The Glacier Institute could win $50,000 for community projects after being selected as the only finalist from Montana in the Tom’s of Maine “50 States for Good” program.
The contest is part of a national initiative to support community organizations that promote “healthy, human and environmental goodness,” according to the Tom’s website. Online voting is open to the public through Oct. 9 at www.Facebook.com/TomsofMaine. The organization with the most public support will receive $50,000 in sponsorship funding, while five additional organizations will each receive $20,000.
The funding would go toward Glacier Institute’s alternative energy curriculum and allow the organization, in a partnership with Sunelco and the Flathead National Forest, to teach how to preserve and better utilize natural resources.
“Our goal is to provide education and practice ways to conserve and better sustain the natural resources found in this relatively undisturbed mountain environment in and around Glacier National Pak,” Glacier Institute Executive Director Joyce Baltz said in a statement.
“We will do this by adding a solar and wind powered demonstration system and a battery bank to our facility’s energy system and developing a curriculum to share alternative energy concepts to youth and adults.”
The U.S. Forest Service has granted permission to teach alternative energy and the grant award would provide the needed funding to do so.