Monetary grants from the Harper Creek Optimist Club are available for school administered and community group projects plus individual student requests. The grants are reviewed by the club's Board of Directors and voted upon for approval. To apply for a grant, please open one of the the following downloads and follow the designated directions.
The Harper Creek Optimist Club calendar year runs from October to the end of September and with a few months remaining, the non-profit club has donated $24,480 to the local community in the form of grants requested and voted upon for approval by the club’s Board of Directors.
Grants honored in the order of approval are the following: Battle Creek History Museum, Harper Creek Community Schools (HCCS) – Education Foundation, American Legion Post 257 – Kids Trunk or Treat, HCCS – High School video equipment, Athens Library, Post Foundation for elementary funding, HCCS – Sonoma Elementary for hand bells, Charitable Union, HCCS – High School Positive Behavior Program, Salvation Army, HCCS – Middle School Healthy Snacks Program, HCCS – 4th Grade books, HCCS – High School girls soccer warm-ups, Rising Stars Horse Club, CCSHCCS – High School Integrated Arts, HCCS – High School choir polos, HCCS – elementary cube storage units, - His Hand Ministries – Food Pantry, Special Olympics – Polar Plunge, Love Thy Neighbor – food pantry for HC Elementary students, Battle Creek Optimist Club -Excellence in Art, Harper Creek Beaver Boosters for a large gymnasium flag, HCCS – Beadle Lake Elementary rock climbing wall, HCCS – Kids Closet, HCCS – International Tour Club, HCCS – High School Shop Class, HCCS – High School Robotics, and HCCS – High School Pom team.
In addition, the Club donated $3,500 for annual budgeted items: Gifts for Christmas Families and the High School Clay Target Team. The Club sponsors the annual Battle Creek Christmas Parade, plus a Cross Country event, Essay contest, All-city and Junior World of Golf events, a local tennis tournament, a Respect for Law program and Harper Creek Community Schools “Teacher of the Month” program.
During the past nine months The Harper Creek Optimist Club has accumulatively donated $12,735 to the local community by approving 24 grant requests. The group or individual supported and the nature of their grant request are the following: Foodbank of South Central Michigan – weekend food bags for children in the Harper Creek elementary schools; Harper Creek Middle School – restocking of the book “The Giver”; individual support for a HC high school student to attend a music festival in Chicago; Harper Creek Middle School Science Department – digital microscopes and USB flash drives; Harper Creek High School English Department – English IV classes partnering with the Battle Creek Community Foundation initiating a new project to take action in the community to make it better; Harper Creek Middle School – aiding 6th grade students and their families with funds for “Sixth Grade Camp”; Memorial Day Flowers Foundation – roses for every gravestone at Fort Custer National Cemetery; individual funding for two Harper Creek High School students to attend a Youth Leadership program; Harper Creek Community Schools – funding for a new archery program involving students from the 4th grade through high school; Harper Creek High School – funding for high school students to attend the International Career Development Conference through DECA, an organization aiding students with marketing, business, entrepreneurial, hospitality and finance skills; a donation to the United States Wounded Warrior Project; Harper Creek High School – support for Link Crew, a peer mentoring program where incoming Freshman are paired up with upperclassmen assisting them with their initial high school experience; Michael Miller Memorial Foundation – care packages for adolescent cancer patients and their families receiving treatment at Mott’s Children Hospital; Harper Creek Sonoma Elementary – Mooville field trip for kindergarten students; Harper Creek Clay Target Club – offsetting costs for Harper Creek students to compete in trap, skeet and sporting clays competition; Harper Creek Swim Club – flotation devices that will assist with the “Learn to Swim” program involving youth as young as four; Harper Creek Sideline and Competitive Cheer – replacement athletic bags for team members of both the sideline and competitive cheer season; Harper Creek Middle School Art Department – special glaze that enhances the student’s ceramics projects; Harper Creek Sonoma Elementary – Secret Stories Phonics Kits that aid first grade students in both reading and writing; Harper Creek Middle School – a new mentoring program called WEB, which stands for “Where Everyone Belongs”. 8th grade students are trained to be positive mentors for incoming 5th graders; Harper Creek Sonoma Elementary – a spiral binding machine with coils for use relative to student projects and teacher materials; Emmett Charter Township Public Safety – financial support for the placement of a K9 dogs for Harper Creek Community Schools; Post Foundation of Battle Creek – financial support of their programs that provide elementary students in the community with supplies and activities that enhance their learning experiences; Harper Creek High School Men’s Varsity Soccer Team – team shirts that will build camaraderie and spirit for the upcoming season.
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