Patching holes with money from a Trillium Grant
St. Catharines Standard
by Karena Walter, Standard Staff
The judgment is in and it's time for the second floor of the old historic courthouse — now home to Carousel Players — to get a mini makeover.
The theatre company has dealt with cracks, disintegrating 25-year-old rugs and water damage since it moved into the space eight years ago, but things are about to improve with a Trillium grant.
"That $12,000 is going a long way to fix all of those repairs so it looks like a lovely arts centre," said Jane Gardner, general manager of the theatre.
Carousel Players was one of 24 not-for-profit and charitable organizations in Niagara that received a chunk of more than $1.2 million in Trillium grants.
The grants were announced this week by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
The money will go to a wide range of organizations dealing with literacy, sports, skills development, environmental solutions and the arts, among others.
Carousel Players received its grant for health and safety improvements in its home at the corner of King and James Streets. It's enough to get things done until the theatre moves to the still-to-be-built downtown performing arts centre.
"It goes a long way," said Gardner of the money. "Parts of the building haven't been worked on for quite some time on the inside, so it's important for us to make those changes."
"We don't want the paint to be crumbling when we have kids in the room, so we're fixing up all that stuff."
Grants to Niagara groups ranged from $8,500 to Grimsby's Niagara Thunder Basketball Club for training and program equipment to $222,900 to the Rose City Seniors Centre Foundation in Welland to hire a co-ordinator.
Vincent Del Buono, chief executive officer of the Niagara 1812 Bicentennial Legacy Council Corporation, said the grants are used for community building. The 1812 group received $90,000 over two years towards planning a celebration to mark 200 years anniversary of the conflict between Canada and the United States.
Del Buono said the money will go towards setting up a volunteer database, establishing a youth program, providing administrative assistance and implementing a marketing plan.
Source: St. Catharines Standard