Noyes Home named finalist for $10,000 grant

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- The Noyes Home for Children has been named a finalist for Evergy's Hometown Grant, which rewards $10,000 to non-profits in its service area.

The grant will help three non-profits across Missouri and Kansas with community improvement projects. Noyes Home hopes to win and use the earnings to create a sensory garden, introducing gardening, harvesting and musical instruments for the children staying at the Home.

"We want to create a really serene, calm space for our kids to be able to come and just enjoy nature and not have to think about the adult worries that they carry with them, that are oftentimes the reason they need the Noyes Home in the first place," Executive Director of the Noyes Home, Chelsea Howlett, said.

The $10,000 will assist in planting the pollinator garden, purchasing musical instruments and putting in pavers to create a pathway. As children leave the Noyes Home, they will paint on the pavers to leave a permanent memorial of their time there.

"They can come back and come to our block party and say 'I was here and that's my stone,' to be part of their story," Howlett said.

The grant alone will most likely not cover the entire cost of the sensory garden, but the Noyes Home encouraged residents to designate donations for the garden.

"But most importantly, we need people to vote for us because essentially it's a popularity contest on social media," Howlett said. "I am just so grateful that we have this opportunity from Evergy but we need our community support. So please vote, please share, please encourage everybody in St. Joe to help support us."

Votes from the community will decide the three winners and are open to the public until May 30.

To cast a vote, visit Evergy's Facebook post and like the photo of the contestant's project.