T‑Mobile Hometown Grants Spark Positive Change in 25 New Communities

Today, T-Mobile named its next 25 Hometown Grant recipients, bringing the total to 225 communities since they announced their massive five-year commitment to small towns in April 2021. The company has now given more than $10 million to kickstart community development ideas across 42 states, with projects like upgrading tech at local libraries, building new hiking trails and revitalizing historic buildings.

T-Mobile works with Main Street America and Smart Growth America to select Hometown Grant recipients. These two organizations have decades of experience helping to build stronger, more prosperous small towns and rural communities. Application assessments are based on level of detail and completeness, potential community impact, project viability and other factors.

“The T-Mobile Hometown Grant program has made a massive impact in small towns and rural communities across the country,” said Main Street America Interim CEO Hannah White. “Grantees have renovated historic spaces, built new playgrounds and parks, and spurred innovative placemaking projects that are bringing community members together in new and meaningful ways. We are thrilled to partner with T-Mobile and Smart Growth America to continue this important work in places that are too-often overlooked.”

These are the next 25 winners and their projects: 

• Springville, Ala.: Renovate the Main Street Farmers Market Pavilion, including a new pergola, concrete pad, concrete stage, exterior lighting, planter boxes and AstroTurf area for community events and gatherings. 
• Kingsburg, Calif.: Install restrooms, solar lighting, landscaping, and Wi-Fi access points at Athwal Park as part of a multi-year, master-planned recreation project to add new amenities, including improved digital access.
• Mount Shasta, Calif.: Launch the Fire Toolkit Project through the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center, aimed at providing fire prevention and safety resources, equipment, and training to communities across Siskiyou County, including a fully equipped mobile trailer. 
• *Calhoun, Ga.: Revamp the Cyber Café at the Boys & Girls Clubs serving Chattooga, Gordon, Murray and Whitfield Counties, by updating technology with routers, tablets with a portable charging station, touchscreen televisions and an interactive virtual educational system for youth to have a dedicated space for homework help and program engagement.
• *Colfax, Iowa: Beautify Downtown Colfax with the addition of a pocket park, including brick pavers, tables, chairs, bicycle racks, planter boxes, a sculptural partition, and other public art, to provide an outdoor community gathering space.
• Independence, Iowa: Put in artificial turf at all five fields at the Independence Baseball/Softball Complex to expand youth sports programs and create jobs across northeast Iowa.
• Highland, Ill.: Install a new, unique playground this fall at Highland’s Silver Lake Park with ropes, logs, boulders, and other elements of nature incorporated into it that will inspire imagination.
• Rantoul, Ill.: Preserve the area’s rich railroad, agriculture and military history by incorporating and installing interactive sculptures and murals around Downtown Rantoul, as a part of the Downtown Streetscape Project.
• Peru, Ind.: Revive seven city blocks of downtown Peru, installing benches, bike racks and trash receptacles to increase walkability and gathering at downtown events and farmers market activities.   
• Iola, Kan.: Create four murals depicting historical industries and landmarks that represent the area, in partnership with local designer Max Grundy that will be seen from U.S. Route 54 and 169.
• *Hagerstown, Md.: Support an interactive life safety education program for youth, addressing critical issues like traffic and pedestrian safety, fire and water safety and more at the Children’s Village Skills Training Building, taught by emergency responders and retired educators. 
• *Skowhegan, Maine: Build The Kitchen at 185, a shared commercial kitchen and business incubator, aimed to support food producers, purveyors and restaurateurs by cultivating a business ecosystem, including flex spaces for food vendors to market their products and a food hall area for the community.
• Marshall, Minn.: Create a career and technical workforce training center for youth, available to all students throughout the public school system to provide more opportunities for hands-on and skills-based learning.
• Historic Village of Gold Hill, N.C.: Replace worn out wooden boardwalks in the village and add ADA accessibility to areas, increase public safety as well as install benches dedicated to our local veterans throughout the village.
• Franklin, N.C.: Construct a bilingual community health center out of an acquired 16,000 square foot warehouse, including integrated primary/behavioral healthcare and pharmacy, dental care, social services agencies, meeting spaces, health and fitness classes, community groups and arts to provide needed resources for the community.
• *Lovington, N.M.: Revamp the historic art-deco style Lea Theatre, including updates to the building’s roof, exterior, electrical and plumbing, to provide the community with an entertainment venue.
• Pahrump, Nev.: Install a water splash pad at Simkins Park, providing a way for children in the community to cool off and a sustainable, economical water solution in a water-restricted desert climate.
• Anadarko, Okla.: Beautify the historic downtown Miller Theater by adding an outdoor greenspace area, including a raised stage and amphitheater, restrooms, outdoor seating, concession stand and mural honoring the town’s rich history of the Native American community.
• *Guthrie, Okla.: Renovate the Hope House, a temporary haven for families and individuals, including updates to living resources like laundry services, bathrooms and storage, and an updated surveillance system, security doors and fencing to help ensure the safety of residents.
• *McMinnville, Ore.: Transform a high traffic alley passageway into the McMinnville Community Art Alley, a beautiful, safe culture focal point in the downtown area, with the partnership of 10 local businesses.
• Warm Springs, Ore.: Create the Warm Springs Commissary, reclaiming a 125-year-old former Bureau of Indian Affairs commissary building and turning it in to a sustainably built co-working space with retail (barber shop, café, art store), food carts, outdoor pavilion and community gathering spaces supporting 40 aspiring or current tribal small businesses.
• DuBois, Pa.: Launch the Dubois Area Middle School eSports program, providing technology equipment like gaming computers and consoles, wall-mounted televisions and seating to encourage e-sports competitions across the region. 
• *Derry Township, Lewistown, Pa.: Build two new playgrounds (Tot Lot and Youth), remodel restrooms and add native plantings to provide the community with much needed outdoor family recreational space.
• *Dyersburg, Tenn.: Repair the Dyersburg Farmers Market, a highly attended outdoor space, by replacing uneven concrete floor slabs, metal siding and installing handrails to improve public safety.
• Mount Carmel, Tenn.: Create an outdoor classroom in City Park for students from Mount Carmel Elementary, Mount Carmel Library summer reading program, and area homeschool groups, to have a dedicated, creative space to learn ecology, gardening and crafts.  

*Main Street America Member Community

T-Mobile awards Hometown Grants each quarter for up to 25 towns with a population of less than 50,000 people. Anyone with a vision for how to make their community even stronger than it is today can apply. For more information or to apply, click here.