DCF Grant Helps "Fill The Pool" In Aurora

A $1,000 dollars may not seem like much for such a big project, but every dollar counts.

Dearborn Community Foundation Board member Mark Neff, left, delivers a $1,000 grant check to Aurora Mayor Mark Drury center, and City Manager Derek Walker. Photo provided.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - A thousand dollars may seem like a drop in the bucket, but every penny counts as Aurora pushes to raise a million dollars to build a new swimming pool. With that challenge in mind, Dearborn Community Foundation (DCF), Inc. Board member Mark Neff recently recommended a $1,000 Proactive Grant for the effort.

In a continuing effort to make an impact in the Dearborn County community, DCF is awarding 15 proactive grants of $1,000 each throughout 2021 to charitable organizations that serve Dearborn County residents. Each of the Foundation’s 15 volunteer board members is recommending a grant. The money comes from the Foundation’s Unrestricted Endowment Funds, established by donors to provide flexibility to address changing needs in the community over the years.

"I have always had a soft place in my heart for the City of Aurora because they had all these parks, and for these years the park board was run on not a whole lot of money," said Neff, an Aurora resident and former 20-year park board member.

"It wasn't even a hard choice for me. I have always had a strong desire to see Aurora be a winner and prosper,” said Neff.

DCF also recently awarded a $100,000 grant to the City of Aurora through the Foundation’s Lawrenceburg Community Grant Program to help towards purchase of a flume slide for the city’s new aquatic center/pool.

In all, it will take about $3.5 million to build Aurora residents a new pool, but city council has approved $2.5 million for the project. The pool is slated to open the summer of 2022, according to the city's pool committee.

You can donate toward the pool project by visiting the city's parks and recreation portion of Aurora's official website at https://aurora.in.us/. Think of every penny as a ripple riding a wave of success.