizations in the region.
Mountain Goat Trail Alliance
Mountain Goat Trail Alliance is constructing a multi-use walking and cycling trail that connects the communities along the path of the historic Mountain Goat Railroad. This grant will provide support for boundary surveys and preliminary design planning for the future section of the trail between the current terminus of the Trail (near Dollar General) to Monteagle. This is one of the busiest and most hazardous sections of the route and requires complex preparations.
Mountain T.O.P.
Mountain T.O.P. is a 40-year old interdenominational ministry dedicated to addressing issues of poverty in the South Cumberland area. This grant provides additional support for the two challenge courses (a low- and a high-ropes course) on the Altamont campus that were funded by SCCF in 2015.
Palmer Elementary School
Palmer Elementary School is a preK–eighth grade community school that serves 149 students. Palmer School wants to increase activity among its students, staff, and community, and has seen the success of other walking tracks in the county. This grant of $10,000 is directed toward the cost of installing a paved asphalt walking track behind the school that will be approximately 800 feet long.
Pelham Elementary School
Pelham Elementary School is a beautiful little school in the shadow of the Cumberland Plateau. Because of the community’s small size and the lack of other available spaces, many community events and gatherings are held at the school. With this grant of $10,000 the school will purchase two automated projection screens, two wireless projectors, and the hardware to operate them. In addition, new microphones and speakers will be purchased to upgrade the school’s PA system.
Sewanee Symphony Orchestra
Sewanee Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1987, is comprised of high school and college students, Sewanee faculty and staff, and community members. It rehearses once a week and offers four performances a year, including a Daytime Halloween Concert for children. This grant will provide funds to support this children’s concert that reaches 400–500 young people each year; in particular, the grant will provide transportation to the event and music education materials for Plateau schoolchildren.
St. James/Midway Playground
Swiss Memorial Elementary School
Swiss Memorial Elementary is a pre-K through 8th grade school that also serves as a community center for its area. This grant supports purchase of a technology package for the gymnasium that will include a new sound system, a projector, and a screen. It will be used by teachers and staff for regular programming as well as for community outreach events, which are a vital part of Swiss Memorial’s culture.
Tracy City Elementary School
Tracy City Elementary School is located adjacent to where the Mountain Goat Trail will pass through Tracy City. This grant will create a walking track loop in the school’s West Field. The school will build a U-shaped paved track that will be connected by the Trail. Along the quarter-mile track will be workout stations, benches, and ornamental shade trees.