group and start making some connections to raise money for Boston School Forest. And then that was so successful that they said. You know what? I, but there's other organizations and other groups and other initiatives in our community that are community minded that also need our help and that was the beginning of the Community Foundation. So, we have a really rich history. So, we have a donor fund through Community Foundation. So, we are able to receive between 600 and 700 dollars each year for that. And we put that right back into our program, specifically our family event programs, our Earth Day celebration, we get Tom Pease to come in, which brings other families in and it helps to have us do different craft activities and other giveaway type things that are things to draw people to Boston School for us and encourage families to spend time with each other outside.

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Specifically related to our Emory Babcock outdoor classroom on the Community Foundation was a really nice partner to have in that. We wrote a grant, an environmental grant, to actually get an outhouse, which sounds really silly because why are you raising money for a toilet? But it's really important because we are encouraging teachers, and home school groups, and other nonprofit youth organizations to get kids outside, to get them interested in nature, to unplug from their electronic devices, to think their own thoughts, to be more curious about their surroundings. And so, we have this beautiful teaching space. Our major partners were The Woodlands Church spring into action team. They built us this beautiful shelter. We received a very large donation from the town of Plover Tourism Commission. And so those kinds of things were in the works and were being built. And then it became apparent that, OK, if we have a class of kids over here for any amount of time they're going to need somewhere to go to the bathroom. And so we looked at options for outhouses or electric bath, you know, bathroom, compostable toilets. We went through a whole bunch of different things. And what we found was a concrete cast vault toilet system, but those are very expensive. So originally, we had applied for like $20,000 for Community Foundation and it was going to be two stalls, both ADA compliant gender neutral. We were able to get $6000 from Community Foundation because there's just so many amazing organizations that need money to do great things for youth, so I totally understand that. So, we downsized, so we got just one stall, but it's very effective. There's a urinal, there's a toilet. There's space for a wheelchair. It's all graded for wheelchair access as well, and gender-neutral space, so it's really great because now we can host field trip groups from Waupaca Elementary, use us, the Wisconsin Rapids Junior Rams, Wisconsin Rapids area Middle School, an elementary school from Wisconsin Rapids, several home school groups have already used this facility in this space as well, so it's been a really nice community place for families and teachers to get kids outside.

 

Derek Tritz

Ok Awesome, The next question would be, is there anything, anything else positive that you like to say about like community foundations environmental Action Fund?

 

Karla Lockman

Yeah, I think in the Stevens Point area, we have so many opportunities for environmental education, outdoor skills, environmental outreach. I mean, we have such amazing green space and Community Foundation really helps to make that possible. I'm thinking of like Emerson Park over by Jefferson, and I'm not exactly sure if that was an environmental one. But it is like a gorgeous park now. It was a rundown like Rusty Swing set area that now is an amazing place for the communities to gather and for kids to play safely. And for the community to have music or festival or you know, it's just great, there's sections of the Green circle trail that I know that have new boardwalk, which is expensive and time-consuming, and the lumber and the pressure treated. And the insulation is so difficult. And Community Foundation makes that happening by pairing. The right community donors with the needs that the Community has to make this place an amazing place to live.

 

Derek Tritz

Okay. Thank you.