The Wabash Valley Community Foundation Awards Nearly $130,000 in Community Grants

The Wabash Valley Community Foundation awarded $129,725 to ten non-profit organizations to benefit Vigo County on Thursday, October 10 at the Terre Haute Convention Center.

Funding allocations for the benefit of Vigo County were awarded to the following organizations:

• CANDLES Holocaust Museum & Education Center — $25,000 in support of updating and redesigning the main exhibit at the museum which will include interactives, greater display of artifacts, more opportunities for programming, and the inclusion of virtual reality headset.
• Down Syndrome Indiana — $4,500 in support of providing educational materials and resources to parents and children who receive a diagnosis in Vigo County.
• Hendricks County Child Advocacy Center (Susie’s Place) — $8,725 in support of technology advancements to better serve reported child victims, specifically language translation and a cloud-based interview sharing and storage system.
• Sheldon Swope Art Museum — $15,000 to purchase the supplies and equipment for a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM), an after-school educational initiative offered by the Swope.
• Team of Mercy — $15,000 in support of counseling services for survivors of attempted and/or completed suicide.
• Terre Haute Area Meals on Wheels — $6,000 in support of the Healthy Bodies Full Bellies Project which delivers meals to seniors and individuals in recovery.
• Terre Haute South Touchdown Football Booster Club — $5,500 in support of expanding fueling stations and implementing a nutritional education program, with a focus on youth and families in need
• Vigo County Commissioners — $5,000 in support of Clean Streets Initiative expansion project, specifically for the purchase of supplies such as trash grabbers, gloves, t-shirts, and bags.
• Vigo County Education Foundation — $25,000 in support of future maintenance and program expenses as related to the newly installed Digistar 7 Projection System.
• YMCA of the Wabash Valley — $20,000 in support of upgrading gym facilities and expanding programming. Specifically, the funds will be used to resurface the gym floor, repair the basketball goals, and purchase new sports equipment.

The funding for these grant awards is made possible due to the generosity of individuals, families and businesses establishing and/or donating to unrestricted community grant funds held by the Community Foundation. Earnings from these funds are awarded as competitive grants that focus on important charitable projects enriching the lives of those in the Wabash Valley. Thanks to Lilly Endowment Inc.’s GIFT matching challenge grants, the amount available to grant has nearly doubled over the past ten years. Now, thanks to a new GIFT initiative, contributions to any new or existing community grant fund will be matched $2-for-$1, but only while matching dollars remain.  Interested individuals are encouraged to contact the Community Foundation at 812-232-2234 to take advantage of this opportunity to triple their gift.

The Community Foundation recognizes the philanthropic leadership provided by generous donors in creating lasting endowments to provide funding for programs throughout Vigo County. Through the altruism of these countless individuals, families and organizations, our community continues to thrive and prosper. The following funds made these grant awards possible: 

100 Women Who Care Endowment Fund
100+ Women Who Care Community Fund
Alden and Lorene Smith Memorial Endowment Fund
Allen and Mildred D. Felstein Charitable Endowment Fund
Alpa Patel and Thomas Yeagley Community Fund
Altrusa Foundation Fund
Andres Family Endowment Fund
Andy and Libby Hendricks Endowment Fund
Barbara R. Kelley Endowment Fund
Bentrup Family Endowment Fund
Bill and Marci Gropp Tennis Fund
Bobby Lee Bennett & Shirley Rosalee Williams Dailey Bennett Fund
Brighton Family Fund
C. Don and Gail A. Nattkemper Community Fund
Carl W. ("Bang") and Josephine M. Price Memorial Fund
Carol A. & Douglas C. Sloan Community Fund
Carol M. Starkey Kochell Charitable Fund
Cary and Paula Sparks Family Fund
Chris and Melinda Wall Community Fund
Cindy F. Readinger Endowment Fund
Dale and Carla Hendricks Endowment Fund
David and Becky Doti Family Fund
David and Jennifer Piker Family Community Fund
David and Joan Zaun Endowment Fund
David and Luann Bolk Endowment Fund
Delmar L. and Betty L. Jones Family Fund
Diann and Craig McKee Community Fund
Don and Nancy Brattain Rogers Community Fund
Don and Peggy Decker Endowment Fund
Donald O. Springman Endowment Fund
Dr. Bruce Philip Anshutz Memorial Fund
Dr. Paul and Nadine Humphrey Charitable Fund
Drake Johnson Memorial Fund
Eifert Family Fund
Erna L. Cox Community Fund
First Financial Bank Community Endowment Fund
Garrett Pendergast and Stephanie Welsh Community Fund
Gary & Nancy Faulkner Fund
Gary W. & Judy A. Schomer Family Fund
Gene and Wilma J. Eckerty Memorial Fund
Gershon H & Janice K Loeser Endowment Fund
Gibson Family Endowment Fund
Guille and Cindy Cox Endowment Fund
Guys Who Give Community Fund
Halleck Family Endowment Fund
Hartman Brown Fund
Henry and Geraldine Adelman Memorial Fund
Herrington Family Endowment Fund
Hulman George Family Endowment Fund
J. Scott and Armeen Williams Fund
Jacqueline H. Phillips Endowment Fund
James Laurence and Barbara Ann Passmore Community Endowment Fund
Janice and Vern Fellows Endowment Fund
Jeff and Jennifer Perry Fund
Jerry and Jo Einstandig Community Fund
Joan M. Brown Memorial Fund
John Tipton Memorial Fund
Joseph E. and Martha Jean Claretto Endowment Fund
Joseph H. and Robin E. Chillington Endowment Fund
Julie McLaughlin Memorial Fund
Karen J. Wright Memorial Fund
Landsbaum Endowment Fund
Lavelda M. Goble Endowment Fund
Leon & Roberta Sackrider Endowment Fund
Leonard S. "Steve" Arnold Memorial Fund
Lilly Endowment Board Designated Fund
Lilly Endowment Fund
Linda K. Vickers Memorial Fund
Lukens Family Endowment Fund
Mae C. and Jack H. Page Endowment Fund
Mary Ann Conroy and Michael Mueller Endowment Fund
McLaren Family Endowment Fund
Medical Heritage Society Fund
Meis Family Endowment Fund
MillerWhite Community Endowment Fund
Morris & Patty Salter and Bill & Melba Fenoglio Memorial Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh B. Lee, Jr. Endowment Fund
Myrl and Marie Wilkinson Community Endowment Fund 
O. Earl and Tina Elliott Family Endowment Fund
Paul M. Stanley Community Fund
PMC Fund
Ray G. Ingram Endowment Fund
Richard C. Vining Community Fund
Robert & Leah Logsdon Community Endowment Fund
Robert and Irene Berlen Endowment Fund
Robert and Julie Baesler Community Fund
Robert R. and Dorothy W. Drummond Community Fund
Rose M. Hill Family Endowment Fund
Sally Zuel Family Fund
Salo and Mary Levite Endowment Fund
Steve Harris Memorial Endowment Fund
Susan Decker and Vicki Kosowsky Community Fund
Templeton Coal Company, Inc. Fund for Vigo County
Terre Haute Academy of Medicine Endowment Fund
Terre Haute Apartment Association Endowment Fund
Terry and Beth Tevlin Community Fund
The Nation Fund
Thelma Maxine Dever Memorial Fund
Thomas and Susan Dinkel Family Fund
Thomas L. and Connie L. Francis Charitable Endowment Fund
Victor and Marian L. Danek Endowment Fund
Vigo County Community Grant Fund
Vigo County LifeLine Endowment Fund 
Wabash Valley Asphalt Endowment Fund
Wabash Valley Pharmaceutical Society Fund - Vigo County
Walter and Katherine Bledsoe Family Endowment Fund
Wernsing Fund
White Family Endowment Fund
William A. Reed, Jr. Memorial Endowment Fund
Wood Family Fund
Wright, Shagley & Lowery PC Community Fund