LIMA – The Allen Lima Leadership Class of 2012 has donated $8,000 to the Gardeners of Lima for downtown beautification.

The funding comes from the class Visual Pride project. The class sold sponsorships for and then installed mile markers on the Ottawa Riverwalk. Money raised from those sponsorships was intended for a visual pride project in Lima.

After a few years of fundraising, installing the markers and transition in leadership at Allen Lima Leadership, the class was able to make the donation. Allen Lima Leadership Executive Director Heather Rutz presented a check to the Gardeners of Lima Thursday at Downtown Lima Inc.’s annual meeting.

“At ALL, we talk about our ripple effect for good. The Class of 2012 understands the concept well. They created a visual pride project that rippled into another, separate effort,” Rutz said. “The thinking behind Visual Pride was that our community should look like how we feel about it, and that takes resources. We’re grateful to be able to help with that.”

The Gardeners fill the downtown planters annually. They will use the funding for several years’ worth of flowers in downtown planters, as well as equipment needed for the planting effort. The Gardeners work on a very limited budget; typically the group’s only fundraiser is an annual plant sale.

Allen Lima Leadership (ALL) is a county-wide leadership program that develops adult and youth leaders for our community. Learn more about the organization at www.AllenLimaLeadership.com.