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By Katie Smith

Special to The Lowndes Signal

The Mid-South RC&D Council awarded $76,661.32 to grantees in Lowndes County to help meet community needs. Alabama State Senator Robert Stewart and Representative Kelvin Lawrence visited with community leaders to congratulate their positive impact. 

“Across the state of Alabama, one thing we agree on is supporting RC&D Councils,” Lawrence said. “The Mid-South RC&D Council does so much for our community and makes things easier for us to support our communities.” 

Restoration work for the historic Lowndesboro CME Church was one of the biggest projects supported by Mid-South. The building, established in 1830, received repairs to the front entrance, roof, and exterior portion of the building. 

The upgrades help preserve the church’s role as a social hub for different types of gatherings like town meetings, worship services, family reunions, and voting. It is even used as a training center for the Lowndesboro Volunteer Fire Department. 

The Hayneville/Lowndes Public Library was also able to renovate its facilities with the help of Mid-South. They succeeded in installing new carpet and chairs for everyone to use when inside the library. 

“It’s important to take a moment to commend everyone for what they’ve done to make the community better for everyone,” Stewart said. “It’s about improving the quality of life. So, anytime we connect our children with opportunities and our communities with resources, it keeps us going.”

The Lowndes County Board of Education also received two grants. The first one, titled “Making Math More Fun Using Technology,” enhanced the learning experience of students by providing Wacom Tablets and document cameras to the classroom. The second grant provided local teachers with iPads, empowering them with tools to foster innovation in the classroom like never before. 

“Students are allowed to use the tablets from anywhere in the class and project to the interactive whiteboards to explain math problems and demonstrate note taking,” said Lowndes County Public Schools Education Specialist Susan Butts. “The document cameras allow teachers and students to display handwritten work, textbooks, and other materials on the interactive white board for everyone to see. Everything enhances safety, builds soft skills and improves math instruction while making math more fun.” 

The projects are steps made by locals to meet local needs. Mid-South is one of nine RC&D Councils that serve the state of Alabama, providing grants to other nonprofits, schools and subunits/units of government. It supports communities in these eight counties: Autauga, Bullock, Butler, Elmore, Lee, Lowndes, Macon and Montgomery.