AWESOME FOUNDATION GRANT AWARD WINNER:
KINDRED PARK BOARD
KINDRED PUBLIC LIBRARY
BY BRANDI MALARKEY 74
JULY 2021
At first glance, reading books and physical fitness may seem mutually exclusive. This year, however, the Kindred Park Board and the Kindred Public Library are joining forces to demonstrate that pairing exercise and literacy can provide a fun and unique community experience. “With Covid last year a lot more people got out walking and wandering the parks,” states Michael Brown, Director of Parks and Recreation in Kindred, ND. “We wanted to do something to keep that momentum going.” In researching and exploring options to bring to his community, Brown learned about an initiative called StoryWalks®. The original StoryWalk® project was
created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vt., and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library to promote literacy by using a series of mobile signs designed to connect reading and learning with physical activity. “It looked like a fun, familyfriendly activity. Our library has been doing such an unbelievable job with their programming, this was a great opportunity to team up to bring more things to our community and get people outside.” Jennifer Guzik, of the Kindred Public Library board, agrees. “This is the first big project we’ve partnered on with the Park Board, and we are so excited. We were aware of StoryWalks®, there have even been some set up in
The Cass Clay chapter of the Awesome Foundation awards a $1,000 gift each month for awesome ideas of all sorts. Grant recipients do not need to be associated with a nonprofit. Applications can be made at awesomefoundation. org/en/chapters/cassclay.