Greene County Foundation provides two education grants

The 2017 Community Support Grant from the Greene County Foundation has allowed two recipients to continue educating area youths.

White River Valley Schools were awarded $20,100 in support of its new advanced manufacturing program. Funding was primarily supported by Greene County Education Fund.

According to WRV superintendent Bob Hacker, all funding received has gone into helping pay for the machining equipment the school needs for the program.

“We’re very fortunate to qualify for the grant and very thankful we received it,” Hacker said. “We’re looking at a total of about $110,000 for everything we need, so the $20,000 will help a lot.”

The advanced manufacturing program aims to give students a leg up for a career path, as well as certifications to allow employment opportunities upon graduation.

“We get the kids started prior to their junior year with a program called Skills for Success, which will get them three certifications,” Hacker said. “Between their junior and senior year, they will be looking for internships. When they are ready to graduate, they have a choice to make between finishing the program from Vincennes University or going straight into the workplace. It’s a dual pronged program.”

The advanced manufacturing program is done in partnership with VU. Students who complete the program at WRV will be able to graduate with an associates degree within a year from the university.

“There is a 400 percent employment opportunity in the field,” Hacker said. “We were very fortunate for the scholarship committee we went before to see the merit in our program.”

Pace Community Action Agency received $900 in support of its SuperMentors program. Funding was primarily supported by the Greene County Education Fund.

According to Portia Hockman of the agency, SuperMentors has men from the community come into the two locations of the agency to read books for the kids in the Head Start program once a month.

“We’re spending the grant money on books for developmental growth for children three to five years old,” Hockman said. “When they’re done, we send the books home with them to help build up their own libraries.”

Hockman added the hope of SuperMentors is to instill a love of reading into children at a young age.

“We also do a series for children three and under where mentors make house calls and work with the parents on how to actively read at home once a week,” she said.

New to the program this year, those taking part will be tasked with coming up with a play involving the books. The plays will act as a way to get children more involved in reading and skill readiness.

Hockman noted Pace Community Action Agency is a not-for-profit organization which hopes to provide community support.

“We are a hand-up, not a handout,” she said. “We want to teach them the skills they need.”

The Greene County Foundation exists to be a vehicle for charitably minded individuals to leave a lasting legacy to the community. Through the establishment of endowments, donors can support financially the causes important to them. The Greene County Foundation holds over eight million in assets and has had a charitable impact in every school, library and community in Greene County. The Greene County Foundation annually awards over $300,000 in grants through fund payouts, competitive grants and student scholarships. Begun in 1997, the Greene County Foundation is one of 92 Community Foundations, one in each county in Indiana. The Foundations are private charitable organizations created to serve the public good. They receive their funding through contributions from generous donors.

For more information, visit greenecountyfoundation.org or call 812-659-3142.

Editor’s note: This is the second in a four-part series following the recipients of the 2017 Community Support Grant.