We were over the moon to learn Live Thrive and CHaRM had been named one of the recipients of State Farm’s 100^th anniversary Century of Good grants given to community-based organizations throughout the country. As one of six grantees, Live Thrive was awarded $500,000 to support our efforts to divert household hazardous waste and other materials from landfills.

The $2 million Century of Good grant program ladders up to State Farm’s corporate commitment to build stronger and more resilient communities in support of a more sustainable future. This grant investment provides the recipient organizations with the opportunity to continue supporting projects focused on a range of community-specific environmental priorities like air quality, energy efficiency, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, recycling and land preservation.

“We are incredibly grateful for this generous gift and recognition of the impact that Live Thrive has achieved to date. This additional funding will allow us to continue our mission of public environmental education, which is a crucial element in increasing awareness about the importance of proper materials management, ultimately affecting climate change. Additionally, this grant will enable the expansion of our Zero Waste Centers and the services that Live Thrive currently provides to the community.” – Peggy Whitlow Ratcliffe, Founder and Executive Director, Live Thrive.

We offer congratulations to our fellow Century of Good grant recipients:

• City of Bloomington Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts Department (Bloomington, Ill.) is working to provide current and future generations a sense of community, preserved green spaces, and diverse programs. Century of Good grant funding will be leveraged for revitalization projects at O’Neil Park, including native planting.
• Town of Normal Parks & Recreation Department (Normal, Ill.) provides citizens and visitors with a clean, safe, environmentally pleasant community. Century of Good grant funding will be used to support revitalization projects at Carden Park and the Constitution Trail.
• Ecology Action Center (Normal, Ill.) serves as a central resource for environmental education, outreach and assistance. To improve air quality, reduce carbon sequestration and provide watershed protection, the EAC launched a tree planting program in 2021. Its goal is to plant 100,000 new trees in McLean County over the next 10 years. Century of Good grant funding will be used to support community tree planting.
• Trust for Public Land (Dallas) helps communities raise money, conduct research, protect land and design/renovate parks, playgrounds, trails and gardens. It’s working to expand park and trail access to underserved neighborhoods while improving health, education and equitable development in Southern Dallas.
• The Office of Sustainability (Tempe, Ariz.) is mitigating the negative effects of extreme heat. Collaborating with local school districts, first responders and businesses, Tempe is planning to address stormwater retention, plant native trees and outfit public buildings with renewable energy.

This generous grant comes at the perfect time as Live Thrive and CHaRM are expanding our footprint and working toward opening a second location. Thank you so much to the team at State Farm for recognizing the impact we have had and will continue to have in our community. https://st8.fm/CenturyOfGood