SIBLEY, Iowa — Gathered around a kitchen table in Sibley, Iowa, a group of volunteers are planning for the future of their town.
Members of the Osceola Recreational Trails Association committee need public help to continue their efforts to construct a trail spanning more than 5,700 feet around the city of Sibley and eventually to other areas, including Hawkeye Point and the Dickinson County Trail System. The group was approved in August to receive a $50,000 grant from Wellmark Foundation, but only if it can generate enough funds to match it.
If the idea of collecting $50,000 wasn’t daunting enough, the group has a deadline of Dec. 15 to make it happen. Fortunately, it’s able to use up to $25,000 of previously raised funds and in-kind labor to fund its match of the grant. That, however, requires the committee to collect $12,500 in new donations.
Should the group be successful, the funds would be a major step forward in what has been an entirely volunteer effort. But if the group is short, it will receive nothing.
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