COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Coldwater Free Methodist Church has received a $39,152 grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Housing Initiatives Division to rehabilitate homes and build a Community Garden near the church on Coldwater’s north side.
These funds will support the Parkhurst / Larsen Neighborhood Enhancement Project.
The MHSDA Neighborhood Enhancement Program provides MSHDA funding statewide for activities directly tied to stabilization and enhancement of Michigan neighborhoods by nonprofit 501(c)3 agencies.
Free Methodist Church officials say in building a Community Garden, their objective is to provide a garden that is accessible to people of all ages and ability levels in the neighborhood, while providing green spaces in an urban environment, giving gardeners without land of their own a place to work, and fostering a sense of community.
They say improving the homes of local senior citizens and low-income residents in this opportunity zone will be a wonderful chance to clean up the neighborhoods and motivate others around those neighborhoods to do the same.
“We intend to start a movement in Coldwater, we believe good deeds are contagious,” said Coldwater Free Methodist Church, Community Events Director, Shelly VanDongen.
The church is now working on the application process to distribute the rehabilitation money. Under the grant, the rehab projects and the Community Garden need to be completed by December 31, 2019, with garden expected to available for planting in 2020.
They are currently looking for volunteers or groups outside the church to assist with the Community Garden construction.
