Graduating LaGrange County high school seniors who are planning to apply for a Community Scholarship offered through the LaGrange County Community Foundation have until February 15, 2023 at 5 p.m. to submit their applications.
The Foundation manages more than 45 community scholarship funds. Scholarship opportunities vary according to residency, career fields, current high school attendance, anticipated college enrollment, extracurricular involvement, and academic performance.
Scholarships are available for students who are planning to pursue a full-time education at a college, university, technical or trade school. Students can apply online at LCCF.net/availablescholarships
Applicants should read the criteria carefully, as each scholarship is unique. Awards range from $500 to $3,000 per scholarship and may be used for educational expenses.
A full list of scholarships, criteria, and their award amounts is available online.
Questions about a scholarship opportunity? Contact Scholarship Manager Laurie Sherck at lsherck@lccf.net or call 260-463-4363.
The Community Impact Grant program will be offered in two funding rounds in 2023: grant applications will be due April 3 and September 1.
Applications are now open for the spring cycle. Award notifications will be made within 60 days of the application deadline.
The LaGrange Community Foundation seeks proposals for innovative or creative projects with significant impact in LaGrange County. Community Impact Grants are available to nonprofit organizations serving LaGrange County.
The grants are made possible through the generosity of donors who have supported the unrestricted and field of interest charitable funds at the Foundation.
Nonprofit organizations serving LaGrange County are eligible to apply in six areas: arts & culture, recreation, health and human services, community development, education and environment.
Spring Cycle Deadline
Fall Cycle Deadline
April 3, 2023
September 1, 2023
Previous Community Impact Grants have ranged from $5,000 to $25,000 per award.
When the office contains three people you try your very best to take that picture-perfect Christmas photo. Well, let’s just say we rotated spots, didn’t know what to do with our hands, and ended up in a different location…. enjoy our bloopers!
Kamryn Miller of Westview Jr. Sr. High School was suprised on Dec. 5, 2022, with the announcement that she was the 2023 Lilly Endowment Scholar.
Kamryn demonstrates many of the qualities we seek in a future leader motivated, hard-working and engaged in her school and community. The selection committee was impressed by her service to her community and passion for her career goals.
Octavia Yoder, executive director of the LaGrange County Community Foundation
Kamryn plans to attend Bethel College and pursue a career as a mechanical engineer. She is the daughter of Brian and Brooke Miller of LaGrange.
This year 34 applications competed for the Lilly Endowment Scholarship. Five students were invited to the finalist round for a personal interview. After the field of applicants was narrowed down, nominees were submitted to the statewide administration of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship program, Independent Colleges of Indiana, for the selection of scholarship recipients.
Finalists included Manisha Ramachandran of Lakeland High School; Ella Clark, Ethan Hibbs and Paige Riegsecker, all of Westview Jr.- Sr. High School. Each of the finalists will receive a $1,000 four-year renewable scholarship from the Lambright Leadership Scholarship Fund established by Kevin and Carrie Lambright in 2013.
The Foundation is honored to nominate a LaGrange County student for this prestigious award. 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 is impressed by the exceptional scholars in our community.
Octavia Yoder, executive director of LaGrange County Community Foundation
Community Foundation hosted a reception on Tuesday, Nov. 15, to recognize recipients of the $93,384 awarded from its Fall Community Impact Grants Cycle.
More than 25 nonprofit executives and representatives gathered along with Community Foundation board members, volunteers, and staff to celebrate.
The Community Foundation awarded grants to sixteen nonprofit organizations during the fall grant cycle. Each nonprofit organization shared a brief presentation about their upcoming project and the mission of their organization.
The Community Impact Grants are made possible by the generosity of donors who give to the unrestricted and field of interest funds at the Foundation.
For over 30 years, the Community Foundation has remained committed to its mission of “inspiring and sustaining generosity, leadership and service in LaGrange County.” The Community Impact Grant Program supports grants in six interest areas: arts and culture, health and human services, recreation, environment, community development and education.
Through our grantmaking program we are able to ensure a lasting legacy for our funders who have made a long-term commitment to support positive growth of our nonprofit community in LaGrange County. We are honored to support many deserving nonprofit organizations who are improving the quality of life in our community and helping meet critical and unmet community needs.
Octavia Yoder, Executive Director
The 2022 Fall Community Impact Grant recipients include:
Agape Child Care Ministry, Agape Professional Development and Cleaning Support, $10,000;
Agape Missions of LaGrange County, Agape House Ministry Recovery, $10,000;
Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana, Client Advocate and Client Services Program for LaGrange County, $3,500;
Clothes & Food Basket of LaGrange County, Hungry No More, $7,500;
Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana Inc, LaGrange County Farm Wagon Mobile Pantry Program, $2,000;
Community Improvement League of South Milford Indiana, resurrecting/rebuilding the military memorial monument, $10,000;
Purdue Extension LaGrange 4-H Youth Development, Youth Programming with the Blender/Spin-Art Bike, $3,075.00;
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Indiana, Ronald McDonald House Programs for LaGrange County Families, $2,000;
Shore Church FBO Shipshewana Ministerial Association, Shipshewana Ministerial Association assistance fund, $2,500; and
The ARC of LaGrange County, Arc’s Summer Discovery Program, $20,000.
Each year, the Community Foundation seeks proposals for charitable projects and programs that help local nonprofit organizations provide services in LaGrange County. The Grants Advisory Committee reviews the submitted grant applications and makes recommendations to the Board of the Directors who approve the grant awards.
LaGrange County Arts ready to support, promote the local arts community
A new community group hopes to revive the arts in LaGrange County and establish a highly visible arts community.
LaGrange County Arts is a collective of local artists and art appreciators who believe in promoting, presenting, and supporting the literary, musical performance, visual and theatrical arts in LaGrange County.
Led by retired art teacher Mary Woodworth, the fledgling group held its first community event on July 2, an inaugural art show at the LaGrange County courthouse lawn. The event coincided with the unveiling of the Hometown Heroes banner presentation.
The art show featured photographers, painters, writers and performing artists. Bethi Lewis & The Electric Pineapple performed in the gazebo, followed by teen band Portmanteau.
LaGrange County Arts Inaugural Art Show on July 2, 2022 at the LaGrange County Courthouse.LaGrange County Arts Inaugural Art Show on July 2, 2022 at the LaGrange County Courthouse.
Corn School Face Painting Booth
During the Corn School street festival in October, LaGrange County Arts hosted a children’s Creation Station at the Garage Community Center in LaGrange. During festival hours, children were encouraged to stop in to create works of art and enjoy cider and donuts.
LaGrange County Arts’ teen advisors also coordinated a face painting booth during Corn School and provided face painting for nearly 100 children.
As LaGrange County Arts continues to grow, the group plans on hosting more art shows and events with educational opportunities. Their goal is expand their events and increase awareness of the arts within LaGrange County.
LaGrange County Arts is fiscally sponsored by the LaGrange County Community Foundation. Donations to support the promotion of the arts in LaGrange County is tax-deductible. To donate to LaGrange County Arts, checks must be out to the LaGrange County Community Foundation, with “LaGrange County Arts” in the memo line.
For more information on LaGrange County Arts, visit the group’s Facebook page.
LaGrange County Arts showcases its parade float during the Corn School street festival in LaGrange.
The top five finalists for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship are, from left, Paige Riegsecker, Manisha Ramachandran, Ella Clarke, Kamryn Miller and Ethan Hibbs.
Five LaGrange County high school seniors have been named finalists for the 2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. The prestigious award goes to an outstanding high school senior in LaGrange County.
The 2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar will be awarded a full-tuition scholarship including a $900 book stipend per year, for four years to any accredited college or university in Indiana.
Finalists for the award are Ella Clark of Westview High School, daughter of William and Carrie Clark; Ethan Hibbs of Westview High School, son of Cliff and Sandy Hibbs ; Kamryn Miller of Westview High School, daughter of Brian and Brooke Miller; Manisha Ramachandran of Lakeland High School, daughter of Anand and Teresa Ramachandran, and Paige Riegsecker of Westview High School, daughter of Ryan and Jodi Riegsecker.
The scholarship is awarded to one well-rounded LaGrange County graduating senior who exemplifies service and leadership in their community, while maintaining a commitment to academics.
The scholarship program is offered each year by the LaGrange County Community Foundation, and other Indiana community foundations across the state to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 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.
After a competitive application process that evaluates academics, community and school activities, leadership, and written essays, the finalists are interviewed by the Foundation’s Lilly Scholarship Advisory Committee. The results of the interview round are combined with the application round to determine the 2023 nominees who will be submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana for final selection of the LaGrange County recipient.
Announcement of the recipient will be made in mid-December. The four remaining finalists will each receive a $1,000 renewable four-year scholarship from the Lambright Leadership Scholarship Fund, established by Kevin and Carrie Lambright in 2013.
The LaGrange County Community Foundation awarded $47,500 to four nonprofit organizations during its 2022 Spring Community Impact Grants cycle.
The grants will address community needs in education and health and human services. One of the grants will support the development of the Community Health Clinic in Shipshewana. The Community Health Clinic is a nonprofit healthcare facility that focuses on research and specialized care for individuals with rare genetic conditions.
Pictures above left to right: Jared Beasley, Executive Director of the Community Health Clinic; Octavia Yoder, Executive Director of the LaGrange County Community Foundation; Dr. Zineb Ammous, Clinical Geneticist and Medical Director of the Community Health Clinic.
We are excited to support the Community Health Clinic’s new facility. The expanded clinic will help their organization provide better services to their patients and continue to serve the community with comprehensive medical genetics care. All of the nonprofits are providing important services and programs to the LaGrange County community. We are thrilled to support their efforts as they seek to improve the quality of life and help meet critical community needs.
Octavia Yoder, Executive Director of LaGrange County Community Foundation
The 2022 Spring Community Impact Grant recipients include:
Community Health Clinic, Community Health Clinic Building, $40,000.
RespectTeam, RespectTeam programming for LaGrange County, $3,000.
McMillen Health, Preventative Health Education for LaGrange County youth, $2,500.
LaGrange County Miracle Tree, Turn Up for Teens, $2,000.
Each year, the Community Foundation seeks proposals for charitable projects and programs that help local nonprofit organizations provide services in LaGrange County. The Grants Advisory Committee reviews the submitted grant applications and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors who approve the grant awards.
The Community Impact Grants are made possible by the generosity of donors who give to the unrestricted and field of interest funds at the Foundation.
Hello! I’m Chelsea Weaver, and I’ve been a resident of LaGrange County for twenty years. I graduated from Westview High School in 2020. I studied Elementary Education at Trine University for two semesters before transferring to Western Governors University. I anticipate graduating in November of 2022.
Since Western Governors University is an online school, I had the opportunity to work at Shipshewana Scott Elementary as an intervention assistant. There, I was able to see how my coursework plays out in a real setting. When I am not focusing on my studies or working, I enjoy walking my corgi, molding pottery on my pottery wheel, and hanging out with my friends and family.
I look forward to learning how LaGrange County Community Foundation works with organizations to impact the future of LaGrange County!
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 Community Scholarship Program, which aims to support the educational aspirations of students in LaGrange County.
Through the program, the Community Foundation awarded $99,500 in scholarships to 23 graduating seniors.
The Community Scholarships are open to graduating high school seniors who are pursuing higher education at an accredited university, college, or trade school. The program has grown to 45 donor-created scholarship funds, each with its own unique criteria. Funds are created by individuals, families and businesses and are managed by the Community Foundation.
The scholarship funds support a variety of career paths such as education, agriculture, health, science, nursing, and more.
Scholarship recipients, listed by schools, are as follows:
Lakeland High School scholarship recipients
Brooklynn Olinger – Allread Rife Family Scholarship; Bruce Brown Memorial Scholarship; Lakeland High School Scholarship and Mary McGawn Memorial Teaching Scholarship.
Cole Schiffli – Chase Scott Memorial Football Scholarship; and Joseph Willard Memorial Scholarship.
Isabella Rasler – Schlemmer Scholarship.
Jason McBride Jr. – Terry Schmidt Memorial Basketball Scholarship.
Keylee Fleeman – Brian Evans Memorial Scholarship and Craig & Ronda Neff Memorial Scholarship.
Lucile Cook – Mattea Holton Memorial Scholarship and The Bulldog Spirit Scholarship.
Madi Targgart – Judy Gage-Keenan Memorial Scholarship and Waddell Memorial Scholarship.
Pilar Canedo – Olivia Bay Lemings Memorial Basketball Scholarship and the Paul & Marian Krebs Memorial Scholarship.
Prairie Heights High School scholarship recipients
Alexandra German – Prairie Heights High School Scholarship.
Breanda Sutton – Prairie Heights High School Band Scholarship
Colton Penick – Prairie Heights High School Scholarship and the J. O. Mory Company Scholarship.
Jaden Soller – Prairie Heights High School Scholarship and the Mory Family Scholarship.
Katelyn Eash – The Craig & Ronda Neff Memorial Scholarship; Virgil & Florence Hardin Memorial Scholarship; The HOPE Nursing Scholarship; the Perkins Family Scholarship and the Ray & Ruth Culp Memorial Scholarship.
Kirsten Norton – The Beverly Todd Memorial Scholarship.
Samarah Orr – The Allread-Rife Family Scholarship, Amanda Crotts Memorial Scholarship and the Prairie Heights High School Scholarship.
Westview High School scholarship recipients
Allie Springer – Kerry Wilt-Spradlin Memorial Scholarship.
Bohdy Bontrager – Ellsworth Fanning Memorial Scholarship and the Rheinheimer Family Scholarship.
Brookelyn Lambright – The Rheinheimer Family Scholarship.
Isaac Rogers – Lambright Leadership Scholarship, the Mike Farmwald Scholarship and the George O. Witwer News-Sun Journalism Scholarship.
Jackson Minix – Lambright Leadership Scholarship, the Melvin & Marjorie Bricker Memorial Scholarship.
Kaylyn Gates – Lambright Leadership Scholarship, the Lyle Smith Scholarship.
Lillian Eash – Lambright Leadership Scholarship, Holly Petersen Memorial Science Scholarship, the James Kalb Memorial Scholarship, the Keith & Arline Davis Scholarship, the LIFE Scholarship, the Melvin & Marjorie Bricker Memorial Scholarship and the Ned Stump Memorial Scholarship.
Penelope Eash – The Morgan Hunter Memorial Scholarship.
Anyone can give to current scholarship funds. For more information check out the List of Scholarships or call us at 260-463-4363.
