People celebrate the YMCA’s grant by doing the YMCA dance. Photos by Sally Y. Hart

President of the Washington County Riverboat Foundation Mike Driscoll saved the best for last at Wednesday evening’s grant presentation. Driscoll first announce the Washington YMCA received $500,000 and then he added a one in front of the figure to make it $1.5 million. But he didn’t stop there, tying it to the highest grant in it’s history and making the one a two, for a total of $2.5 million. Driscoll then explained records are made to be broken, and the foundation awarded $3.5 million to the $10.8 million YMCA building project.

In total, $3,890,269 was distributed to area non-profits at last night’s Washington County Riverboat Foundation fall grant ceremony. The foundation presented a total of 28 grants.

In the business meeting prior to the grant distribution the Foundation Board voted to not give an extension to the City of Washington for a $125,000 for the industrial park that was given last fall.

Fall 2015 Grant Awards
Families Helping Families – shoe voucher program $5,000
Highland Community Schools – robotics $2,600
Washington Concert Assoc. – musical performances $3,800
Friends of Lake Darling State Park – interpretive pathway $85,000
Washington Community Schools – consumer science classroom $10,000
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church – handicapped rails $1,834
Boy Scout Troop 242 – canoe replacement $7,246
Band Aides of Fairfield Schools – new uniform fund $4,500
Holy Trinity Catholic Church – exterior painting $4,700
Washington Economic Development Group – Brinton film preservation phase 2 $21,000
Keota Community Schools – activity sign $6,400
Columbus Community Medical Facilities Assoc. – ambulance facility expansion $25,000
St. James Elementary – Success Maker update $22,152
Wellman Ambulance Service – new ambulance $75,000
Regina Education Center – security project $2,450
Eastern Iowa Honor Flight – Honor Flight $10,000
Sigourney Community Schools – drama stage renovation $2,375
Brighton Fire Department – Polaris Ranger $16,702
Wilson Memorial Library – upgrades $2,500
Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School – weight room $6,000
Washington Community Theater – handicapped accessibility $20,000
Mid-Prairie Community Schools – outdoor classroom $8,500
Children’s Center Charities – summer programming $1,910
Iowa Startup Accelerator – Imagination Iowa $2,000
Keota Community Schools – mini iPad lab $6,600
Washington Area Softball Assoc. – field renovation at Lincoln Elementary $12,000
Highland Community Schools – iPads and MacBooks $25,000
YMCA of Washington County – new building project $3,500,000