SELMA – Activate Selma has upgraded the two pocket parks in downtown Selma as part of a grant from the Johnston County Community Foundation (JCCF). The grant is made possible through a recommendation from this local board, an affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation.
“We are so please to be awarded this grant from the JCCF. Downtown Selma is the “living room” of our town, and we want our residents, visitors and guests to feel at home when they visit our two pocket parks.” said group president Kim Wooten. “We are excited to continue the parks’ transformation and this grant has made that process possible.”
Wooten continued to explain that the parks are better suited to receive visitors now that they have been updated with UV resistant plants and a bright blue double umbrella at Art Out Loud Park. At Vick Park, new, brighter umbrellas have been added to the three picnic tables in order to give shade and attract visitors to the space.
A member of Activate Selma wrote the grant with the community in mind and a survey is available now for residents and visitors to fill out and give their positive input on what the two parks mean to them and to downtown Selma. Deadline for this survey is Friday, November 15, 2024.
The original survey was compiled in June, and community leaders found out that the public wanted spaces that were more inviting and both needed more shade. Both surveys are a part of the grant process and are needed to show how the public feels about both spaces before and then again after the work is completed in the parks.
“It’s important to know what the public wanted, since they are the ones visiting and using the parks.” stated Melissa Dooley, grant writer for Activate Selma. “Activate Selma volunteers finished the work for this grant. We couldn’t be happier to have received it from the JCCF.”
