On Monday, April 23, 2012, citizens around the Cody, NE area joined the teachers and students from Cody-Kilgore Schools for a groundbreaking ceremony of the Cody Grocery Store Project. This project has been in the works for 3-4 years Mrs. Adamson stated. When this idea to start a grocery store for a chance to teach the students Entrepreneurship and to fill a need in the community came about, they only had 10 days to apply for a grant. So with some help from the Center for Rural Affairs the grant application made it in on time.
Since receiving the grant they have had many bumps along the way. One was a location. The have finally got a lease negotiated with the Nebraska Game & Parks to do a 99 year lease on a piece of ground north of Highway 20.
The Village of Cody received a $75,000 grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act along with an additional $95,000 in funding. The facility will be constructed of straw bales. They received a local donation of 700 straw bales by Jerry Fullerton. The students helped put up the straw bales and put them in storage until ready to use.
This project was to help students understand Entrepreneurship and to one day have them relocate back to the Cody area after college. This would give them the knowledge to start their own business. They learned how to do inventory and marketing by running a concession stand at school functions. Lindsey Adamson said, "It is not just a grocery store to fill the community but a learning experience. And learning they did through the writing of a Business Plan, to holding fundraisers, and trying to figure out how they could make a profit at this business. They have also learned public speaking and confidence.
They created a board to handle the finances. They created a Steering Committee of students to help in the planning phases. One of the projects was handled by members of the Steering Committee when they approached USDA to help with the start up power for the building. This was a value of $1600.
The store but could possibly create up to 15 jobs which one will be a full time Manager position.
They have had lots of volunteers help through this planning phase including a lawyer and an accountant. They are always looking for volunteers. If you would like to help in putting up the building, contact John Johnson to get signed up. A big thank you goes out to all the community members and Mrs. Fullerton for helping to make this happen.
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