MCBD recognizes graduating seniors
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Parents have a chance at honoring their seniors while supporting a new fundraiser launched by the Marshalltown Central Business District (MCBD).
Executive Director Danielle Lekin said the Downtown Proud Banner program grew out of the former Military Tribute Banner program.
"Over the past couple of years, we saw participation in the veteran banner program decline, and we took that as a sign the community’s interest had shifted," she said. "Our design committee set out to create a new program that would truly resonate with Marshalltown today."
Lekin had experience with a similar senior recognition program in a previous community before moving to Marshalltown. The experience helped inspire the fundraiser. She said years have been spent honoring the community’s past through the veteran banners, and the MCBD board felt it was time to switch the focus to celebrating its future – graduating seniors.
The program is not limited to only students graduating from Marshalltown Community School District, but to every senior in Marshall County. According to Lekin, many students open-enroll into Marshalltown schools, and since Marshalltown is the county seat, they wanted the participation to be as broad and inclusive as possible.
All of the banners will have a consistent design. There will not be customization on size, color or letting style. However, Lekin said families can personalize the content of each banner featuring the graduating senior's name, photograph and high school.
They are anticipating placing roughly 80 banners. Since the light pole brackets have changed due to the Main Street reconstruction project, the exact count is being finalized with the City of Marshalltown.
Placement requests will be accepted, but Lekin added they are not able to guarantee a specific location.
"That said, we do our best to honor those requests whenever possible," she said.
People should place orders for senior banners by Dec. 15. Lekin said that will give them time to finalize orders and proof each banner before the holidays. Banners will be placed in April and will be taken down at the end of June.
"Once they come down, families are welcome to retrieve their banner to keep," she said.
After announcing the Downtown Proud Banner program, some residents expressed concerns about the $189 cost, stating some families cannot afford it, leaving seniors who might feel left out or teased for not getting placed.
"We’ve heard this feedback, and it’s genuinely disheartening," Lekin said. "We intentionally sought out a new vendor to bring our costs down so we could pass those savings on to our supporters, and we also shortened the banners’ hanging period compared to our previous veteran banner program, which justified a further price reduction."
She broke down the cost into three parts. One portion covers banner production, which is custom-cut to fit the light pole brackets and built to withstand outdoor exposure during the spring and summer months. Another portion pays for marketing and administering the program; and the last portion goes into MCBD’s general fundraising pool.
She added what sometimes gets lost is the Downtown Proud Banner program is, first and foremost, a fundraiser which supports MCBD’s ability to serve downtown Marshalltown all year long.
"Proceeds help fund our creative placemaking events, like Ridiculous Day, Haunt the Block, Live After 5 and the Holiday Stroll, along with our economic development work, including small business support, grant facilitation and free educational opportunities, plus our ongoing advocacy for investment in downtown," Lekin said. "MCBD is a nonprofit, and while what we provide is free to the community, it isn’t free for us to produce. We don’t operate on a membership model, so while we receive some funding from the City of Marshalltown, we rely heavily on community generosity, grants and fundraisers like this one to keep serving downtown Marshalltown the way we have since 2002."
Lekin thanked families who have already chosen to invest in downtown and recognize graduating seniors.
"We look forward to seeing downtown filled with the faces of the future of our community," she said.
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.