Straker Foundation awards grants to 30 Organizations

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio- The Straker Charitable Foundation has announced its spring cycle grants for Muskingum County and they total almost 1.6 million dollars.

The City of Zanesville Community Development received one-hundred thousand dollars for park renovations. The Keen Street Park will start to be redeveloped starting next week. The city’s goal is to enhance the park to provide a safe recreational opportunity for the community.

“It needed some upgrades for a while and we need it to be a safe environment for kids and their families to come and enjoy some outdoor recreation… Some of the other remaining equipment had been there since probably at least the 70’s, and so we wanted to upgrade it and make it more ADA compliant so that any child or their family member can come and play and enjoy the outdoor area,” Community Redevelopment Administrator Maria Brent said.

The Carr Center was another to receive a grant. Its $10,580 will go towards the new summer learning program, Carr Kids.

“Children K through 12 can come into the Carr Center and do some curriculum around math, reading and mental health… All the kids will have a great interactive learning experience. It won’t just be sitting down with a book or a computer, we plan to do a lot of interacting things with them,” Carr Center Executive Director Becky Clawson said.

In addition, 28 other businesses received grants. The Straker Foundation will announce a small competitive grant cycle for the fall.