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PRESS RELEASE

September 9, 2014

The Noble County Community Foundation, Inc. invites your organization to participate in the 2014 Givers of Gifts Recognition.

Designed to recognize citizens in Noble County who give of themselves extraordinarily.

The Noble County Community Foundation, Inc. is seeking your help t identify those special non-profit volunteers in our community that make a difference. We see them making a difference very day! A Season of Thanks will soon be here and we should take the time to reflect on what we are thankful for. As part of saying “Thanks”, we would like to help non-profit organizations say “Thank You” to a special volunteer.

The Noble County Community Foundation, Inc. wishes to identify and provide recognition to “everyday” citizens in our community who touch the hearts of others.

We have defined “Giver of Gifts” recipients as any person, regardless of age, who enhances the quality of life of someone in Noble County and/or it’s citizens, or who give of themselves unselfishly to serve with volunteer acts of service and/or kindness beyond the call of duty to non-profit organizations (“non-profit organizations” does not necessarily mean the organization must hold a 501 (c) 3 status).

When making its choice, the Board of Selectors will take into account whether the nominee: fulfills a need for the non-profit organization and Noble County, renders a service which changes a life, encourages others to volunteer or works to create positive change for the non-profit organization and Noble County.

Many people in today’s busy society say they either don’t take the time or have the time to give of themselves, and then there are some people who continue to exemplify this unselfish type of giving.

We would like to encourage your non-profit organization to nominate someone for the “GIVERS OF GIFTS” recognition.

Nominations are limited to the first 12 qualified nominees.

PLEASE follow these guidelines when writing the nomination letter:

• Please state the reasons why this person fits the description of a “Giver of Gifts”.

• Please type or write clearly.

• Nominees/volunteers should not be paid volunteers unless their services far exceed their compensation. If your nominee is paid/compensated, please explain why services rendered far exceed the compensation.

• Please note that your narrative should be suitable for a public audience and may be made available to local

newspapers.

• It is preferred but not necessary your nominee is within your non-profit organization. A nominee must be nominated by/through an organization, club, etc. (not an individual).

• Nominees recognized in prior years Giver of Gifts recognitions are not eligible to be nominated by the same

non-profit organization.

• The nominee and nominating organization must serve Noble County.

• A maximum of 2 nominations (2 people) per organization. Limited to the first 12 qualified nominations.

• Be sure to include the following in your one page nomination letter:

1. Giver of Gifts nominee name, address and day/evening phone number/e-mail.

2. Your name and organization’s name, organization’s address and day/evening phone number/e-mail.

Please feel free to include photocopies of letters, clippings or other materials which might help tell your nominee’s story. Please only send copies.

Be sure your nomination letter is postmarked, faxed or emailed by the deadline date October 31, 2014 or the first 12 qualified nominations received whichever comes first.

Nomination letters should be sent to:

Noble County Community Foundation, Inc.
Attn: Givers of Gifts
1599 Lincolnway South, Ligonier IN 46767
or
Fax: 260-894-9020
Email: Jennifer@noblecountycf.org

A short reception will be held at the office of the Noble County Community Foundation to honor the Giver of Gifts recipients on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 2 p.m.

The Givers of Gifts Recognition is sponsored by Community State Bank.

If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Shultz at the Noble County Community Foundation at 260-894-3335 or e-mail Jennifer@noblecountycf.org
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The Noble County Community Foundation Board of Directors recently awarded scholarships to area college students including Jill
Taylor, (pictured) who received the Noble County Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to a Noble County resident of at least one year who is not currently enrolled in high school and will be enrolling in college for the first time or a resident who has been out of college for three or more years. Taylor also received the Max and Elizabeth Roesler Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to a Noble County resident who has not been enrolled in high
school for at least one year and is pursuing a degree on a part-time basis. Taylor is studying Special Education at IPFW.

 

Eli Parks of Kendallville received the Oliver and Eleanor Ellenbecker previous Award Winner scholarship. This scholarship is awarded
to a student pursuing a degree full time who previously won a scholarship administered by the community foundation. Parks is double majoring in Accounting and Finance at Ball State University.

Kelly Hosford of Albion received the Oliver and Eleanor Ellenbecker Previous Award Winner scholarship. Hosford is currently studying Accounting and Finance at Taylor University.

 

Kathryn Merkling of Avilla also received the Oliver and Eleanor Ellenbecker Pervious Award Winner scholarship. Merkling is currently studying teaching at Valparaiso University.

 

Ashlee Ritchie of Ligonier was the winner of the Nathan Shumaker Memorial Scholarship which is for a student from Noble County in the second or subsequent year of post-high-school education who received some or all of K-12 schooling through home school or a Christian school. Ritchie is currently studying Social Work and Spanish at Anderson University. She was also the recipient of the Noble County Retired Teachers’ Association Scholarship in Memory of Deceased Teachers. This scholarship is awarded to a student studying at an Indiana post-high-school-program.

 

Shumaker of Kendallville was just 16 years old when he was killed in an automobile crash in 2005. He was a sophomore at East Noble High school at the time of his death and was involved in the East Noble Car Team.

 

Scholarships offered through the Noble County Community Foundation will be available at the community foundation’s website www.noblecountycf.org in mid-November 2014.

Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana Receives Grant!

The Noble County Community Foundation, Inc. and

its supporting organization, Community Initiatives, Inc. recently

awarded a grant to Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana for $4,000 to subsidize the cost of services to Noble County residents. Cancer Services provides information and referral, durable medical equipment, health supplies, financial assistance, transportation assistance, nutrition education and supplies, massage and exercise therapy, and wigs and turbans. This program is designed to alleviate the emotional and financial burdens placed on a family during a health crisis.

 

Pictured accepting the gift is Stacey Stumpf Director of Marketing and Development for Cancer Services and Jerry Nesbitt NCCF Community Initiatives, Inc. Vice President.

BY BOB BUTTGEN
LIGONIER — Students entering kindergarten for the 2014-15 school year at West Noble will have the chance to attend a new pre-kindergarten class being offered by LEAP of Noble County and the West Noble School Corp.

The new program, Little LEAPS (Learning Early At Primary School), was announced this week by Denise Lemmon of LEAP and Dr. Dennis VanDuyne, West Noble superintendent of schools.

Funding for the program has been provided by an anonymous gift of $100,000 with the stipulation that a fundraising effort be launched to match the funding each year. Lemmon said the public is being asked to support the new program through donations.

Expected cost is
$33,000 a year for the classes which will be offered in July. Half of that will come from the anonymous donation and the other half is expected to come from donations from the public, including businesses and individuals.

Lemmon and VanDuyne spoke Tuesday at the monthly meeting of the Ligonier of Chamber Commerce, and outlined the new program.

Lemmon said the need for the pre-K classes came because of the disparity of skills presented by incoming kindergarten students each year.

“Some new students have never even picked up a crayon or can’t count, while others can count to 100 on the first day of class,” she said.

English-language skills are also a problem, she noted, because of homes where English is not the primary language. This applies to both Hispanic and Amish families.

“Readiness is the big issue,” Lemmon told the chamber members. “We estimate that only about 25 percent of incoming kindergarten students have gone to a pre-school. We have a huge need here.”

West Noble will provide classroom space at West Noble Primary School, as well as transportation. A majority of the funding will be used to

pay for teachers.

The classes will be held in two groups, one on Monday-Wednesday and another on Tuesday-Thursday, for about five hours each day for five weeks. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Another advantage of Little LEAPS, Lemmon pointed out, is that students will get used to riding a school bus, and they will be able to meet their teachers and principal, and others who will be there when school starts in August.

But the immediate push now is for financial donations to match the original grant, which is being administered by the Noble County Community Foundation. Donations will be

tax-deductible, Lemmon noted.

“This is a game-changing opportunity,” she said. “We hope parents will take advantage of this offer. But we are also looking for a community buy-in through donations.”

Donations should be mailed to the Noble County Community Foundation, 1599 Lincolnway South, Ligonier, IN 46767 and mark “Little LEAPS” in the memo line.

Both VanDuyne and Lemmon can be contacted for additional information.

They said they would welcome a corporate sponsor who could help the two groups meet the matching-grant requirement.