10 non-profit agencies, including one in Emporia, have been named finalists for a $10,000 grant, and your vote can help decide where it will go.
Voting for the Evergy Energize Our Environment Hometown Grant awards went live at 10 am Wednesday with the list of agencies including the United Way of the Flint Hills. United Way Executive Director Daphne Mertens says the organization is ecstatic to be included.
How the program works is now, through next week, residents can go to the Evergy Facebook page, find the grant post and vote for the agency they would like to see receive the $10,000 by clicking on the agency’s graphic. If the United Way receives the grant, Mertens says they already have plans for how to use it.
The United Way is planning to install a 10-foot double sided climbing wall at Emporia’s Quaker Park. If you recall, in early 2024 the Emporia City Commission was considering transfering the park to the Emporia Land Bank which had plans to develop three homes on the property.
Following a protest period that saw a petition gain nearly 500 signatures, the city chose to abandon those plans. Mertens says the erection of the climbing wall would be a great step in the right direction for revitalizing the space “our community fought hard to save.”
Based on previous conversations, Mertens says the wall already has support behind it, including from the City of Emporia.
Voting will take place through 5 pm Friday, May 30. For more information, or to vote for the United Way, visit the Evergy Facebook page or click here.
