Posted by Erin Johnson

September 6, 2018

Foundation News, Love Where You Live, Making a Difference

As a primary intersection in our town, our beautification project allowed the Mayor’s Youth Council to connect with our resident community.

The Town of North’s beautification project of the 178 & 321 Intersection was selected as a 2018 Connected Communities grant recipient.  The Connected Communities grant initiative funds innovative ideas in three focus areas, identified by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Gallup as the most important elements for an attractive community:

• Welcoming Community
• Vibrant Social Offerings
• Superb Public Spaces

Ms. Patty Carson, Mayor of North, South Carolina explains, “As a primary intersection in our town, our beautification project allowed the Mayor’s Youth Council to connect with our resident community.  It’s always great to hear members of our community comment on the improved appearance of our main intersection!” 

She shared her favorite story of the project: While driving through North, a woman stopped into the Town Hall.  She stated how she noticed the intersection’s new flower bed and was in awe of the beauty.  She hoped to receive the contact information of the landscaping company to hire them for her flower bed. To say she was in shock would be an understatement when I explained to her the town’s youth council assembled the flower bed!  She could have driven straight and not stopped, but she felt it was important to express how the new flower bed made her feel upon entering the Town of North. 

Mayor Carson also said the project has inspired residents to take personal responsibility to improve the town’s image. Residents are stepping up to clean up their own yards and there is great interest in continuing the efforts to create a welcoming entrance for the community.

Through this Connected Communities grant, and others like it, the Foundation and its donors are leveraging philanthropy positively to impact the Midlands community, ensuring that residents of our region “love where they live.”

To learn more about the current and past Connected Communities grant recipients, click here.

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