How RC&D grants help improve quality of life in the Black Belt

Representatives of Dallas County organizations gathered on Oct. 21 to describe how grants from the Resource Conservation and Development organization helped them help the community in Dallas County and the Black Belt.

RC&D is a state-funded nonprofit that awards grants to projects that help to improve the quality of life in communities around the state. Dallas County is in RC&D’s Ala-Tom Council, which also serves Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Marengo, Monroe, Perry, Washington and Wilcox counties.

Organizations that have been helped by RC&D met Oct. 21 at Trustmark in Selma to explain how the grants helped them serve their clients.

Latonia Tisdale said a grant from RC&D helped Keith High School Athletics Booster Club purchase weight equipment for male and female athletic training.

Miss Minnie Sue’s Cottage, a historical site owned by the Selma Dallas County Historic Preservation Society, was severely damaged in the January 2023 tornado. Society President Julie Lyons and past President Sylvia Smith said funds were used to repair the building.

Martha Lockett explained how the grant to Unified Signage for Downtown Businesses was used to put proper signage on businesses in downtown Selma.

Lockett also spoke about the Phonics Tutoring Pilot Program for third graders at Payne Elementary. The program helped get third graders at Payne Elementary reading at grade level, allowing them to be promoted to fourth grade. Payne was the only school in the county with a 100% passing grade. The state has now implemented a phonics tutoring program, according to Lockett.

Selma Police Department Detective Dorothy Cowan said “RC&D has been funding (PALS) for the past umpteen years.” She explained that the money funds the after-school program and the summer program.

John Deamer, development director at McRae Gaines Learning Center, said the money from RC&D helped create Butterfly Park at the center. He said the park gives kids a place for recreation and a way to learn about the rainforest.

State Sen. Robert Stewart said these projects improve the quality of life for the people of the state. “Count on us to be your friend as well as an advocate and ally in Montgomery,” Stewart said.

Rep. Prince Chestnut said having positive results to show helps legislators get more funding.

You can learn more about RC&D at www.alabamarcd.org and at www.ala-tomrcd.org.

Projects funded with $55,000 by RC&D in Dallas County include Alabama Lions Sight Mobile Eye Clinic, baseball park in Dallas County, repairs to historic Minnie Sue’s Cottage and signage downtown.

Education funds went to Child Advocacy Center training, Selma PAL, phonics tutoring, McRae Gaines and Liberty Learning Foundation Dallas County.

Projects funded with $31,000 by RC&D in Perry County include Lady Bobcats Trailblaze the Path, Marion library, pre-k playground and education funds for Marion Military Institute microbiology classroom tools, Blackbelt Women Rising – Let’s Play Ball, Middle School Children’s Book Adventures and field trips.