LaGrange County Community Foundation has received a matching fund grant totaling $750,000 as part of the eighth phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s initiative, Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VIII).

LaGrange County Community Foundation will use the funding to further develop its unrestricted fund – the Caring Community Fund – and to support the development of the Hawpatch Trail in Topeka.

Lilly Endowment will provide $2 for every $1 contributed to LaGrange County Community Foundation’s Caring Community Fund and unrestricted funds through December 31, 2025. The Caring Community Fund and unrestricted funds help address current opportunities and challenges in LaGrange County.

Lilly Endowment will also provide $1 for every $1 contributed to the Hawpatch Trail Fund at the LaGrange County Community Foundation through December 31, 2025. The Foundation is supporting LaGrange County Trails’ effort to develop a biking and walking trail in Topeka on the former Wabash Railroad. Gifts to the Hawpatch Trail Fund will support trail development as the group acquires the property, completes survey work, and begins engineering for construction of the trail. Gifts to the Hawpatch Trail Fund will be matched up to $225,000.

“We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for the continued generous support of community foundations in Indiana, including LaGrange County. With local contributions and the Lilly Endowment match we will add $787,500 to LCCF’s unrestricted funds and $450,000 for the development of the Hawpatch Trail,” said Executive Director Octavia Yoder. “One of the key opportunities in LaGrange County’s comprehensive plan is the further development of multi-use trails in LaGrange County. This is pivotal opportunity to support the development of a trail that will greatly enhance the quality of life in southern LaGrange County.”

“We are thankful for the opportunity to grow long term assets for LaGrange County and to continue to meet nonprofit and community needs. GIFT VIII represents a unique opportunity to triple the value of a donation,” Yoder added.

Donors can also establish a named unrestricted endowment fund with a qualifying gift of $3,500. Donors interested in receiving a $2 for $1 match on a donation should contact Executive Director Octavia Yoder.

Through GIFT VIII Lilly Endowment has awarded matching fund grants totaling $133.8 million to community foundations serving all 92 of Indiana’s counties. Eligible community foundations submitted proposals requesting grants ranging from $100,000 to $15,000,000 based on the population of the counties they serve.

In 2023, Lilly Endowment launched GIFT VIII to help community foundations strengthen the towns, cities and counties they serve. Matching fund grants are one several funding opportunities designed to help community foundations promote long-term viability; further strengthen their abilities to lead; encourage board engagement; and support and develop strategic efforts to enhance quality of life in their communities.

Jennifer McBride serves as our Office and Scholarship Manager. Her role primarily focuses on the Foundation’s daily operations, greeting visitors, processing donor gifts, coordinating board and committee meetings, as well as managing the Foundation’s scholarship programs.  

McBride holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Trine University. She worked for LaGrange County government for 17 years, and previously worked at the Town of Shipshewana. One of her passions is reaching and serving youth – she has been a dedicated volunteer in church youth group programs for the past several decades.

McBride is a lifelong LaGrange County resident and lives in Howe with her husband, Rick. She has three children and three grandchildren.

McBride volunteered as a scholarship evaluator for the Foundation’s Community Scholarship Program in the past and was eager to dive into her new role this February. She is responsible for building and managing the online applications, promoting opportunities to local youth, coordinating volunteer evaluators, and presenting the final awards to students.

She is excited to be a part of the Community Foundation team.

“My heart is for the people of the community,” McBride said. “I enjoy being able to help others,” she added.

Laurie Sherck joined the LaGrange County Community Foundation staff in 2019 as the Office and Scholarship Manager. She retires at the end of March. While we are sad to see our co-worker and friend retire, we are excited to see what she will accomplish next. We spoke with Sherck and asked her to share about her work, her retirement, and future plans.

Why are you retiring now, while you are still so young?  

I’ve had people tell me, “You’ll know when it’s time to retire.” They’re right.  I just know it’s time. I want to retire and still be able to do some of things I’ve always wanted to do.

What are the big plans for retirement? 

Enjoying my grandkids and hopefully get in some traveling with my husband.

Are you going to fill your time right away with volunteering with various nonprofits, etc.? 

Upon the good advice of a wise friend, I’m giving myself 90 days before committing to anything, but eventually, yes. 

What things do you love, and want to focus on in your retirement years? 

I love hiking and I hope to get some of that in. I enjoy quiet times with my Bible and study books and enjoy reading. I enjoy coffee and conversation with friends and family, so I definitely need to work that into my schedule. There are some non-profits that I’m interested in volunteering for from time-to-time. This is why I’m giving myself 90 days. There is so much I want to do, I could easily fill up all my time and quickly feel overcommitted and overwhelmed.

What is your favorite food/drink?  

Is chocolate considered food? Favorite drinks: Coffee and iced tea.

What is your favorite hobby?  

Reading is probably my favorite pastime.

What will you be doing on day ONE of your retirement? 

Actually — we’re leaving on a family vacation for a week and a half.

Anything new you’d like to learn or do for retirement? 

I bought my husband a Cricut for Christmas a couple of years ago.  I’d like to figure out how to use it.   

What are some of your favorite moments in working for LCCF?   

I love my co-workers. We’ve had some pretty fun adventures. Because of them, work has never felt like work. It is always rewarding and fun to award the students receiving scholarships. It’s also rewarding to me to know our Foundation is making a difference in our little community through grants that assist non-profits, and scholarships that help students toward achieving their dreams.

What do you hope for your predecessor?  

I wish all the best for my predecessor, and I hope she will enjoy the work the Foundation does as much as I have.

What will you miss most about working at LCCF everyday?   

That’s easy, the people.  The people I work with and have done life with the last several years, our fantastic Board of Directors and committee members,  and the wonderful donors, students and community members that I’ve had the opportunity to meet and get to know over the past few years.  I’m sure gonna miss seeing my co-workers daily or “The Girls,” as I call them — but rest assured — they haven’t seen the last of me!🙂 

We wish Laurie a blessed retirement. We KNOW she will still be doing big things!

Braden Rogers of Westview Jr. Sr. High School was named the recipient of the 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for LaGrange County.

Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, charitable, and leadership.

Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and required equipment for four years.

The scholarship is for full-time undergraduate students leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Rogers will graduate high school with academic honors and intends to pursue a five-year degree in landscape architecture at Purdue University or Ball State University. He is the son of Jeremiah and Elizabeth Rogers of LaGrange.

In his application essay, Rogers wrote: “Traveling to beautiful places around our country, I have always been drawn to landscape.  I’ve always been the guy who notices a nicely manicured golf course or the detail of an intricately designed walkway. It wasn’t until I began looking into possible career paths that I realized I could one day bring happiness and peace to others through landscape architecture. My long-term goals are to run my own architectural firm and raise a strong and active family within a great community.”

Rogers’ school involvement includes being part of student government as class vice president his junior year, being a Student Council member and serving on the Prom Committee.  Rogers is the goalkeeper for the Westview Boys Soccer Team and participates in school musicals. He most recently held the lead role in the musical, “Grease” and participates in show choir, jazz band, weightlifting and is a member of the National Honor Society.

Rogers also has a love of skiing. He founded the Westview Ski Club and is involved in SOLO (Special Outdoor Leisure Opportunities).  SOLO provides opportunities for people with physical and mental limitations to experience downhill skiing with a friend or instructor. The group meets every Monday during the winter months and skis for two hours.

Roger participates in LIFE, a youth philanthropic program of the LaGrange County Community Foundation. He is a guitarist for the St. Joseph Church and participates in New Life Fellowship youth worship group. 

“I strongly believe that if a talent is given, you should seek ways to use that gift in positive ways,” Rogers shared.  Additionally, Braden manages to have time to work part-time jobs in the winter months and a full-time job during the summer.

In determining LaGrange County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar nominees, consideration was given to academic achievement, demonstrated service to others, leadership ability, commitment and motivation to succeed, employment history, extracurricular involvement, essay responses, as well as two recommendations.

“Braden demonstrates many of the qualities we seek in a leader: motivated, hardworking, and engaged in his school and community. The selection committee was impressed by his service to his community and passion for his career goals,” said Octavia Yoder, Executive Director of the LaGrange County Community Foundation.

The top five students who scored highest on their application were then invited to participate in a personal interview conducted by the Lilly Scholarship Advisory Committee.  After the field of applicants was narrowed, nominees were submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI), the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which approves the final selection of scholarship recipients.

Finalists for the 2024 include: Taylor Jerdon and Xia Leu of Lakeland Jr/Sr School; Christien Noward and Jace Lang of Westview JR-SR High School. Each of the finalists will receive the Lambright Leadership Scholarship, a $1,000 renewable scholarship established by Kevin and Carrie Lambright in 2013.  The scholarship may be renewed up to three more years after the initial award, for a total scholarship of $4,000.

“The Foundation is honored to nominate a LaGrange County student for this prestigious award,” Yoder added. “We are grateful Lilly Endowment continues to support future leaders and makes dreams possible for our young students.  Selecting a nominee is a difficult process based on many factors. The committee was impressed by the exceptional scholars in our community.”

Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-99 school year and has supported the program every year since with grants totaling more than $505 million. The LaGrange County Community Foundation has awarded the scholarship to 42 LaGrange County students since the program’s inception.

The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are: 1) to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) to encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state.

The LaGrange County Community Foundation is a growing nonprofit charitable organization focused on inspiring and sustaining generosity, leadership and service in LaGrange County. The Foundation is seeking to hire an Office and Scholarship Manager and Program Intern. Ideal candidates for these positions would be passionate members of a dynamic team with the goal of growing community assets.

Office and Scholarship Manager Job Summary:

The Office and Scholarship Manager reports directly to the Executive Director. The candidate is responsible for managing office operations, providing administrative support to the LCCF office, and managing the Foundation’s scholarship activities and programs.

Program Intern Job Summary:

The Program Intern will be engaged with a supporting role in the implementation of the Foundation’s grantmaking and scholarship programs. The position will work directly with the Foundation’s Program Director to support grantmaking and scholarship initiatives and community outreach. Open to current college sophomores, junior, seniors and graduate students attending an Indiana college or university.

Application Process

• No phone calls, please.
• Email resume to Octavia Yoder, Executive Director, here.
• Apply by Tuesday, December 12, 2023.