MCCF Awards Over $327,000 in Grants

• Animal Welfare League, $13,583
• The original heating and cooling system, now 25 years old, will now be retired and a new system put in place to maintain a comfortable and healthy environment for the staff and the animals. Two new laptop computers will be purchased for staff use.

Early Childhood Education

• Fuzzy Bear Ministry Preschool & Daycare, $17,315
• This Paths to Quality Level 3 program will install a new, more secure main entry door. They will also add new equipment to the infant transition room. High chairs will be replaced with infant dining equipment that encourages independent feeding skills and social interaction. Special strollers will be purchased so that infants can enjoy more outdoor time safely.
  
  
• New Beginnings Child Care (NBCC), $78,800
• NBCC is housed in the former John Beard School. While the majority of the roof was replaced in recent years, one portion was not. This grant will fund that replacement and allow for the purchase of a commercial refrigerator.
  
  
• New Hope Christian Preschool, $8,141
• This local preschool program recently earned its Paths to Quality Level 1. Indoor play features such as a small climbing wall, riding toys, balancing tools, and materials for creating obstacle courses will be added to encourage the development of gross motor skills.

Education

• Montgomery County Educational Foundation, $30,000
• The Montgomery County Educational Foundation’s objective is to encourage teachers to motivate their students by making learning fun and relevant. To accomplish this, they offer grants to teachers for projects and activities to enhance the educational experience. The grants are open to K-12 teachers in the three local school districts.
  
  
• Crawfordsville Adult Resource Academy (CARA), $9,500
• CARA is an adult education program that help adults improve their lives by furthering their education and career skills. With funding from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, adult education programs are mandated to administer pre and post tests for all students starting next year. The grant funds will be used to purchase the state mandated test materials as well as a new Promethean Activ Panel Smartboard.

Health

• Crawfordsville Community School Corporation, $10,000
• With 66% of the student population on the Free or Reduced Cost Lunch program, family needs extend beyond food. These funds will be administered by the school nurses (k-12) to assist students with dental, vision, medial, and mental health needs as well as for drug testing supplies, Epi Pens, Rx medication, etc.
  
  
• North Montgomery School Corporation, $7,935
• The free/reduced meal rate has increased from 19% in 2001 to 41% this year. With that increase, needs around student health, wellness and mental health needs have also increased resulting in expenses many families cannot afford. In addition, this will support requirements associated with training and maintenance of AED (Automated External Defibrillator) equipment.
  
  
• South Montgomery School Corporation, $10,000
• About 44% of the student population receives some form of meal assistance. These same students often require additional assistance beyond meals. The funds will be used to cover expenses such as medical, dental, vision, mental health needs, etc.
  
  
• Women’s Resource Center, $13,900
• According to the Indiana Department of Health, about 1/3 of pregnant women in Montgomery County do not receive prenatal care in the first trimester. Women’s Resource Center offers free pregnancy testing, and obstetrical ultrasounds conducted by a nurse, who also refers patients to medical and social services, helping them access quality and early prenatal care. This will fund medical supplies and other equipment to ensure babies are off to a great start.

Historical

• Montgomery County Historical Society, $16,000
• The Historical Society is housed in the 19th-centuray Henry S. Lane antebellum mansion. Preservation and maintenance of the Lane Place and the grounds are among their priorities. These funds will be used to replace the roof of the north porch and to remove three dead and dying trees and limbs of two other trees.
  
  
• Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County, $7,000
• The Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County, a department of the Crawfordsville District Public Library, is the county’s only free, public museum. Montgomery County Then and Now project is a collaboration with both Crawfordsville Main Street and the Visitors Bureau. It will have two components, a physical exhibit inside the museum and an interactive walking tour. The funds will primarily support the design of the online exhibit and walking tour brochure and related expenses.

Human Services

• Abilities Services, Inc., $6,480
• Abilities Services has provided services to clients with developmental disabilities and their families for over 45 years. This summer they moved to a moved to a new building to better accommodate their needs. While parking space is ample, the parking lot lighting is lacking. This will allow them to add an additional pole with dual 185 watt LED lights, making the area safer for consumers, staff and visitors entering
  
  
• Grace & Mercy Food Pantry, $10,000
• With food insecurity still on the rise, Grace & Mercy is expanding their pantry space to become more accommodating and efficient. Funds will be used to purchase a new commercial refrigerator, freezer, and additional food.
  
  
• Through the Gate, $19,000
• Through the Gate provides a safe and supportive environment as an eight-month residential program for women, 65% of whom are Montgomery County residents. In addition, they also have a Transitional Home that houses their graduates and interns so that they can receive additional care and support as they work towards rebuilding their lives. This will provide a new roof for the Transitional Home.
  
  
• Trinity Life Ministry, $34,166
• Trinity is dedicated to transforming the lives of men affected by addition. In supporting them, transportation is a great need. Many do not have reliable transportation and in many cases, a valid driver’s license. However, they need to get to medical appointments, legal appointments, volunteer opportunities, jobs, etc. This will be used toward the purchase of a new or pre-owned van for this purpose.

Youth

• Montgomery County Youth Service Bureau, $35,000
• Youth Service Bureau’s mission is to “Empower children/youth to become responsible citizens through delinquency prevention, youth advocacy, community education, direct services and referrals.” These funds will support their work, particularly with the CASA program, Child Abuse Prevention, Inspire, and the Alternative High School which provides high school students the opportunity to continue their education through credit recovery and support services.
  
  

The grants were made possible by the following MCCF Field of Interest Funds:

Crawfordsville Housing Fund, Preston and Anne Bost Early Childhood Education Fund, Maude Dockins Trust Fund, Darlene Harmon Early Childhood Education Fund, Richard and Nancy Inskeep Fund, Paul and Irmingard McKinney Fund, Faye O. and Anna Winter Schenck Fund, and the Karl B. Taylor Mental Health Fund, Youth Are Our Future Fund.

And from these MCCF Unrestricted Funds:

Heather Barajas Fund, Thomas and Mary Beth Harmon Fund, Missie Bickel No Hill for a Climber Fund, Phil and Farzaneh Boots, Samuel L. and Eva Fern Boots Fund, Harold and Linda Carpenter Fund, Chase Bank Fund, Richard F. and Elaine S. Chase Fund, Community Fund, Hank and Nancy Coyle Fund, Thomas & Delores Crews Fund, Dr. Fred and Elizabeth Daugherty Trust Fund, Irwin Lee Detchon Fund, Ron & Trudy Dickerson Fund, Directors Fund Dr. William and Nancy Doemel Fund, Ron Eden Fund, Leland and Dolores Epperson and Family Fund, FAITH Alliance Fund, Bob and Bill Fell Fund, Barbara and Larry Frye Fund, Jack & Joyce Grimble Fund, M. Gaildene & Stan Hamilton Fund, Carl F. and Margaret Henthorn Fund, Dennis and Dee Hohlbein Fund, Hoosier Heartland State Bank Fund, Larry D. Servies and Wanda R. Hopkins Fund, John and Roberta Hudson Fund, Walter F. Hulet Fund, Max W. Johnson Fund, to honor Mary Francis Fran" Johnson," Brian & Cheryl Keim Family Fund, Lincoln Legacy Foundation Fund, Inc, Mag & Lil Fund, Hubert and Martha Massing Fund, Amy McFerran Fund, Steve and Diane McLaughlin Fund, Phil & Judy Michal Fund, Mike and Rhonda Mitchell Family Fund, Nucor Fund, Morris and Barbara Odle Family Fund, Gloria and Marvin Oliver Fund, Dale and Linda Petrie Fund, Montgomery County Physicians Fund, Marty Pool Fund, Torey and Bethany Rauch Fund, William and Amy Roth Fund, Anita Rupar Fund, Coach Rick and Debbie Schavietello Fund, Florence Schultz Trust Fund, Clark and Nancy Sennett Fund, James G. and Susan Smith Fund, Kathleen and John Steele Fund, Max Tannenbaum Trust Fund – Unrestricted, John T Taylor Charitable Fund, Bobbye and Claude Thompson Family Fund, John and Sandy Tidd Fund in Memory of Ernest and Anna Tidd, Beverley J. Turner Fund in memory of John C. White, Tom Warren Fund, Leonard and Louise Winchell Fund, Damon C. and Bernice Seaman Wray Fund, Roland Brooks and Helen Johnson Wynne Fund.