City receives grant from Greenville Women Giving

May 15, 2019

The City of Greenville has received a $100,000 grant from Greenville Women Giving for a river restoration project within the Unity Park site. Greenville Women Giving announced the 2019 grant winners at its annual meeting Tuesday evening and the City was one of seven recipients of funds totaling $580,000. Over the past 13 years, Greenville Women Giving has invested more than $6 million in Greenville County non-profit organizations and projects that have positively impacted the community in five key areas: Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Health and Human Services.

The Reedy River bisects the future 60-acre Unity Park and features prominently in park plans. Today, the conditions of the Reedy in this area—straight and narrow with tall, vertical river banks—are the product of an Army Corps of Engineering river straightening project that occurred well over 50 years ago. These conditions restrict the river’s capacity during extreme rain events and render the area prone to flash flooding which negatively impacts nearby residents. The City will use the funds from Greenville Women Giving for a project to restore the 2,163 linear feet of Reedy River within Unity Park’s boundaries. The project scope includes excavating and widening the Reedy’s banks to create a more naturalized river condition, which will help increase the area’s capacity to hold stormwater. The project will also address two other community-identified needs—more river access and ample open space.

As an added benefit, the park’s proximity to the Swamp Rabbit Trail and community partners like the Kroc Center and AJ Whittenberg Elementary School will provide opportunities to increase awareness of the value of the river ecosystem and the importance of protecting the Reedy River. The river restoration project is included in phase one of the Unity Park development plan and work is expected to begin in late 2019.

 

About Greenville Women Giving

Greenville Women Giving (GWG) is a women’s collective philanthropic organization that serves Greenville county. Funding for grants is made available through the annual donations of GWG members and from other donor-directed contributions through the Community Foundation of Greenville. Grants are awarded once a year (in May) and are selected based on the cumulative voting of the entire GWG membership. For more information, visit https://www.greenvillewomengiving.org/.