Who we are
The Steamboat City Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit umbrella organization organized in 2011 “exclusively for the general betterment of the Town of Washington.” Its purpose is to support and facilitate community activities.
The Association is a direct result of efforts by the Turning the Tide on Poverty program, a multistate project led by the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) at Mississippi State University to encourage “citizen engagement … on issues of concern to local communities.” The Turning the Tide program is designed to benefit particularly communities “with high poverty levels or low income among many citizens, especially historically marginalized groups.”
What we’ve done
Since our formation the association has been involved in a number of projects, including a peer mentoring program at Washington Elementary School, creation of a Washington Community Festival, distribution of some $16,000 in scholarships to graduating high school seniors, providing community support after the flooding in 2016, creation of a Steamboat City Speakers Series, and others.
We were the lead organization in the creation of the Historic Washington Cultural District, designed to strengthen the town’s cultural economy. The Association board is the designated administrative board of the cultural district.
The Association has received grants from the Louisiana Creative Community Initiative to further the cultural economy; from Entergy Corporation for use primarily for programs at Washington Elementary School (which we were able to help move out of the “failing school” category); MidSouth Bank for our scholarship program, Acadian Ambulance for general purposes; the Town of Washington for farmers market promotion, and others.
Contact us
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