Amazing things happen when Rotarians are involved. A few weeks ago, President Steve discovered there was a matching grant available from Rotary International. If our club could come up with $2,000, they would match that. The snag – the deadline to apply was only 20 days away!
The GoodWorks committee sprang into action and started by discussing the finalists who had who had just been through the major grant process last fall. We reached out to one of those finalists – Willamette Heritage Center. They are working on a huge project – renovating and bringing an original Oregon & California caboose built in 1909 to their site as a tourist exhibit. We asked if they could find a use for $4,000 within the larger project. They quickly pulled together a proposal and we’re happy to report that because of the fast action on everyone’s part – we were able to apply for and get the monies required to meet the match and help this jewel of Salem.
The Willamette Heritage Center will use a portion of the funds to prepare the site before the caboose is relocated – removing a tree and cleaning up the area. The other portion of funds will go toward interpretive signage of the caboose project. They are aiming to have the project completed by July 2017. Keep your eyes peeled on the property as it all comes together!
A big thank you to everyone involved in this process and an even bigger congratulations to the Willamette Heritage Center!