The Needs of My Town by Jordan

The Needs of My Town by Jordan - May 2019 Scholarship Essay

In my neighborhood, people help each other. They are neighborly and kind and take care of their houses so that the entire neighborhood looks clean. Crime is minimal and rare. The people are respectable. They are the epitome of suburbia. Calm, homey, happy suburbia.
Yet, the town I live in and love is not without its problems. Just because my part of town--my “side of the tracks”, if you will--is well taken care of, does not mean the entire town is that way. Numerous problems plague different places in town. Drug and substance abuse are far too common, and those issues cause certain areas to look downtrodden. But I am even more upset that most people who live in my area do not seem to care about those who despair in the less picturesque areas. They do not seem to want to help them, or worse, they do not want to see them at all, lest the lower-class citizens mar the upper-class citizens’ neighborhoods with their unholy presence.
That is why I was thrilled to receive the news that I have been given a 10,000 dollar grant to help my town! I am so glad to use the money to help improve the place I love so dearly. My first order of business, after the money is entrusted to me, is to donate 400 dollars to my local substance abuse alliance group. As I wrote before, drug and substance abuse is a big problem. Our town faces a legitimate issue with heroin and opiates. It is very saddening to see so many lives--young and old--be taken from us by drugs. My local substance abuse alliance group works to help those addicted to drugs and their families as well as raise awareness for this disease.
Next up on my list is to donate 200 dollars to help the construction company that is working on adding to our Amtrak station. Hundreds of people ride the train from the stop in our town every day. Some ride to go to work, some ride to take day trips to nearby cities, and others ride to visit family members or friends who live outside of the county. Construction is being done to the station in my town to improve safety and quality of rides. Donating money to help the construction would be appreciated by so many people in my community.
The third place I would donate money to is the local township to help fix our roads. A lot of the roads in my town need serious work. There are potholes, loose gravel, and faded traffic lines everywhere. In all honesty, they are just not comfortable to drive on. Using my grant money to help fix the roads would be something every driver could appreciate. I would donate 250 dollars to help the township do this. It is not much, but it is something, and if at least one road was fixed, than I could consider that an improvement.
Lastly, I would use the money I have left, which is 150 dollars, to donate to small businesses along Main Street in my town. There are numerous small businesses owned by families and individuals who, I am sure, would love to have some extra cash. Those small businesses bring tourists and visitors to our otherwise unremarkable town. They also make our Main Street look so inviting. Therefore, they are worth my grant money.
My entire town (as I hope I have shown you) is worth my grant money. It truly makes my heart happy to live where I do, but it saddens me that so many areas still need help. This money is a huge blessing to me and my community, and I feel that no other place in the world deserves it more.