Landmark to honor first responders, victims gets $100K
Grant comes from Butte Strong Fund
Hope Plaza will get a $100,000 grant that will allow organizers to break ground this spring.
The Butte Strong Fund approved the grant for the project on the Skyway in downtown Paradise.
“Hope Plaza is a landmark dedicated to the memory of the Camp Fire and is designed to be a place of honor for first responders and those who were killed in the fire. It will be on the triangle of land at the corner of Skyway and Foster Road,” North Valley Community Foundation Vice
President David Little wrote in a press release.
The Butte Strong Fund has provided $250,000 total to the $1.5 million project, which has received no public funding.
“The volunteer team that is working to create Hope Plaza is thrilled and honored by the support of North Valley Community Foundation and the Butte Strong Fund,” Melissa Schuster, a member of the Hope Plaza Steering Committee and longtime Paradise resident said in the release. “Hope Plaza is a compassionate response to the very basic need for a physical place to acknowledge the immeasurable impact of the Camp Fire. It reminds us of how we were unified at that moment in time, and celebrates the profound courage, perseverance and resilience of this remarkable community.
“NVCF and the Butte Strong Fund have, without question, been an integral part of this journey and Hope Plaza proudly recognizes and appreciates those contributions.
“Together, we will celebrate our milestones and victories, show our immense gratitude to all of our ‘helpers,’ and inspire the world to move forward with us.”
The Hope Plaza Steering Committee hopes to break ground on the project this month, according to the release.
Take a virtual tour of the project and learn more at www.hopeplazaparadise. com.
The Butte Strong Fund is a partnership of fundraising
efforts led by North Valley Community Foundation, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“With the latest grants totaling $311,397, NVCF has awarded $51,611,806
for community recovery since the Camp Fire on Nov. 8, 2018, Little wrote. “The Butte Strong Fund will continue to hand out grants for roughly another year and a half, until all donations are exhausted.”
Organizations interested in applying for Butte Strong Fund grants can visit nvcf. org/buttestrongfund to determine if they qualify for funding. Donations to the fund can also be made on the web page.