2022 “Community Impact Grant” Recipient – Aviston Park District

The goal of the Clinton County Farm Bureau’s 2^nd annual “Community Impact Grant” program was to create partnerships with other groups and organizations for projects that would improve our communities.  For 2022, the Clinton County Farm Bureau awarded a total of $5,000 to six (6) groups to assist with these types of community projects.  This edition’s featured recipient is the Aviston Park District.

The Aviston Park District was awarded $1,000 to help refurbish their baseball diamond.  Project volunteers used funds from this grant (and many other community donations) to complete several improvements and upgrades around the park’s baseball facilities.  Fencing, drainage improvements, netting, a new sound system and scoreboard, and numerous other updates were all recently completed as part of their $100,000 improvement project.  The Farm Bureau’s $1,000 “Community Impact Grant” was specially put toward new concrete around the backstop and dugouts.

Dennis Rakers from the Aviston Park District said that they “had over 25 businesses and many local citizens donate funds to help support the total expenses of this ambitious project.   Additionally, over 80 citizens volunteered their time and talents to help cut overall labor expenses.  This project will serve the Aviston Community youth as well as kids from Mater Dei and Central school districts.  These upgrades were also on display when the park hosted the Aviston American Legion State Baseball Tournament.”

2022 was the 2^nd year for the Clinton County Farm Bureau’s “Community Impact Grant Program”.  The grant program had a great response this year, receiving seven (7) applications that requested over $17,000 in funding.  With a total of $5,000 budgeted for the program, the Farm Bureau could only fund portions of many of the projects that were awarded this year.  In the program’s inaugural year (2021), the Clinton County Farm Bureau awarded a total of $1,950 in Community Grants to two organizations.