During our fourth quarter competitive grant cycle, we approved grants totaling $23,138.36. These grants reflect our ongoing support of education initiatives and community improvement in the locales we serve.

Our 4CCF Committee awarded six grants in the fourth quarter. A grant was awarded to Samaritan House to provide gifts for their annual Sharing Tree. The Sharing Tree helps support families in need during the upcoming holiday season. Students from Imlay City Middle School will learn through a live performance as they attend a Flint Youth Theater production entitled Akeelah and the Bee. The theater experience includes pre- and post-performance workshops at ICMS to assure that students gain a rich understanding of theme recognition and character analysis as well as enjoying a live production.

Bruce Township received support to move forward on construction of a shared-use path along Van Dyke Road south of 33 Mile Road. The path will allow pedestrians to walk safely from Kaeding Road north to 33 Mile Road and east toward the nearby park. In Armada Township, 4CCF grant monies will help to improve a local playground space for families in the Armada community.

Almont Community Schools received funding to help offset the cost of FIRST Robotics tournament entrance fees. FIRST Robotics is a world-wide organization that encourages students to work on important skills such as leadership, teamwork, communication, and trouble-shooting, while building, programming, and competing with robots. Imlay City High School Biology classes will see things more clearly with new microscopes for the STEMM Biology Project, Anatomy and Physiology classes, and other biology classes, now and in the future.

Four County Community Foundation manages 121 funds, which provide support for a wide array of charitable programs. In our 30-year history, we have grown from an original $2.5 million to over $15 million and have returned $8 million to the communities we serve. Created by and for the people of the corners of Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, and St. Clair Counties, 4CCF enables anyone with philanthropic interests to support the needs of our community. By bringing together the resources of individuals, families and businesses, 4CCF creates a permanent source of community capital that can benefit our local region for good, forever, for everyone!