Area resident wins funds for local 4-H club

Pictured are Beverly Fuhrman (Bourbon County winner) and Kelli Crystal (Barnstormers 4-H Club Leader), along with several members of the Barnstormers 4-H Club.(Submitted Photo)

Bronson resident Beverly Fuhrman has been selected as a winner in the America's Farmers Grow Communities program, which gives farmers the opportunity to win $2,500 for their favorite local nonprofit organizations.

The award presentation was made Wednesday night at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds.

The Monsanto Fund sponsors the program, and winning farmers designate a local nonprofit organization to benefit from the donations. Fuhrman designated the Barnstormers 4-H Club in Fort Scott to receive the donation.

Fuhrman says she is very excited to have been selected as the winner for Bourbon County. "I think it's great that I was able to win this money for the 4-H. 4-H is a great program for young kids. They can certainly use the money," she said in a news release.

For her part, Kelli Crystal, leader of the Barnstormers 4-H Club, was thrilled her organization was the recipient.

"I think (America's Farmers) Grow Communities is a great program. We'll use the money to make improvements to the fairgrounds and to send kids to state events like camp," Crystal said in the release.

In more than 1,200 eligible counties, farmers can win $2,500 for their favorite community non-profit. The Monsanto Fund expects to invest more than $3 million in local communities.

Previous Grow Communities projects resulted in the donation of nearly $1.2 million in 477 counties in Arkansas, California, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and South Dakota. In total, more than $202,000 has been donated to nonprofits in Kansas.

The America's Farmers Grow Communities program is part of a broad commitment by Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Co., to highlight the important contributions farmers make every day to our society by helping them grow their local communities. To date, more than 60,000 farmers have participated in the program, which is designed to benefit nonprofit groups such as ag youth, schools and other civic organizations.

A complete list of winners can be found at www.growcommunities.com.