Nine Quad Cities organizations have been awarded a share of $250,000 in River Connection grant money to support various projects connected to the Mississippi River.
The grant money, which will fund projects ranging from gardening programs to environmental improvement work, is coming from the Quad Cities Community Foundation’s QC River Connections Grants. The new grants, first announced in September, are designed to support projects and organizations that address environmental issues facing Mississippi River communities in the Quad Cities area through inclusive and innovative projects.
“The Clean River Advisory Council has worked incredibly hard over the past year to design, support, and distribute these grants,” said Sue Hafkemeyer, president and CEO of the Community Foundation.
“This is the fruit of that labor — seeing local organizations excited and ready to start these projects and engage their communities,” she said in a news release announcing the first-time grants.
The full list of grant recipients includes:
- East Moline Main Street: Learning Outside Together-River Neighborhood Unification Project—$5,500.
- NEST Cafe: Responsibly Nourishing our River Community – $10,000.
- Together Making a Better Community (TMBC): Plastics for Good – $12,000.
- Palomares Social Justice Center: Clean-Up Floreciente; Floreciente Community Garden; Beautification of Floreciente – $18,635.
- AKWAABA QC: River Connection to Immigrant Population – $32,462.
- Great Plains Action Society: Mississippi River Rights Coalition – $40,000.
- STEAM on Wheels: Growing Together: Community Garden Expansion for Sustainable Living – $40,538.
- Spring Forward Learning Center: Our River-Spring Forward Summer Enrichment Camps – $45,000.
- Tapestry Farms: Gardening as Healer – $45,865.
The Clean River Advisory Council was formed in partnership with the Walton Family Foundation’s Mississippi River Initiative, which has invested $637,000 over two years to launch the program.
Equity Vision in the works
In addition to the grants, the council will soon announce a guiding, community-informed Mississippi River Equity Vision for local waterways and river-adjacent neighborhoods. The vision and accompanying report can be accessed at www.QCCommunityfoundation.org/cleanriver
One of those neighborhoods is Moline’s Floreciente, located between the river and 7th Avenue. The Palomares Social Justice Center has partnered with the Floreciente Association to focus on neighborhood beautification and the expansion of a community garden.
“There is a lot of neighborhood pride here,” said Susana Aguilar, co-chair of Floreciente Association. “Last year, we had more than 100 volunteers at our clean-up day—we ran out of equipment. This grant is going to make our beautification efforts bigger, safer, and more accessible for our community.”
The project also includes the expansion of a community garden. “The garden has become a valued green space and a productive resource for the neighborhood,” said Samantha Wright, president of Palomares Social Justice Center.
“We’re going to invest in equipment and infrastructure to make the project more sustainable. We want to distribute food to more neighbors, and we are going to add educational opportunities so that families can go and grow their own food as well.”
In the release, Ms. Hafkemeyer said that “thanks to the advisory council, our community and nonprofit partners, and the staff members guiding this program, Clean River Advisory Council is making a big impact already.”
“And this is only the beginning,” she said. “The projects they are supporting, and the vision they are creating, will improve our water and build our communities for many years to come.”
