Madison Street Festival awards $25K in grants to help local education projects

MADISON – A solid civic organization engages its members. A successful civic organization stresses outreach. A model civic organization promotes itself only to give back and help others, like the steering committee for Madison Street Festival or MSF.

The festival is a wonderful family-fun event held in downtown Madison on the first Saturday in Oct. It also helps support the community in many amazing ways. Grants from funds raised through the festival spread long-lasting effects to people across the community.

Each year, the MSF awards community grants to groups or organizations that provide educational opportunities and increase/support literacy.

“Madison Street Festival’s mission as a 501(c)3 organization is to support students of all ages and abilities through grants. Last year’s grant cycle was the biggest we’ve experienced,” Mc-Brayer said. The street festival was able to give $20,000 in grants to 35 educational programs. This year, that amount they were able to give rose to $25,000.

“Thank you for what all the grant recipients do to enrich students’ lives and enhance the educational experience for people of all ages and abilities,” McBrayer added.

To return proceeds from last year’s festival, the 2024 MSF Grant Breakfast convened at Midtown Elementary School on Jan. 25. MSF President Crystal McBrayer and other committee members presented the following grants:

• Columbia Elementary School — “STEM Power Tools,” foundational program to equip students in K-5 with Spanish-English “Bilingual Books for ALL” for STEM learning.

• Creekside Primary School — “STEM Bins and Coding,” support of fine motor creativeness with hands-on approach.

• Horizon Elementary School “Scholastic News,” fourth-graders’ multimedia curriculum, and “Buckets for Brains,” fundamentals for Bucket Drumming Club.

• Madison Elementary School – “’Transforming’ Math in Second Grade,” increase in student engagement and teamwork in classrooms.

• Rainbow Elementary School — “Creating a Calming Classroom Haven,” transform special education classroom with sensory stimulation; “Adaptable STEM Toys for Structured Learning Classrooms,” inclusive learning for experiments, building and creative problem-solving.

• Discovery Middle School — “SLC Special Needs Playground,” on-campus installation of ADA-approved playground for students with multiple disabilities in grades 6-8.

• Journey Middle School “Greenpower USA Inspiring Innovation,” continued development of Greenpower curriculum to enhance team’s confidence.

• Bob Jones High School “Graphic Novels for Student Literacy,” novels to bridge gap in reading comprehension for love of literature by English Language Learners and struggling readers; “Air Force JROTC Raider PT Course,” purchase equipment and materials to build pullup bar station.

• James Clemens High School — “Winter Guard Mat,” purchase competition mat for James Clemens Winter Guard’s practice for Southeastern Color Guard Circuit.

• Child Evangelism Fellowship of North Alabama — “Good News Club in Madison,” training in morals, character and citizenship for Heritage Elementary School students.

• Kids to Love — “KTECH Summer Camps,” three-week Camp KTECH instructs students in grades 9-12 about robotics, mechatronics, virtual reality and engineering.

• Make A Way Foundation — “Sensory Room Additions,” sensory rooms with supplies to accommodate needs of students with disabilities.

• Rocket City Learning Collective — “Lending Library,” purchase five literacy learning bags for K-12 from Catapult Learning to eliminate financial barriers for homeschooling.

• Rotary Club of Madison Foundation — “North Alabama Rotary Youth Leadership: Building Tomorrow’s Leaders,” purchase Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why.”

• The Caring Link — “ B o o k Fairy Magic for Madison County Students,” BOOK FAIRY gives gift certificates for books to students showing model behavior.

• Whirly Girl Ink Inc. –“Community Center Management,” confirmation of center’s support for robotics teams during competitive transition.

• Liberty Learning Foundation — “Civic & Character Programs in Madison City Schools,” programs prepare students as more engaged citizens and passing mandated High School Civics Exam.

Save the date for the 43rd Madison Street Festival on Oct. 4, 2025.