Umpqua bank will give $10,000 in funding to a Bellevue neighborhood enhancement project, and the people get to decide which one.
Bellevue was chosen as one of three communities to receive the grant, along with Seattle neighborhoods Queen Anne and Magnolia. The three projects in Bellevue up for the award are:
• Make Bellevue beautiful: creation and installation of community art. Make Bellevue beautiful by working with artist Bruce Myers to create mosaics as part of the Rain Chain public art project. The complete project includes three components: two bus shelter art treatments and one rain chain in the Newport Hills Lake Heights area.
• D.I.Y. organic fruits and veggies: community garden expansion. Umpqua will partner with Jubilee Reach to expand their current community garden to allow even more room for people in the community to grow their own fruits and vegetables.
• Bellevue books for all: multi-lingual books through King County Library. As the Bellevue community grows in diversity the goal is to ensure books are available for families of all backgrounds. Umpqua will purchase $10,000 in books of various languages and work with the King County Library System for outreach to families.
Residents can vote for the project they’d like to see funded by visiting Umpqua’s Facebook page, and clicking on the “build your block” app. Community voting began on March 12 and will continue through the 30th. The winning project will be announced on April 2.
This is Umpqua’s sixth Build Your Block initiative. Past winning projects include the addition of community gardens, an eco-friendly kids play area, and outdoor building enhancements through the addition of a mural painted by local elementary students.
