Tag Archives: heart of gold

2023 Annual Celebration: A Success!

This year’s Annual Celebration took place on Monday, June 12. It was a combination of delicious food, great information from some nonprofits, some encouragement to “take that extra step” because “we were born for such a time as this” from guest speaker Jason Schackow, and a celebration of volunteerism.

We are thrilled to have so many people who want to volunteer for the Community Foundation, whether on our board, on a committee, or other. We can’t say thanks enough or give anything that would be enough to express our gratitude for their time.

We also named our Spring Community Impact Grant recipients as well. The following organizations will receive grant funds of $71,736:  

  • LaGrange County Arts will receive $5,000 for the second annual LaGrange County Arts Festival. The June 24 event will showcase artists specializing in theatrical, literary, visual and musical arts. 
  • St. Martin’s Healthcare will receive $25,000 for its mobile health clinic. The organization provides healthcare to uninsured and underinsured people in LaGrange, Noble, Steuben and DeKalb counties. Their mobile clinic will visit LaGrange County at least once a week to see patients.
  • Community Dental Clinic in Topeka will receive $20,000 to help purchase an oral scanner helping their organization provide more effective dental care. 
  • Rainbow Years Learning Ministry will receive $21,736 to help purchase materials, furniture, equipment, toys/activities for the childcare’s upgraded facilities. Rainbow Years Expansion Project will be adding 25 more childcare seats.

We were thrilled to celebrate our 10 nominees for the Heart of Gold Award. What a unique group of people, who all do a variety of volunteerism, and a beautiful example of what the people in this county can do. See more about their stories HERE.

The highlight of the evening was naming our 2023 Heart of Gold recipient. All of the nominees could be given the award, because in their own ways they do so much for those around them.

Amy Whited of LaGrange was chosen as our Heart of Gold Award recipient. Whited, an art teacher at Lakeland Intermediate School, was nominated for the award by her mentor and friend, Mary Woodworth. Whited credited her mentor for encouraging her to pursue a creative path.

Known to serve quietly in the background, Whited is involved in volunteer activities for youth – especially in art. She is a 25-year member of Tri Kappa Mu, a local women’s sorority focused on philanthropy, and helps organize the annual Tri Kappa Art Month. A board member of LaGrange Communities Youth Centers, she leads and instructs an annual summer art camp for elementary students. She volunteers with Camp Watcha Wanna Do and LaGrange Night to Shine. This past year, she was instrumental in helping support a new arts organization – LaGrange County Arts.

Overall the evening was a success!

Thank you to the following for all you did in helping us make the 2023 Annual Celebration a night to remember!

  • George’s Taco Shack for the dinner.
  • Shawna Rae’s for the cupcake spread.
  • Braden Rogers for the music.
  • MY Events LLC, Megan Yoder for the photo backdrop.
  • Kari Lipscomb for photography.
  • Farmstead Inn & Conference Center, Andrea Boval for the facility.
  • Mariah at SRMA for the tablecloths.
  • Judy at Country Garden Center for the table flower pots.
  • Isaac Rogers at Irog Media for the Heart of Gold Nominee video.
  • Lavern at Teaberry Wood Products for donating the engraved basket given to the Heart of Gold Award recipient.
  • Action Quick Print for the printed material.
  • Carrie at Extreme Graphics LLC for the volunteer T-shirts
  • Our panel of speakers: Jared Beasley from Community Health Clinic; Portia Amstutz from Rainbow Years Learning Ministry; and Kathy Dunafin from Elijah Haven Crisis Intervention Center.
  • Our guest speaker: Jason Schackow, Lakeland Jr/Sr High School principal.
  • Speakers and presenters for the evening: Octavia Yoder, Executive Director at the Foundation; Leanna Martin, Program Director for the Foundation; and Tony Bontrager, President, LCCF Board of Directors & Renea Boots, Vice President, LCCF Board of Directors.
  • Trevor Thain and Renea Boots, LCCF Board of Directors, for helping at the registration tables.
  • Tony & Lauren Bontrager and the staff’s husbands for helping with cleanup afterward.
  • The LaGrange County Community Foundation staff for all of the behind the scenes decisions that helped make this a great event.

Written by: Sarah Hostetler, Marketing & Community Engagement Manager

Heart of Gold Nominees Named

The Heart of Gold Award honors everyday LaGrange County residents who go above and beyond and embrace the call to volunteer service. We are excited to announce that we received 10 nominations for the award during the month of April.

The 2023 Heart of Gold nominees include:

  • Alexis Grossman of Wolcottville. Alexis is the president of Tri Kappa Mu and a member of the LaGrange County 4-H Fair Board.
  • Alice Bremer of LaGrange. Alice runs the Boomerang Backpacks program at Prairie Heights Schools. She volunteers with the Mongo Lions Club and serves as a Leo Club sponsor.
  • Amy Whited of LaGrange. Amy has been a member of Tri Kappa Mu for the past 25 years and volunteers in several art programs. She volunteers with LaGrange County Arts, Night to Shine, and serves on the board of LaGrange Communities Youth Centers.
  • Heather Evenson of Wolcottville. Heather donates her time and is an active board member with LaGrange County Miracle Tree.
  • John Schmidt of LaGrange. John donates his time and energy to helping people in his neighborhood, and serves at his church, Brighton Chapel.
  • Keith James of Howe. Keith is an active board member of The Farm Place, helping raise funds and create awareness. He uses his photography to help promote LaGrange County. Keith, along with another individual, launched the Hometown Heroes banner project in LaGrange County, honoring military and first responders from LaGrange County. Keith is a LaGrange County Chamber board member. He also serves as an Elder at his church, Brighton Chapel.
  • Kevin Myers of LaGrange. Kevin serves on the LaGrange County 4-H Fair Board, LaGrange County Farm Bureau, and he is an active member on the board for the LaGrange County Council on Aging.
  • Mike Brudney of LaGrange. Mike donates his time to running the LaGrange Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, taking every Saturday night away from his family and his own interests to help people in LaGrange County.
  • Randy Merrifield of LaGrange. Randy is a mentor through the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) program, spending quality time with troubled kids, and getting them involved in activities to keep them out of trouble. He also volunteers with Agape Missions of LaGrange.
  • Samantha Davis-Kania of LaGrange. Samantha donates her time to LaGrange County Habitat for Humanity, serving on the board for the last 8 years. She also serves on the LaGrange United Methodist Church Outreach Committee.

In selecting the award recipient, the award committee considers nominees who share their time for the sake for others, render a service that changes lives, work to create positive change, inspire others to volunteer and more.

All nominees are eligible to make a $500 grant to the LaGrange County nonprofit of their choice in their name; the award recipient is eligible to make a $1,000 grant.

We will be announcing the recipient of the 2023 Heart of Gold Award at our Annual Celebration on Monday, June 12. The deadline to register for our celebration is Monday, May 29. If you are interested in attending, please go HERE.

Image by Irog Media

It’s National Volunteer Week! Fun Statistics!

This week (April 16th- 22nd) is National Volunteer Week, and we thought it would be interesting to share some Volunteer statistics with you. These are from an article on Volunteer Hub.

  • One out of four American’s volunteer, two out of three American’s help their neighbor.
  • Individuals between the ages of 35 and 54 are the most likely to volunteer their time.
  • Volunteers are worth on average $28.54 an hour.
  • Volunteerism has a value of over $184 billion dollars.
  • Volunteerism improves health by strengthening the body, improving mood, and lessening stress.
  • Those who volunteer regularly have a 27% better chance of gaining employment.
  • 60% of hiring managers see the act of volunteerism as a valuable asset when making recruiting decisions.
  • Volunteers under the age of 24 accounts for 22.6% of all volunteers.
  • Volunteers, on average, spend 50 hours per year donating their time to the greater good.
  • 67% of people found volunteer opportunities online in 2014 vs 34% in 2006.
  • There are more than 1.8 billion active nonprofits in the United States alone.
  • 66% of volunteers give their time to improve their community, 83% do so to contribute to a cause they care about.
  • People who volunteer over 100 hours a year are some of the healthiest people in the US.
  • 28.2% of Millennials volunteer each year.
  • 30.7% of Baby Boomers volunteer each year.
  • 24.8% of Silent Generation Americans volunteer each year.
  • 39.9% of parents volunteer each each.
  • Utah has the highest rate of volunteers in America (51%).
  • Volunteering decreases the likelihood of high blood pressure development by 40%.
  • 96% of volunteers reported the action enriched their sense of purpose in life.

Every person who has helped another, with no expectation or payment in return, is a volunteer. We, in LaGrange County, count these volunteers as blessings. And it’s one of the many reasons our county is such a special place to live.

“Volunteering is at the very core of being a human.  No one has made it through life without someone else’s help.” – Heather French Henry

Don’t forget, now through May 1st, we at LCCF are accepting applications of this county’s exemplary volunteers for the Heart of Gold Award. For more details and the application, go HERE.

VolunteerHub Link

2023 Heart of Gold Award Nominations are Now Being Accepted!

Heart of Gold Awards 2023, LaGrange County, Indiana

The importance of volunteerism cannot be overestimated. Volunteers are what keeps non-profits ticking. They are the hands, feet and hearts.

Starting April 1st through May 1st, 2023, we are accepting nominations for outstanding volunteers in our community. The Heart of Gold award was created to recognize these outstanding volunteers whose unselfish and dedicated service has made significant contributions to LaGrange County.

2022 Heart of Gold Nominees
2022 Heart of Gold Nominees: Carolyn Hostetler, Allisa Brown and Kailie Snyder-Farnsworth (Not pictured: Chad Miller)

Some of the hard work and service in our county may go unnoticed, but we would love to encourage you to look around and see what others are doing around you!

If you know of anyone who deserves to be recognized, please let us know by filling out the nomination form on our website. It’s an easy form, and not only will the volunteers be recognized, but they also have a chance at getting a donation to the non-profit of their choice! Well worth it!

Check out the nomination form HERE!