Helping hand for Waterville

By Brian Ojanpa

WATERVILLE — A team of Waterville residents will receive a $1,500 check on Monday. It’s a relatively small amount, but it bespeaks something much larger.

The check represents the first installment on a $10,000 grant to the city from Northwest Area Foundation, sponsor of a program called Horizons aimed at reducing poverty in small rural communities.

To be eligible, a community must have a population of less than 5,000 and a poverty rate of at least 10 percent.

“A lot of people were wondering where all this poverty was,” said Jane Cummiskey, who’s been involved in the program from its outset.

But under the tenets of the program, poverty involves more than just money, said Jessica Peterson White, Horizons coordinator for the University of Minnesota Extension Service, which administers the program in 12 state cities.

White said poverty can also encompass a lack of resources in a community, early childhood issues, even a general disconnect between residents and their town.

A year into the town’s 18-month program, Cummiskey concurs.

“Poverty has all kinds of faces,” she said.

The Waterville program — neighboring Elysian is participating in its own Horizons project — has brought people together who otherwise wouldn’t have connected, and Cummiskey said the results are apparent.

Downtown revitalization — largely cleanup and beautification efforts — was a high priority, and that has been achieved, Cummiskey said.

Another project that’s come to fruition is a senior rides program, whereby volunteers provide the elderly with free transportation.

“Until this program, one lady hadn’t been able to go to church in seven years,” Cummiskey said.

Other projects in planning stages include establishment of a thrift store and constructive after-school activities for teens, especially those not involved in sports.

The remainder of the $10,000 will be allocated when the civic Horizons team meets its project goals.

“This program has made people more aware and have more respect for their town. There’s a lot of expertise in the community, and people want to use that expertise,” Cummiskey said.

White said the program doesn’t produce dramatic shifts in poverty rates in participating communities.

“The dramatic effects are in community and civic engagement and entrepreneurship,” she said.

The Northwest Area Foundation has funded the Horizons program since 2003. Nearly 150 towns have been served in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

Those states were served by the Great Northern Railway founded by the James J. Hill family, which established the foundation in 1934.