Nonprofits awarded grant funds

    The Maine Community Foundation’s Community Building Grant Program recently awarded $36,200 in grants to 13 Aroostook County nonprofits, including the World Acadian Congress in Madawaska, which will use the funds to create and install eight large-scale wood relief sculptures depicting the history and culture of the region’s Acadian people.
    Other grant awards went to:
• Aroostook Area Agency on Aging, Presque Isle, to provide wellness-related exercise equipment, specifically for yoga, tai chi and walking;
• Aroostook Mental Health Services, Caribou, to reinstate the Weekend Program, one of the follow-up activities of the Aroostook Teen Leadership Camp program;
• Ashland Area Cross-Country Ski Club, to establish a cross-country ski rental program to serve children age 5 to 18 in the greater Ashland area;
• Crouseville Community Playground, for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Milford A. Libby Community Playground;
• Forest Society of Maine, Bangor, for the successful completion of the Violette Brook project to permanently conserve 392 acres of forestland in Van Buren and Cyr Plantation;
• Greater Houlton Christian Academy, to upgrade the high school science program and necessary lab equipment;
• Hope and Justice Project, Presque Isle, to establish Virtual Resource Centers at Hope and Justice Project sites throughout Aroostook to connect victims of abuse and violence with vital services and legal resources that are accessible through the Internet;
• Maine 21st Century Community Learning Centers — RSU 39, Caribou, to increase the quality and availability of after-school programming for students of the 21st Century Learning Community;
• Northern Maine Community College Foundation, Presque Isle, to create a new wellness center and a student center on campus;
• Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum, Littleton, to support the addition of metal roofing on the main museum building;
• St. John Valley Soil and Water Conservation District, Fort Kent, to complete a consumer survey of Aroostook County residents to determine their interest in and identify any barriers to their participation in the proposed Valley Roots Local Product Cooperative; and
• University of Maine at Presque Isle to create a larger, museum-quality space at 149 State St. in downtown Presque Isle for the school’s Reed Fine Art Gallery.
    A volunteer committee of Aroostook County residents and business leaders reviews grants and makes recommendations for funding. The next deadline for applying is Feb. 15, 2013. Application and guidelines are available at www.mainecf.org.