Drury Students in Monett Earn Grant to Help Revitalize Downtown Area
Photo credit: The Monett Times
Representatives of Monett Area Community Foundation are shown above presenting representatives of Drury University Monett and Monett GO CAPs with a grant check on November 1, 2018.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo., November 2, 2018 — Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ Monett Affiliate awarded a $2,425 grant to Drury University in Monett to undertake a downtown revitalization project identified by and in collaboration with the Monett High School Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (GO CAPS) program.
The grant funding will allow students at Drury’s Monett branch campus who are enrolled in Entrepreneurship 250: Ethical Problems and Entrepreneurial Answers to partner with high school GO CAPS students to boost downtown Monett’s appearance and safety through environmental updates. This project is one of several ideas developed by GO CAPS to improve downtown Monett.
Downtown Monett’s Main Street (East Broadway) has multiple vacant buildings. Of these, nine have vacant storefront windows. This can diminish the value of the existing downtown businesses, deter potential business owners from establishing shops and restaurants downtown, and reduce foot traffic. Likewise, lack of adequate lighting in the parking lot of Drury’s Monett building decreases the potential pedestrian thoroughfare between local stores and the Drury location.
With this project, Drury and GO CAPS students will clean the interior and exterior of vacant storefront windows, add curtains, and paint and repair exterior window frames and doors as needed. Drury will also add two parking lot lights.
Drury has a strong presence in the Monett community with its downtown location, formerly the site of the Monett United Methodist Church. Since its inception, Drury has worked closely with city government, business and community leaders, as well as the local Hispanic community, to establish campus initiatives aimed at enhancing the local economy and providing pathways to education for Monett residents.
GO CAPS provides Monett High School students with a professional, innovative, and entrepreneurial education through full immersion in high demand/high skill careers. Through community engagement and hands-on learning, GO CAPS students solve real world problems while fostering their own professional development.
The Monett Area Community Foundation supports organizations and projects serving the Monett area. This is Drury University’s first grant from the Monett Area Community Foundation.
