Three worthy causes were pitched Monday night at the second quarterly meeting of One Hundred+ People for Perry, whose membership has now grown to about 70.
The group is composed of generous donors from the Perry area who meet four times a year in order to fund a project by a local non-profit organization. Members propose the projects and also make pitches on their behalf, with three projects chosen randomly for consideration at each meeting. The winning project receives a $100 check from each member of One Hundred+ People for Perry.
Local attorney Mark Powell, who helped found the group, described One Hundred+ People for Perry as “an opportunity for us as a group to mobilize our support for various non-profit activities here in the Perry area. The purpose is to promote and enhance the lives of people here in Perry and to make Perry a better place for all its citizens.”
One the OneHundred+ People for Perry’s founders presented briefly on behalf of the Rock the Block program of Dallas County Habitat for Humanity. The neighborhood revitalization program zeroes in on a neighborhood for a concentrated period, targeting small-scale home repairs and preservation projects for low-income homeowners and fostering community projects to improve and beautify the surrounding the homes.
Hometown Heritage, the successor organization to Roberta Green Ahmanson’s Hometown Perry Iowa, was also up for consideration by the charitable association. Its presenter praised the non-profit efforts of Hometown Heritage to preserve its archive of local history and promote community efforts, such as its recent underwriting of additions to the Soumas Court Wall of Witnesses.
A third pitch was made, this time for a tuition-assistance program for students at the soon-to-open Raccoon Valley Centre for the Arts (RVCA) in Perry. The RVCA describes itself as “dedicated to enhancing the communities of Iowa’s Raccoon River Valley with programming and services that promote the arts and humanities and provide educational and experiential opportunities for everyone to appreciate, learn about and become involved in – all that is art.”
The non-profit group chosen by One Hundred+ People for Perry at this round was Habitat’s Rock the Block. Dallas County Habitat for Humanity Coordinator Omar Padilla, who is celebrating the completion of his first year in the position, said the $7,000 gift is like a birthday present for Rock the Block.
The next meeting of One Hundred+ People for Perry is scheduled for August.
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