News

Shoreline Hometown Credit Union’s membership with Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBC) allows Shoreline to offer their Accelerate Grant. The Accelerate Grant is designed to help small businesses grow and develop. “Many quality applicants applied for this round of the Accelerate Grants, and two businesses rose to the top,” said Nathan Grossenbach, Shoreline’s President and CEO. Follow Your Heart Learning Center and The Mikadow Theater will each receive a $15,000 grant. The grant invests money towards a project of the recipient’s choice. Follow Your Heart Learning Center used their grant for facility upgrades such as new furnace and air conditioning, as well as a quadruple stroller. The Mikadow Theater is using their grant for facility efficiency upgrades and updating the marquee.

Follow Your Heart Learning Center is a small group childcare center located in Two Rivers. Alyssa Bibby and Tracey Wetzel have been operating Follow Your Heart Learning Center for the last decade. “We are very excited and thankful to be chosen as the recipient of Shoreline’s small business grant,” stated Alyssa.

“Thank you again for choosing Follow Your Heart Learning Center,” continued Alyssa. “As a very small business, this grant has provided us the much-needed opportunity to make updates to our facility while giving us the financial freedom to continue running a quality childcare program.”

“This grant has made it possible for us to make costly updates to our facility. The biggest update included a new heating and cooling system installed by local contractor Integrity Heating and Cooling” commented Alyssa. Future planned updates include: a new water heater, a newly remodeled entryway, as well as interior updates. “We also excitedly purchased a new quadruple stroller for our daily walks which the children love! In receiving this grant and using it for much needed facility updates we can keep our rates lower making childcare more affordable for our families. Any remaining grant funds will be used to purchase enrichment materials and toys for the children.”

The Mikadow Theatre, is the oldest active theatre in Manitowoc. Tiffany and Kurt Duzeski have owned Mikadow Theater for two years in downtown Manitowoc. Since taking ownership, Tiffany and Kurt have been dedicated to evolving the theatre to include first-run films and live shows, with exciting plans such as our upcoming holiday season production, A Krampus Carol. These enhancements are part of their ongoing commitment to remodel, update, and refurbish the theatre.

“We are incredibly grateful to be selected as the recipient of your generous grant,” remarked Kurt. “When we purchased the Mikadow Theatre in late 2022, our mission was to continue its tradition of serving the community as a locally owned, family-friendly entertainment venue that has deep roots in our community and holds a special place in our hearts.”

“Your support will be instrumental in helping us achieve several key improvements,” comments Kurt, “including upgraded LED lighting in the auditorium, a new water heater, an updated exterior marquee, and a new kitchen display. There are many more items on our wish list, but this grant will significantly advance our efforts,” stated Kurt.

“Thank you once again for this honor,” Kurt continued. “We look forward to welcoming you to the theatre and sharing many more memorable moments with our community.”

“Shoreline is proud to help local businesses grow our communities,” stated Nathan. “The Accelerate Grant for Small Business program is a great way to help small businesses in our communities. We look forward to continuing sharing great opportunities like this for our members.”

The Accelerate Grants across all participating institutions provided $4.3 million dollars to 172 small businesses across Wisconsin and Illinois in the previous round of grants.