The Tombigbee RC&D Council announced the award of $21,000 in important grants in Bibb County this week that will affect and improve several non-profit organizations.The funding comes from state and local agencies, private foundations, and federal partnerships and is dispersed through community grant requests serving the needs of the RC&D council area. State and Bibb County Representative April Weaver was present to present the awards to the grantees.
The Tombigbee RC&D covers Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa counties.

RC&D Council Members for Bibb County are James Martin & Sammy Holdsambeck. Joe Owings is a RC&D Board Member.

Below is a summary of the individual awards:
  • Bibb County Pregnancy Resource Center $3,000
  • Bibb County Child Advocacy Center $3,000
  • Central Alabama Regional Child Advocacy Center $6,000
  • Neighborhood House Tutoring Center $5,000
  • Bibb County Conservation District $2,000

For more details [click here]

(L-R) Mr. Willie Valentine, Joe Owings RC&D Board, Dr. Ernie Cutts, State Representative April Weaver, Dr. Gwen Valentine
(L-R) Joe Owings RC&D Board, Lauri Cothran Child Advocacy Center, State Representative April Weaver
(L-R) Joe Owings RC&D Board, Jennie Thagard Living River, State Representative April Weaver

What is RC&D?

RC&D was initially started back in the 1960’s to address rural poverty and help rural communities generate sustainable natural resource-based economies. Although today many RC&D Areas are not rural and are not poor, the need for the RC&D concept is just as strong as ever.
The purpose of the RC&D program is to accelerate the conservation, development and utilization of natural resources, improve the general level of economic activity, and to enhance the environment and standard of living in designated RC&D areas. Current program objectives focus on improvement of quality of life achieved through natural resources conservation, community development which leads to sustainable communities, prudent use (development), and the management and conservation of natural resources.

The RC&D Council

The RC&D Council is the heart of the RC&D concept. The Council is a membership-based nonprofit entity that is established and run by volunteers to carry out the mission of the RC&D. The Council is composed of members that are key community leaders in soil and water conservation, government, and community development. They are the steering committee and action team to implement the “Area Plan”, a community-driven strategic long-range plan to improve the quality of life in the communities in the RC&D Area.

The RC&D Council members need to be action-oriented volunteers and leaders that help the Council address needs in the community through good planning and project implementation. In this “make it happen” style, the Council also periodically evaluates its progress on the Area Plan and gathers input from the community. The Council members represent all the counties of the Area. This larger membership body formally meets twice a year to develop the annual plan of work and celebrate accomplishments.

For more information on Tombigbee RC&D visit their website at tombigbeercd.com

 

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