Officials from the Pella plant in Carroll and representatives of the Crawford County Wellness Center Committee gathered Tuesday afternoon at the site for the wellness center to recognize Pella’s $25,000 donation to the project. From left are KR Buck, Crawford County Wellness Committee; Yuliana Rivas, bilingual training coordinator at Pella in Carroll; Dustin Katje, plant manager with Pella in Carroll; Tim Stuart, wellness center committee chairperson; Jessica Garcia, Denison City Manager and wellness committee member; Jeff Heuton, human resources manager with Pella in Carroll; and Denison Mayor Pam Soseman, wellness committee member. Photo by Gordon Wolf

The Crawford County Wellness Center project received a $25,000 boost on Tuesday from the Pella Corporation.

The donation adds to funds that have climbed to more than 70% of the fundraising goal.

We are grateful for the opportunity,” said Dustin Katje, manager of the Pella site in Carroll. “Part of Pella’s mission is to be able to support and give back to communities where not just our sites are located but also where our team members reside. We care about their lives outside of work, too.

“We have several team members who commute to every day Carroll to work at Pella. We couldn’t be successful without them and their support,” Katje added. “We’re glad to be able to support the Denison Community.”

The $25,000 came from the Pella Rolscreen Foundation through an application process. Each Pella site chooses a project for a Rolscreen Foundation grant, and together they are prioritized for funding.

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The application for the Crawford County Wellness Center project was submitted by Denison City Manager Jessica Garcia with assistance from Yuliana Rivas, bilingual training coordinator at Pella in Carroll.

“The contribution by Pella speaks volumes,” said Tim Stuart, chairperson of the Crawford County Wellness Center Ad Hoc Committee. “When they look at the project and look at employees who live in Crawford County, they see the value. It speaks volumes as it relates to the project and how they see the benefit to their employees who live here.”

Stuart said the committee is pursuing additional grants.

“We also have some significant opportunities with those who are interested in the project and are trying to decide what they want to do,” he said. “It’s a good time of the year for folks to make that consideration, as we near the end of the year.”

Contributions to the project are tax deductible.

Stuart said the timeline for the project is to start significant construction in the spring of 2024 and have the facility open at the end of 2025.

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