Paynesville Area Community Foundation Awards $49,900 in Grants

(KNSI) – The Paynesville Area Community Foundation is giving $49,900 to six organizations, with the money going toward firefighting equipment, a career lab for high school students, the town’s newspaper and more.

The largest grant, $20,000, goes to the West Central Education District to set up a career readiness lab at Paynesville High School. The lab will give students with disabilities hands-on training in job skills as they get ready for life after graduation.

The Paynesville Press is getting $15,000, awarded through the MN News Media Institute, to help it become a nonprofit. The Press is the area’s only local news source, and the change is meant to keep the paper locally run for years to come.

Lake Henry Fire and Rescue received $7,900 to replace a thermal imaging camera that broke after 25 years of use. The camera helps firefighters find hot spots and locate people trapped in smoke or darkness. The grant also covers a training mannequin for practicing rescues.

Paynesville Lutheran Church received $2,000 to replace an outdated defibrillator.

The United Way of Central Minnesota received $3,000 for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which gets free books to young children in the Paynesville area.

Another $2,000 went to the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines for a Silver Award project that will add benches at the Paynesville soccer fields at Ampe Park.

Since 2008, the foundation has grown to more than $12 million in assets and has awarded over $1.8 million in grants to the community.

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