Published: August 27, 2008 11:52 am         

Foundation awards grants

Awards totalling $68,000 fund greenhouse and other projects

Recipients accepted grants from the Cass County Community Foundation with smiles and gratitude on Tuesday.

At a reception Tuesday evening, the foundation handed out awards totaling $68,000 to nine nonprofit organizations.

“It is so wonderful to have this kind of organization,” said Tim Cahalan, director of the Logansport Children’s Choir. “As someone said earlier, this is literally becoming the only way so many things can be done in these tight times. We appreciate it immensely.”

The children’s choir accepted $10,000 to help cover expenses of sending about 50 students to Austria for the Salzburg Choral Festival in July 2009. The group also will tour Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Logan’s Landing received $15,815 for expanding the Cass/Pulaski Community Corrections greenhouse, which provides flowers for downtown Logansport and the parks.

“This will give us more room to grow,” said Community Corrections Director Dave Wegner.

The current greenhouse is 30 feet by 90 feet and can fit between 6,000 and 7,000 plants inside each year.

“The problem is it gets really crowded so what we’re doing is expanding the greenhouse,” Wegner said before the event. “This funding will allow us to put a 30-by-50 addition to it. We can add more flowers for the downtown and for the parks in the Logansport area.”

Wegner also plans a nursery for shrubs, perennials and trees, which would also be used to beautify the county.

Special Olympics of Cass County got $6,722 to replace equipment and uniforms for its 300 athletes for the first time in more than 10 years.

The Galveston Youth League intends to use its $10,000 grant to improve the park where 240 boys and girls played baseball and softball this year.

“I cannot thank the foundation enough for looking at our project and helping us like you have,” said Youth League president Rod Zeck. “Programs like this make it possible for us to improve the park, make it handicap accessible and improve the lighting.”

In the absence of executive director Deanna Crispen, board of directors president Randy Head emceed the event. He talked about how the grants were created through unrestricted funds.

“That’s where the donor makes a significant investment into the community through the foundation and leaves it up to us each year to decide the purpose of that award,” Head said.

Head explained that the foundation uses interest from the unrestricted endowments to award grants to nonprofit organizations for projects that benefit the community and improve the quality of life in Cass County. This method allows the original gift to remain untouched.

“This way we know that original amount will be around to invest next year and five years from now and 50 years from now and 100 years from now,” Head said. “We say this is for good and forever and that literally is the case.

“We’re very lucky to live in a community that has forward-thinking people like that,” Head said.

A candle was lit in honor of those who have donated.

The foundation has 15 unrestricted funds. Over the years, the grants have funded a jazz festival, a library computer system and skits for high school students on the dangers of abusive relationships.

To date, the grants have totaled $1.6 million, which does not include scholarships to local students, Head said. This year, the foundation gave out $7,000 more in community grants than it awarded last year.

Kevin Lilly can be reached at (574) 732-5117, or via e-mail at kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com



Grant recipients

• Cass County Family Y — $9,000 to install outside playground equipment

• Food Finders Food Bank — $2,000 to defray cost of food delivery to Cass County

• Friends of Walton Library — $10,000 to develop urban park in Walton

• Galveston Youth League — $10,000 for revitalization and safety improvements to the youth league park

• Kiwanis Club — $1,975 for Book Readers and Horn Blowers to teach the value of music and reading

• Literacy Volunteers of Cass County — $2,400 to replace a 10-year-old computer system

• Logan’s Landing Association — $15,815 to expand the community corrections greenhouse

• Logansport Children’s Choir — $10,000 to help fund a trip to Salzburg Choral Festival in Austria

• Special Olympics of Cass County — $6,722.95 to replace equipment and uniforms for athletes