Jim McColl of Little Rock has been selected as a winner in the America’s Farmers Grow CommunitiesSM program, which gives farmers the opportunity to win $2,500 for their favorite local nonprofit organizations. The Monsanto Fund sponsors the program, and winning farmers designate a local nonprofit organization to benefit from the donations. McColl has designated Dillon County 4-H located in Latta to receive the donation.
McColl says he is very excited to have been selected as the winner for Dillon County. “Grow Communities is a great program to help rural America, and in a time when money is scarce, these organizations especially appreciate the help.”
Bill Aston, 4-H Agent, says “We could not be more thrilled to be receiving this gift! The donation will go to help sponsor scholarships, send youth to 4-H camps and competitions, as well as aid in volunteer training.” The $2,500 donation was awarded at a ceremony held on Feb. 17 in Latta.
In more than 1,200 eligible counties, farmers can win $2,500 for their favorite community nonprofit. The Monsanto Fund expects to invest more than $3 million in local communities. The program originated with two pilot programs. The first pilot included 139 counties in Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas. The second pilot was expanded to include 298 counties in California, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and South Dakota. In total, more than $35,000 has been donated to nonprofits in South Carolina.
The America’s Farmers Grow Communities program is part of a broad commitment by Monsanto Fund to highlight the important contributions farmers make every day to our society by helping them grow their local communities.
To date, more than 60,000 farmers participated in the program, which is designed to benefit nonprofit groups such as ag youth, schools and other civic organizations. Visit www.growcommunities.com to view a complete list of winners.