Essex school receives grant

Essex Community School proudly announced they were selected to receive a $2,000 grant from the Build With Bags Grant Program

This grant will be used to purchase recycled plastic playground equipment.

The Essex grant writing team (Kimberly Peterson, Kathleen Johnson, and Amy Resh) applied for the Build With Bags grants to be considered for this program.

Essex is one of 26 grant recipients selected, out of 71 applications, across Iowa this year to purchase recycled plastic playground equipment.

The Build with Bags Grant Program is a cooperative effort led by the Iowa Grocery Industry Association to raise awareness and give the public a complete understanding of plastic bag recycling and the use of reusable bags.

Goals of the Build with Bags Program are to: 1. Reduce Bag Use 2. Increase Use of Reusable Bags 3. Increase Plastic Bag Recycling 4. Fund Purchases of Recycled Plastic Equipment for Parks and Schools

A component of the grant was that the items must be made of recycled High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, the base material for making plastic shopping bags. Essex will purchase one Tic-Tac-Toe Panel and two Fossil Bluff Climbers made of the HDPE plastic for the elementary playground.