Thank You to Our Generous Donors

The Community Foundation would like to recognize and thank the following individuals, families, and organizations for their generous donations in the month of February.  Your      support is greatly appreciated!

Board of Directors Welcomes

New Member

Randy White Joins SCCF Board

Randy White, Vice-President

of Student Life at Trine University,

was recently named to the SCCF

Board of Directors.  The Board and Staff look forward to working with Randy.

Welcome!

Grants Awarded in March

In our visionary role to serve as a community leader and improve the quality of life in our community, the following awards were approved at the March Board of Directors meeting:

• Zion United Methodist Church Luke 3:11 Coat Bank- $3,000- Used to purchase coats for residents of all ages in Steuben County.
   
• Agape Child Care- $2,500- A privately funded day care in Steuben County.  Proceeds are to be used toward purchase of Montessori curriculum changes.
   
• CAVA- $5,000- Community Anti-Violence Alliance- Funds will be used to continue Family Ties program, which allows for the safe visitation of children with their parent(s).
   
• Steuben County YMCA- $1,000- Funds will be used for Begin to Swim classes for children.
   
• Cahoots Coffee Cafe- $4,000- Provides youth a safe, non-threatening & non-judgmental place to gather with peers, adults and mentors.  Funds to be used for kitchen remodeling.
   
• Habitat for Humanity- $1,000- Funds will be used to update their database.

Mayor's Award Recipient Selected

Board Member Spotlight 

Hope Korte

Hope Korte, board secretary, has been involved with the Steuben County Community Foundation since 2007. She was asked by Bill Geiger if she would be interested in becoming a board member. Hope was already familiar with the Foundation after Clear Lake put together some ideas for buying Kasota Island and the Foundation was a critical piece in that endeavor. Hope has been a board member since 2007 and in 2010 she became the board secretary.

What Hope likes best about the Community Foundation is the fact that the Foundation does not help just one cause; it is able to help the needs of the community as they arise. The Foundation can and does help many diverse causes.

If Hope could wave a magic wand and make the Foundation however she wanted, she would give the grants committee a bottomless pit of money for its unrestricted fund. This way the committee wouldn't have to turn away any needy organizations. Hope feels that the greatest accomplishment that has happened to the Foundation was the move to the new location. Being at the heart of the county and being seen by so many people every day is very helpful. She also thinks that the sign that was donated is a great addition to the community; it keeps everyone aware of upcoming events.

Chuck Nedele

          Chuck Nedele got his start on the Foundation's board in 2003. He has been involved with the Community Foundation since 2000 when he was added to the Grants Committee. Chuck Sheets was able to get Nedele involved with the Foundation when he recommended that he be put on the Grants Committee. Chuck has been highly involved with the Grants Committee from his start, and just recently became the chair of the Grants Committee.

          What Chuck likes best about the Community Foundation is the connection the Foundation has with the community. He likes that the Foundation works hard to give back to local organizations which in turn help local people. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been given back to Steuben County through unrestricted grant dollars.
          If Chuck could waive a magic wand and make the Community Foundation however he wanted, he would make it more visible. He would like to heighten the marketing efforts so that people always know what is going on at the Foundation and so the Foundation is something that donors are constantly thinking about. The greatest accomplishment that has happened since  Chuck has been on the board has been the new building and new location, which has helped tremendously with the Foundation's visibility. Along with the location of the building, the other greatest accomplishment is the staff. Without an intelligent, motivated staff, the Foundation could not have accomplished all that it has to this day.

• Did you know?  One in every four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.
• Did you know?  Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners when they become adults..
• Did you know?  The cost of domestic violence exceeds $5.8 billion dollars each year.
• Did you know?  30% of stalking victims are stalked by a current or former intimate partner?

Read full article 

FIST Youth Pod News

At their recent March meeting, the FIST Youth Pod elected to award the following grants:

$250.00- Fremont Youth and Community Outreach. Money will be used for the community garden project.

$250.00- Steuben County Sheriff's Dept.- To benefit R.A.D (Rape Aggression Defense) for Kids program. Funds will be applied toward training fees for instructors.  The program will helps youth ages 5-12 in Steuben County deal with issues such as bullying, good touch, bad touch, and safety at home.

$500.00- Hamilton After Prom-Provides a safe environment and activities for students to participate in.

$300.00- Fremont Scholarship for Leadership Grant- Allows Fremont Student Council members to attend a Leadership Conference.

$408.31- Fremont Key Club Leadership Conference- Allows Key Club members to attend a Leadership Conference.

Thank you FIST for your hard work and generosity!

On Tuesday, March 15, FIST members visited 2 sixth grade classes at Hamilton Elementary school as part of their Littlest Philanthropist program.  This program promotes the philosophy of sharing time, talent and treasure.  FIST students spent time interacting with the youngsters, playing games, and teaching them about philanthropy.

Upcoming FIST Community Activities:

i-Can Creations- April 8-10- Held at the Steuben County YMCA. Groups and organizations are still needed to participate.  Proceeds from this event; including cans used in the creations, will be donated to Project Help. 

The first 30 teams to register will be given 170 cans of food by FIST to jump start their creation!  Contact the Community Foundation for additional details. entry form...  Deadline to enter is April 1, 2011

United Way Day of Caring- May 25

Lorna LEADERship Awards- Nominations are being accepted from Angola, Fremont and Hamilton High Schools for this award established in memory of former Community Foundation Youth Leader, Lorna Leaders.

FIST Faculty Friday- FIST students are preparing to recognize teachers at Angola, Fremont and Hamilton High Schools for their support of the FIST program throughout the year. FIST members will present each teacher with a copy of the FIST Newsletter and an array of gift items.

POP Tabs for Riley Hospital- Please be on the lookout for water jugs placed throughout the community to collect pop tabs for Riley Hospital.

Summer Fine Arts Grant

Recipients Selected