We are incredibly grateful to the Story County Community Foundation for awarding Friendship Ark a $25,000 grant to help make our new programming space more accessible for everyone! Thanks to this generous support, we were able to add important accessibility features, including handrails, a wheelchair ramp (check out the video!), and furnishings for our teaching kitchen, including the oven, and more.

Our Development Director, Beth Lucht, attended the Foundation’s Grant Awards Reception, where a total of $342,414 in grants was awarded in support of our community. Each recipient had the opportunity to share a little about their project, and Beth’s remarks brought a particularly special moment. She shared the joy of watching our first core member use the new ramp. There were happy tears knowing what this moment truly meant: For the first time in 26 years, every one of the core members served by Friendship Ark can access every area of our programming hub! Just like our homes, this space was thoughtfully designed and built with our core members in mind, and this grant helped make so many of these important accessibility features possible.