We are only one week away from Christmas and soon, the end of the 2022 year!
But before everybody leaves on their Christmas trips, we want to share a few announcements from the region.
Ag Commissioner announces five county fair grant awards
Two Eastern County fair boards were awarded nearly $200,000 from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) for new construction projects.
The amount and the recipients of each grant include both Adair County being awarded $92,325 for a new restroom building and Whitley County being awarded $100,000 for the construction of a horse ring shelter.
The State Aid awarded these grants to the Local Agricultural Fairs Program and any incorporated fair board in Kentucky is welcome to apply. The grants may be awarded in the amount of $10,000 to $100,000.
Grants may be used for infrastructure or facility improvements, capital construction, or the purchase of non-permanent tangible items such as bleachers or restaurant equipment.
For more information about the State Aid to Local Agricultural Fairs Program, you can click HERE.
Kentucky Arts Council Offering Grant to Assist Art Education
The Kentucky Arts Council created the Arts Education Relief and Disaster Recovery Grant (AERDR) to provide Kentucky schools impacted by recent disasters to receive funding for arts education activities.
Applicants may use funds for costs associated with any kind of arts education programming, including but not limited to materials for creative projects, teaching artist residencies, performance assemblies, field trips to arts organizations or venues, etc.
The Kentucky Arts Council is accepting applications for counties that were affected by severe flooding including Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Knott, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike, and Whitley.
The deadline to apply is January 9, 2023.
There is still time to donate Christmas gifts to children who were affected by this year’s flooding!
Kentuckians across the commonwealth have helped collect thousands of toys, once again, to help kids who may have lost everything, including all of their toys.
Toy drive partners, including Kentucky State Parks, Amazon, UPS, Kroger, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Murray State University, Morehead State University, Northern Kentucky University, Kentucky State University, and Bellarmine University all helped to collect toys for children in Eastern Kentucky.
While the deadline for mail-in donations has passed, Kentuckians have two more opportunities to give in person.
To learn more, you can click HERE.
Kentucky schools pull together to collect coats for eastern Kentucky students
The Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA) is leading a coat drive for flood victims.
They called districts across the state for donations and even received a major gift from well-known Kentucky native, Chris Stapleton.
Through a partnership with the Bluegrass Community Foundation, Stapleton and his Outlaw State of Kind Hometown Fund sent in $100,000, a huge boost to an effort ahead of the holidays to provide the gift of warmth.
KASA says this coat drive was inspired by the Letcher County Superintendent, who says getting items like coats donated allows them to focus on other essential items for their students.
There are several ways you can donate to this coat drive.
For a list of coat donation drop-off locations, click here.
To Donate:
- PayPal: ekycoatdrive@kasa.org
- Check: Make payable to The Center for Education Leadership
- Venmo: KY Assn of School Admin and mail to 87 C. Michael Davenport Blvd.,
- Credit Card: Call KASA at (800) 928-5272 Frankfort, KY 40601
Contact Amy Moore (amy@kasa.org) for assistance with donations or call the KASA office at (800) 928-5272.
Two Kentucky higher education institutions merge to create a new one
Somerset may be a few steps closer to having a full-fledged, four-year university in its own backyard.
The University of Somerset Foundation and Somerset’s Campbellsville University campus have merged to become the Somerset Institute of Campbellsville University.
The Christian-based educational establishment, Campbellsville University, already has a presence in Somerset in the form of the Noe Education Center. There, Somerset-area students can gain degrees or certificates in areas like general business, social work, criminal justice, cosmetology, barbering, phlebotomy, and pharmacy technician.
This new campus is expected to begin holding classes by January 2024.
Anonymous donor gives $120 grocery gift cards to nearly 2,000 students in KY district
An anonymous donor is giving $120 grocery store gift cards to each preschool through the eighth-grade student in Bell County, where nearly 78% of students are economically disadvantaged.
The donor is providing $120 gift cards to Save-A-Lot Food Stores for about 1,800 preschools through eighth-grade students.
The district will distribute the gift cards beginning Monday, December 19.
The winter break from school can be one of the hungriest times of the year for kids who rely on school meals, putting their well-being at risk,” said Alissa Taylor, Save the Children’s Kentucky State Director. “Many families in Bell and Harlan counties are struggling to put food on the table every day. Save the Children is tremendously grateful for its partnerships that are helping area families access nourishing food during the break– the fuel they need to grow, learn and thrive.”
One week left to get all of your holiday shopping done!
We’re making it easy for you by offering you both our SOAR Holiday gift guide and the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs Holiday Gift Guide.
SOAR’s holiday gift guide features EKY locally-owned businesses offering a variety of items from pottery pieces to clothing apparel.
The Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) Holiday Gift Guide features GSE alumni-owned businesses. From home goods to sweet treats to services, alumni have you covered for all of your gifting needs.
The countdown begins for you to complete all of your shopping, so why not support a Kentucky-owned business?