LCRA, City of Yoakum award $25,000 grant for digital sign at high school
Student-led project results in new marquee for school, community and emergency messages
JUNE 25, 2024
YOAKUM, Texas – The Yoakum High School Student Council soon will install a new marquee in front of Yoakum High School, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and the City of Yoakum.
The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with almost $16,700 in matching funds from the council, will allow for a state-of-the-art digital sign that will be used to share messages about student and community events and information during emergencies.
“The marquee will help us to advertise all the wonderful things we are doing at our school, as well as communicate with our community,” said Amy Robbins, student council advisor. “In a small town like Yoakum, the school is the heart of the community. We hope by creating a place past, present and future students are proud of, they will feel a sense of pride not only in the school but in the whole town.”
The marquee is one part of the four-phase Bulldog Beautification Project, a student-led school enhancement project. The student council created the project’s vision and action plan, met with city leaders, set the budget, wrote grant applications and fundraised.
“These kids are absolutely amazing,” Robbins said. “They organized meetings with people in the community and presented their project to local organizations as well as the school board. They also met with city planners and officials to address the needs of the community. These students are the reason why teachers continue to do what they do every day.”
Working on the project and receiving the CDPP grant is an experience Abbie Galvan, student council president, said defines her senior year.
“This project and the support of the community and organizations like LCRA have made my senior year one that I will always remember,” Galvan said. “The support from my classmates and their willingness to give up their lunches and free time to do the hard labor we had to do to get this project going has been overwhelming. This project is the legacy we’ll leave behind, and I’m so excited that others are ready to carry this work forward.”
The marquee will be installed in the high school’s circle drive over the summer and will be visible to anyone traveling to or from Yoakum’s downtown area.
The community grant is one of 44 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. The City of Yoakum is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.
About LCRA
The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; providing a clean, reliable water supply; and offering outdoor adventures at more than 40 parks along the Colorado River from the Texas Hill Country to the Gulf Coast. LCRA and its employees are committed to fulfilling our mission to enhance the quality of life of the Texans we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service. LCRA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1934 and receives no state appropriations.
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