Rat Patrol, Color Guard and FernCare Among Ferndale Grant Recipients
(Crystal A. Proxmire, July 11, 2018)
Ferndale, MI – The Ferndale Rat Patrol was one of seven community projects that received grant money from the Ferndale Community Foundation this year. Checks were presented at Monday night’s City Council meeting by Foundation President (and Council member) Dan Martin.
“We’ve never funded this group before,” Martin said of the Rat Patrol. “We are partnering with the Beautification Commission and some of the cool things that they do is they use things that are a new educational experience for me, like dry ice they shove in the holes to get rid of the rats in a humane and cleanly way.
“As with many inner ring suburbs this is a need in the community and this is a group of volunteer citizens responding to the need, so thank you very much.”
They were presented with a check for $1,500 to help with outreach, prevention and education.
The Ferndale Fine Arts Boosters was awarded $500 to help with costumes, flags and props for the Ferndale High School Color Guard. The Ferndale Seniors was awarded $1,369 to fund an annual luncheon for residents over the age of 80. And Ferndale Radio was granted $1,000 for equipment, scheduling software and a new computer.
Another winner was the Ferndale Arts and Cultural Commission. “You may have noticed at the last art fair there is a mural that the community participates in putting together and then they translate it with a professional artist and it goes up on the sides of buildings in Downtown Ferndale, beautifying it,” Martin said. “We’ve help fund that in the past and we’re very proud to help fund it in the future.” Their grant was $1,500.
Another artistic project receiving grant funding is the Ferndale Community Concert Band which received $1,800 for instruments, lawn signs and post cards.
And lastly the FernCare free health clinic was awarded $2,000. “I think everybody knows the good work FernCare does in our community,” Martin said. “But one of the cool things they do that I’m not sure everybody realizes is they go out to independent radiology groups and negotiate discount rates for those without insurance, and they use the money the Foundation gives them to pay for radiology services for folks without insurance.”
The Ferndale Community Foundation raises money throughout the year to give grants to community groups. A board of volunteers in the community organizes the fundraising and helps determine grants. This year’s grants totaled $9,669. Learn more at http://ferndalecf.org/.
Previous FCF Grant Awards Coverage:
https://oaklandcounty115.com/2017/07/06/ferndale-community-foundation-grants-help-good-causes-grow/
https://oaklandcounty115.com/2016/Gr08/09/ferndale-community-foundation-awards-grants-to-local-groups/
https://oaklandcounty115.com/2015/06/23/ferndale-community-foundation-awards-7600-in-grants-to-local-groups/