The Cavendish Community Fund’s president, Doug McBride, announced Aug. 7 that the Fund awarded three grants this summer to local organizations for community-based projects.
The first award was to fund the summer music series on Proctorsville’s Svec Memorial Green. Each year the town engages several local bands to entertain residents on Wednesday evenings. Small local businesses normally sponsor the shows. But due to the widespread business closures this year the Fund felt that it should shoulder some of that burden while businesses recuperate.
The second award will help pay for a preliminary design study by the Cavendish Streetscapes Committee of the old town garage site as part of a reclamation and renovation plan. Since the garage burned several years ago the site has deteriorated and there is growing interest by citizens for improvements. Streetscapes has proposed to create a park or green space that will better showcase the village.
The third grant will fund part of the effort to construct a forest trail in the Proctor Piper State Forest. The Vermont Department of Forests and Parks has approved creation of a hiking trail to connect the Proctorsville and Cavendish Villages through the park. Phase One will create an entrance at Pratt Hill with a parking area, and will construct the trail along the old logging road to White’s Hill. The grant provides seed money to start the project.
The Community Fund was created in 2007 to enhance the quality of life in Cavendish and has distributed grants each year since then. For more information about the Fund or about grants and grant applications, please email Doug McBride at cavendishcommunityfund@gmail.com.