Since 1991, the LaGrange County Community Foundation has been a charitable partner in LaGrange County, helping connect donors to their charitable dreams and building permanent community funds.
Miles Perkins was one of the nine community leaders who believed in the importance of building long-term permanent funds for LaGrange County, thus helping start the LaGrange County Community Foundation.
Miles served as a founding board member and first President of the LaGrange County Community Foundation in 1991, and on the Board of Directors from 1991 to 1997. After his retirement, he worked with the Foundation to establish the Stroh Community Fund in 2000, and the Prairie Heights Perkins Family Scholarship Fund in 2009.
Paul Johnston, a long-term Board member, served the Foundation from 2005 to 2013. He served 4 of those years as Board president during which the foundation gave a grant to support the Pond Lil project at Dallas Lake Park. Pond Lil, located on the south border of Dallas Lake Park, totals 44 acres. The property was purchased by the Foundation from a private seller in 2012. The LaGrange County Parks Department secured grant funding from the state to purchase the property from the Foundation in 2013. This property increased the Dallas Lake Park size to 140 acres. The Foundation was instrumental in the purchase of this property under Paul’s Leadership.
Both men had a heart for volunteerism and service. Their legacy has forever changed the landscape of LaGrange County for the good.
The Salvation Army is bringing its mobile food pantry to LaGrange County providing a nonperishable food box and frozen items to families. One is available per household, every 30 days.
Food pantry locations:
July 27, Topeka Fire Department, 11a.m. to 1p.m.
August 31, LaGrange Town Hall, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
September 21, Howe Fire Department, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
October 26, Topeka Fire Department, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The LaGrange County Community Foundation awarded $71,736 to four nonprofit organizations during its 2023 Spring Community Impact Grants cycle.
The Community Impact Grants address community needs in Arts & Culture, Health & Human Services, Recreation, Environment, Community Development, and Education.
The 2023 Spring Community Impact Grant recipients include:
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. To learn more, visit HERE.
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
The LaGrange County Community Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Community Scholarship Program, which aims to support the educational aspirations of students in LaGrange County.
Through the program, the Community Foundation awarded $93,250 in community scholarships to 19 graduating seniors. The program includes 45 donor-created scholarship funds, each with their own unique criteria. Funds are created by individuals, families and businesses and are managed by the Community Foundation.
The scholarship program is open to graduating high school seniors who are pursuing higher education at an accredited university, college, or trade school. The scholarships support a variety of career paths such as education, agriculture, health, science, nursing, and more. Awards range from $500 to $3,000 per award; several scholarships are provided for four years.
“Each year we look forward to awarding our community scholarships to high school seniors. These scholarships recognize the accomplishments the students have achieved in the last four years,” said Executive Director Octavia Yoder.
“We are grateful to the individuals, families and businesses who created these scholarship funds and have worked alongside the Community Foundation. We aspire to welcome new donors and fund more students as the program continues to grow. We are extremely appreciative of the community volunteers who take time to help read and evaluate scholarships. The process is quite an undertaking and is truly a community partnership of donors, volunteers, schools, and Community Foundation staff. It’s rewarding to help support the educational goals of students in our community,” Yoder added.
Recipients of the 2023 Community Scholarships, listed by schools, are as follows:
Lakeland High School scholarship recipients:
Allread-Rife Family Scholarship – Mallory Mynhier
Brian Evans Memorial Scholarship – Aurora Yoder
Bruce Brown Memorial Scholarship – Ezekiel Wachtman
Bulldog Spirit Scholarship – Jeremiah Combs
Chase Scott Memorial Football Scholarship – Owen Troyer
Holly Petersen Memorial Science Scholarship – Ezekiel Wachtman
HOPE Nursing Scholarship – Peyton Hartsough and Alivia Rasler
Joseph Willard Memorial Scholarship – Ezekiel Wachtman
Judy Gage-Keenan Scholarship – Alivia Rasler
Lakeland Scholarship – Ezekiel Wachtman
Melvin and Marjorie Bricker Memorial Scholarship – Mallory Mynhier
Olivia Bay Lemings Memorial Scholarship – Alivia Rasler
Paul and Marian Krebs Memorial Scholarship – Gabrielle Hartman
Ray and Ruth Culp Memorial Scholarship – Alivia Rasler
Terry Schmidt Memorial Basketball Scholarship – Ezekiel Wachtman
Schlemmer Scholarship – Jeremiah Comb
Virgil and Florence Hardin Memorial Scholarship – Alivia Rasler
Waddell Memorial Scholarship – Mallory Mynhier
Prairie Heights High School scholarship recipients:
Amanda Lou Crotts Memorial Scholarship – Abigail Myers
Beverly Todd Memorial Scholarship – Conner Keeslar
Craig D. and Ronda S. Neff Memorial Scholarship – Caylee James.
Ellsworth Fanning Memorial Scholarship – Caylee James
Kevin Lewis Purdue Agriculture Memorial Scholarship – Caylee James
J.O. Mory Company Scholarship – Alyssa Burger
LaGrange County Farm Bureau Co-op Scholarship – Caylee James
Ned Stump Memorial Scholarship – Conner Keeslar
Melvin and Marjorie Bricker Memorial Scholarship – Phillip Sheets
Mory Family Scholarship – Phillip Sheets
Perkins Family Scholarship – Trevyn Terry
Prairie Heights Student Council Scholarship – Abigail Myers
Prairie Heights High School Scholarship – Caylee James, Emma Wylie, Phillip Sheets and Trevyn Terry
Westview High School scholarship recipients:
Allread-Rife Family Scholarship – Paige Riegsecker
Craig D. and Ronda S. Neff Memorial Scholarship – Skye Growcock
Farmwald Scholarship – Ella Yoder
James F. Kalb Memorial Scholarship – Ella Yoder
Keith and Arline Davis Memorial Scholarship – Ella Yoder
Kerry Wilt-Spradlin Memorial Scholarship – Paige Riegsecker
LIFE Scholarship – Ella Yoder
Lyle Smith Scholarship – Ella Yoder
Morgan Hunter Memorial Scholarship – Skye Growcock
Rheinheimer Scholarship – Emily Stutzman and Skye Growcock
LIFE is a youth philanthropy group supported by the LaGrange County Community Foundation. LIFE members gain experiences in community service and charitable giving. The students also provide oversight to youth grant making funds at the Community Foundation.
During the 2022 – 2023 school year LIFE offered two grant cycles, awarding $19,676 to youth-serving organizations and school projects. We focused on after school programming and was able to award $4,000 in this area supporting LCYC after school photography program and Prairie Heights new e-sports program.
Our meetings were packed full of grant making decisions and LEAP planning. We broke into event committees to conquer and divide. LEAP is a one-day event for youth, grades 9 -12, from all three public high schools to learn about philanthropy, community service and leadership. We have guest speakers, breakout sessions, and some serious fun planned!
We began our community service projects in November with leaf pick up. We worked with LaGrange County Council and Aging to pick up leaves from local homes. In March we connected with LaGrange County Parks & Recreation to help them prepare for Maple Syrup Days. Cleaning, organizing, and setting up table and chairs for the event proved to be a very productive afternoon.
Jamelle Godlewski from Lead and Impact shared about leadership and what type of leaders there are. Rustin Krapfl of Agape Missions of LaGrange County shared the six lessons in leadership. Both guest speakers provided great insight on necessary skills for leadership.
And the last LIFE event took place at The Trading Post Outfitters. We completed one last community service project, trash pickup along the river.
As we plan for next school year, we hope to continue encouraging philanthropy in our community and peers.
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.
LaGrange Partners is an interagency meeting for nonprofit organizations and entities providing services to LaGrange County residents. Partners provides a forum for learning about resources, discussing current issues, networking, and keeping up to date on existing services.
The meeting is open to nonprofit staff, board members, volunteers and interested community members who want to connect and learn more about the nonprofit sector in LaGrange County.
LaGrange Partners meets every other month in various locations, from 11:30am-1pm. The meeting format includes time for lunch, agency announcements, networking, and a featured presentation on a focus topic. Each of the focus topics are scheduled for the year. You can find that schedule HERE.
LaGrange Partners is facilitated by the LaGrange County Community Foundation.
If you’d like to find out more information, or to sign up for the next meeting on Tuesday, June 13, go HERE. You can also see past minutes, resources, and agendas at that link as well.
Natalie graduated from Lakeland High School in 2010 and attended the nursing program at IPFW. She had 14 months left in her education when she passed away on October 18, 2013.
Natalie demonstrated love, respect, and compassion for others, and carried the belief that people are on earth to help each other. The Kauffman family established the scholarship to promote those ideals and support aspiring nurses and continue Natalie’s legacy of helping others.
This is a $1,000 scholarship that supports college students and non-traditional students pursuing a degree in nursing. And is available to students who have graduated from a LaGrange County high school or adults currently working in the healthcare field in LaGrange County.
This is a great opportunity to get some extra financial help. Be sure to share this information with someone who would have the above qualifications and would be able to use this scholarship money for their degree.
Applications will be accepted until June 15, 2023.
To get the latest information about the LaGrange County Community Foundation, sign up for our e-Newsletter.
We publish our newsletter once a month with the latest things happening at LCCF: new scholarships, grants, events, awards, community happenings, volunteer information, and more.
