Grant application information

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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.