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Nearly $120,000 in grants awarded at Community Foundation breakfast
An early morning crowd of nearly 60 was greeted Friday by Putnam County Community Foundation President Todd Lewis to celebrate the Community Foundation's 2016 Spring Grant Awards Breakfast.
Lewis gratefully acknowledged the two breakfast sponsors, Robert Hardwick of Edward Jones Investments and North Salem State Bank. The breakfast in Greencastle High School's McAnally Center was catered by Almost Home.
Susan Lemon, who chairs the Community Foundation's Grants Committee, thanked donors to unrestricted and field of interest endowments that make grant awards possible. Price acknowledged and thanked the work of the grants committee and shared that the committee had requests for $4 for every $1 available to make grants.
Dean Gambill, director of Community Development, announced that $109,004.47 was being awarded from the Community Foundation's unrestricted and field of interest endowments. The Community Foundation also facilitated an additional $10,000 in grants through donor advised funds.
Gambill explained that two different types of grants were being awarded -- Community Grants and Youth Philanthropy Grants. Each has its own application and requirements.
Attendees had the opportunity to hear from representatives of three organizations who received grants and learn about their projects. Chris Hebb told the crowd about Castlemakers, an innovative program modeled after maker programs which have sprung up around the country. Makers groups make resources available to the public to learn the latest technologies and create their own items. Castlemakers is unique in that it is geared for youth.
Austin Wright and Amanda Beals spoke about the 4-H Archery Club. The club involves more than 150 students, 75 of which are third- and fourth-graders. They demonstrated the difficulty that the younger students have with full-size bows and the need for smaller bows and arrows to encourage younger archers. With a grant from the Putnam County Youth Philanthropy Committee, the club will be purchasing smaller bows and shorter arrows.
The Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care association was represented by President Julianne Miranda who informed the crowd of the formation of a board of directors and the hiring of Tammy Hunter as the executive director of the organization.
The purpose of the group is to educate the public about the availability of services and encourage conversation and planning about end-of-life issues. The association can be reached through Putnam County Hospital. Funding for the Association is from Putnam County Hospice Fund which was established in 1997 by Mary Louise Miller.
Eleven grants were given from Unrestricted Funds and Field of Interest Funds.
The 2016 Community Grants were given to:
-- Putnam County Hospital, $31,724.47, support for the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association
-- Ivy Tech Community College, $21,000, provide technology for the ASAP program.
-- Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center, $20,000, support operations of Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center.
-- Gobin Memorial UMC, $8,000, support to increase scope of Transformer (anti-poverty) Program.
-- Family, Youth and Child Development Program, $6,400, replace roof and flooring at the Crown Street Community Center.
-- Castlemakers, $5,300, purchase CO2 cutter and engraver.
-- Greencastle Civic League, $5,000, plant trees in Greencastle as a state bicentennial project.
-- Roachdale Revitalization Cooperative Alliance, $5,000, plant trees in Roachdale as a state bicentennial project.
-- Beyond Homeless, $2,500, facilitate Strategic Planning for the shelter.
-- Cloverdale Community Schools, $2,000, matching grant for Washington, D.C., band trip
-- Cloverdale Community Schools, $1,080, support for Little Clovers.
Two Youth Philanthropy Grants were awarded totaling $1,000. These grants are for youth-led community service projects.
The 2016 Youth Philanthropy Grant recipients are:
-- Social Promise, $500, support for interactive event focusing on the life of children in Uganda.
-- Putnam County 4-H Archery Club, $500, to purchase smaller bows and arrows for use by younger members.