Fall 2009 grant recipients

Contact: Maryhelen Chadwick ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
For Release: 12/28/2009

Community Foundation grants $62,727 to local nonprofits  

Wabash County nonprofit organizations continue to fulfill their missions despite challenging economic conditions. Donors to the Community Foundation of Wabash County help local nonprofits fight hunger, preserve local history and natural treasures, promote arts and culture and support many other services through their gifts to the foundation’s unrestricted funds.  

“Making this connection between donors and community needs is a vital part of the community foundation’s mission,” says Acting Executive Director Shelly Leifer. 

Earnings from unrestricted endowments (otherwise known as the Foundation’s “Good Deeds” Endowments) provide the majority of funding for the competitive grants awarded three times a year. Other funding may be provided from field of interest endowments and donor advised funds held at the foundation.  

In its final cycle of 2009, the Foundation awarded $62,727 to local educational institutions, organizations and groups serving Wabash County. While the Foundation is pleased to award these grants, Leifer says it was sobering to realize funds requested in the 35 grants submitted for consideration totaled more than $184,300. Grant recipients include: 

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, Inc. ($5,000)
Rural Mini-Tailgate Program
Second Harvest will use this grant to pilot mini-tailgates in rural, underserved towns in Wabash County where residents may have difficulty getting to Wabash or North Manchester for regular tailgate events. The community foundation, Second Harvest, the Winchester Senior Center and concerned citizens will collaborate to distribute 25,000 pounds of food. According to the US Census report 2,284 people in the county live in poverty and 7,497 more live between poverty level and 185% of poverty—the point at which they no longer qualify for federal assistance programs but do not earn a living wage. The Mini-Tailgate Program will be open to all in need. 

Wabash Co Council on Aging ($2,100)
Venison Processing       
Local Farmers and Hunters volunteers to donate deer for processing to benefit low-income families in Wabash County. Butchers agree to process each deer for a minimal amount and all of the venison processed using these grant funds will be donated to two local food pantries and a local soup kitchen in Wabash County. Low income household members who are clients of the Fellowship Food Pantry in North Manchester and/or the Food Pantry at Winchester Senior Center in Wabash and/or the Helping Hands Soup Kitchen in Wabash will have the opportunity to receive low fat frozen ground venison from the food pantries and/or a meal prepared with venison at the soup kitchen. Funds for this grant are provided by the Galley Family Charitable Endowment. 

Heartland Career Center ($5,300)
Gas-to-Electric Vehicle Conversion      
Heartland Career Center is a regional center serving nine local school systems and more than 530 students. Seven of Heartland's programs will be involved in a project to convert a gasoline vehicle to a “green technology” vehicle. This conversion will be a hands-on tool to educate students about electric vehicles, electric vehicle technology, and the issues associated with transportation fuels. Students will learn specific skills in welding, auto body modification, auto systems modification and electrical system modification. Business principles, website development and presentation skills will also be taught. Upon completion of the modification process, the converted vehicle will be licensed and used by the school for local transportation and will be entered in a national competition in June 2010.  

Learn More Center (LMC) ($10,000)
Technology Upgrade and Development
Roughly 3,000 of Wabash County adults function at a literacy level 1, the lowest level. In addition, 30 percent of local citizens are considered functionally illiterate. More than 50 percent of LMC students require Pre-GED services. Other LMC students are engaged in formal GED preparation or adult education programs. Interactive computer workstations allow students to work at their own pace while improving basic skill levels. This grant will fund additional workstations to accommodate an increase in students being served in North Manchester and to set up workstations at the new Wabash center. This grant is partially funded by the David & Jane Grandstaff Charitable Endowment. 

Manchester College ($3,000)
International Fair     
In rural northeastern Indiana, there are few opportunities to experience cultural diversity. Every other year, the Manchester International Fair offers information about other countries and cultures through exhibits, entertainment and food. The fair serves a wide population including the students, faculty, and staff of Manchester College and community members from Wabash and surrounding counties. The International Fair will take place Sunday, April 18, 1-5 p.m. 

JA serving Wabash County ($2,200)
JA Finance Park     
Junior Achievement of North Manchester and Wabash will use this grant to help eighth-grade students in Wabash County participate in JA's Finance Park. The program offers students personal financial management and career exploration through classroom instruction and active, all-day participation in Finance Park's simulated community. Students visit up to 17 business facades where they make purchases, gain income and evaluate decisions in order to live within their means and budget. This grant is partially funded by the Strauss Family Charitable Endowment. 

Wabash County Historical Museum ($2,828)
Memorial to Soldiers Who Died in the Civil War  
During the installation of exhibits museum staff found that there was no definitive list of Civil War casualties for Wabash County. A dedicated volunteer, with help from the archivist, has spent the last two years going over primary resource materials including census records, letters, newspapers, and military resources, cross-referencing them all, to come up with an astounding 377 men from Wabash County who gave their lives to preserve the Union. Because it was constructed before this research, the museum’s military display does not include their names. Grant funding for this project will permit every visitor to learn a more complete history of Wabash County. 

Wabash County Historical Museum ($590)
Making the Museum a Classroom     
The Wabash County Historical Museum is a museum with a mission: to collect, preserve, document and display aural, visual, and physical artifacts which tell the history of life in Wabash County. This grant will help facilitate school visits. “Making the Museum a Classroom” will help provide teachers resources that meet Indiana State Standards and raise the children's enthusiasm for history. As these numbers continue to grow, so does the need for supplies to facilitate these field trips. 

ACRES ($5,000)
Hanging Rock Public Access & Interpretative Improvements      
ACRES Land Trust recently took ownership of Hanging Rock, which is located along the Wabash River east of Lagro. The nonprofit organization will use this grant to improve accessibility to this National Natural Landmark by providing a parking area, interpretive signs, trails, and an observation/fishing deck. This grant is partially funded by the Paul L. Speicher Foundation Good Deeds Endowment.  

Canine Companion Therapy Dogs ($1,425)
Hear Us Bark –Hands-free amplifiers       
Canine Therapy dogs provide short term companionship and comfort to audiences of all ages with a wide range of needs. Handlers bring dogs to schools, retirement communities, libraries, hospitals as well as many other sites and programs. Programs are tailored to each audience and could involve distracting children who are receiving immunizations or providing affectionate company for senior citizens. The group will use this grant to purchase hands-free portable amplifiers so they can speak with the human audience while they use hand signals to communicate with the therapy dog teams.  

Charley Creek Foundation ($2,200)
Publication of Hanna's Town by the Rev. Dr. William Wimberly   
Funds will be used to publish and aid in the distribution of Hanna's Town, a non-fiction novel by the Rev. Dr. W. William Wimberly. The book will be published and promoted through the Indiana Historical Society. Approximately 1,000 books will be printed, providing the first and only thorough account of the founding of the Wabash area by Hugh Hanna and other early settlers. The book is an important piece of history that traces the county's heritage and encourages preservation of Wabash County’s unique historical identity. This grant is partially funded by the A. Blair & Patricia Kennedy Helman Charitable Endowment and the Beauchamp & McSpadden Charitable Endowment. 

CSNM, Inc. (Garber-Simmons Adult Center) ($1,250)
Wii Gaming System, television and equipment
The Garber-Simmons Senior Center will use this grant to buy and install a Wii system. The equipment will provide opportunities for attending seniors to improve their fitness and health and build friendships in a safe and fun way at no cost to them – especially important during this economic hardship.  

Honeywell House ($2,000)
Honeywell House Program Grant
This grant will help underwrite the Honeywell House’s annual free concert and lecture series. The series consists of 20 to 30 cultural and artistic events a year.  

LIFE Center ($529)
Laptop Computer   
The LIFE Center is in need a laptop computer for office work, external presentations and other offsite functions. This grant is funded by the A. Blair & Patricia Kennedy Helman Charitable Endowment. 

Main Street Inc. ($3,000)
Benches and Decorative Pots for the Historical District
The North Manchester America in Bloom (AIB) Committee has been awarded a matching grant to purchase 12 decorative benches for the North Manchester Historical District. Decorative clay pots will be placed next to each bench. This project will engage the community in several ways: The pots will be judged during the annual Tulip Festival; the pots will be planted each spring by the Manchester High School Landscape Management Class (materials funded by AIB); and different students will take responsibility for the design and planting each year.  

Manchester Community Child Care Assoc., Inc. ($1,680)
Early Childhood ConferenceThis grant will support training for staff at an Early Childhood Conference. This grant is partially funded by the Strauss Family Charitable Endowment. 

Manchester Shepherd's Center ($1,000)
Clean Padded Folding Chairs and Purchase New Maps
The Manchester Shepherd's Center serves, involves and empowers senior citizen in and around North Manchester. The Shepherd’s Center requested funding to help provide adequate facilities for its senior-oriented programs. The funds will be used to clean equipment (padded folding chairs) and purchase new maps for programs. Funds for this grant are provided by the A. Blair & Patricia Kennedy Helman Charitable Endowment. 

Purdue Cooperative Extension Service-Wabash County ($1,225)
School Enrichment Programs  
School enrichment programs provide supplemental learning experiences for approximately 1,000 youth each year. These educational programs (Professor Popcorn, Ag Awareness, Passport Adventure, Chicken Embryology and National 4-H Science project) are backed with research based information that allows for hands-on-learning and practical application. 

Tender Hearts Daycare Ministry ($285)
Never Too Old To Learn Conference Registration       
Continuing education requirements will be met thanks to this grant that will pay for conference registration for the Tenderhearts Director and staff. 

Wabash County Council on Aging ($940)
Staff and Board Development
This grant will pay for the CEO and new program director to attend a national conference.   

Wabash Woman's Club House Association (WCH) ($1,325)
Clubhouse Program       
This grant will help underwrite WCH’s annual free programming series, which serves all ages of adults and children.  

WCS-Wabash Middle School ($3,000)
WMS Science Club Cultural and Scientific Immersion Program    
The grant will fund a challenging 16-day, hands-on approach to learning specifically designed for 20 seventh and eighth grade students. This distance learning program will take students to the western part of the country to locations such as Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain National Parks where they will hike trails and learn about ecology of these environments. They will travel to Mount Rushmore, Devil's Tower, and several western cities to explore diverse cultures' way of living.  They will see firsthand the scientific and cultural principles that make the western part of the country unique and drastically different from their homes in Wabash, Indiana.  

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church ($950)
The Firehouse Black Box TheaterThe proposed project is to initiate and develop an ongoing Children's Theatre Program at the Firehouse's new Black Box Theater. Approximately 30 children grades 2-8 will perform the musical "Honk, Junior" on March 19-21, 2010. Subsequent theater performances by the Firehouse Black Box Children's Theater will be scheduled twice a year. 

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church ($5,000)
The Firehouse      
The proposed project is to continue the success and momentum of “The Firehouse” as an effective “asset-builder” in youth. (Assets are positive things young people need to grow up to be healthy, principled, and caring adults. Research shows that the more assets young people have, the more likely they are to engage in positive behaviors and less likely to engage in at-risk behaviors.)  The Firehouse accomplishes this by a) continuing to support the partnership of youth and adults in managing The Firehouse; and b) providing regular free-of-charge musical events throughout the year as points of attraction for youth to gather in a safe, wholesome, fun environment. This grant is partially funded by the David & Jane Grandstaff Charitable Endowment. 

The next grant application deadline is March 15, 2010. A free Write it Right workshop will be scheduled in 2010. For information about applying for a grant or attending the workshop, call 260-982-4824, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , visit our web site at www.cfwabash.org, or stop by our office at 218 East Main Street, North Manchester.

***