2024 Impact Update: Postcard #1

14th August 2024

We are excited to share that a centerpiece of the new Love Community Center will be named the “Herdrich Family Aquatic Center,” following a major gift from the Herdrich Family Gift Alliance Fund. Please join us in thanking them!

“We have had a longtime interest in getting an indoor pool in Rush County,” said Bill Herdrich. “After decades of community effort, our family is thrilled it is becoming a reality and we are proud to support this long overdue project.”

The Herdrich Family Aquatic Center pool will be 100,336 gallons, competition-length at 75’6” and include four lanes with starter block platforms and lane ropes. A separate section, divided by a bulkhead, will include an ADA access ramp and be suitable for water therapy, aerobics, and recreational swimming. It will likely open to the public in early 2025.

“We’ve been fortunate to be able to give to Rush County projects throughout the years,” noted Heather Herdrich Meckes. “But this project is pretty special to us as our family loves spending time around water.” READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE.

We invite you to join the Herdrichs and many others in supporting the Love Community Center with a gift to the Erbert H. and Bessie M. Schroeder Fund at RCCF.

LEAD GIFT AND NAMING OF COMMUNITY CENTER

Rush County’s new community center – a dream for decades, in the planning stages for four years, and under construction since September 2023 – will officially be named the “Love Community Center presented by Jay and Christie (Kile) Love.”

The couple has made a seven-figure donation, which will serve as the lead gift of a capital campaign for operation and sustainability of the facility through RCCF’s Ebert H. and Bessie M. Schroeder Fund, started by Christie’s mother, Wilma Jo Kile. READ MORE

A significant portion of their gift endowed Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Rush County, as well. READ MORE

GRANTS

The latest cycle of Community Grants awarded $57,548 in grants this spring, thanks to your generosity. Read more about these awards, the process involved in making them, and how to triple your impact with a gift today.

2024 CYCLE I: $57,548

$ 3,500: SAWs (Servants at Work) purchased materials for two wheelchair ramps to be built and installed by volunteers for disabled, low-income Rush County residents.
$ 3,200: Rushville Regional Theatre purchased portable stage lighting for venue flexibility. They used a portion of their award for a children’s theater production.
$10,000: Girls Inc. of Shelby County will expand their in-school programming in Rush County. “Breathe Clean: Avoid the Vaping Scene,” educates boys and girls in grades 6-8 on the dangers of vaping.
$15,000: The Rushville American Legion Post 150 will make their main entrance accessible to all. In addition to serving veterans and military families, they have offered their space in the event of a disaster and as a winter warming station, as needed.
$15,000: The Rushville Township Volunteer Fire Department to help replace their 30-year-old extrication equipment.
$10,758: The City of Rushville Fire and Rescue received to assist in purchasing new sets of extrication equipment.

FINAL CBAP GRANTS: $90,000

CBAP (Community Based Action Planning) is different than most volunteer efforts. It takes a people-focused, placed-based approach to creating positive change. No one person or organization leads the way. Everyone has a say.

With financial support from Lilly Endowment Inc.’s GIFT VII initiative and your gifts to the Rush to Action Fund, volunteers had dollars behind their ideas, addressing opportunities in seven areas.

$184,795 have been awarded in CBAP grants since 2022, including $90,000 made in June of 2024. READ MORE

$40,000: Clean Green Rush to head up Dumpster Days, a county-wide community clean up effort
$10,000: City of Rushville Street Department to head up Rushville’s involvement of Dumpster Days.
$10,000: City of Rushville Parks and Recreation for programming.
$12,000: CBAP Tourism Group
$18,000: East Hill Cemetery for interactive, historical signs

CIRCLe FUND: $12,000

The CIRCLe (Chicks Impacting Rush County Life) Fund was started by six friends and RCCF supporters – Pam Hoeing, Shelly King, Heather Meckes, Amy Ploeger, Cindy Taff, and Betsy Williams. It is a women’s giving group that pools many donors’ resources via a $300 annual contribution to make a large grant to a transformative project. Each year they gather to read applications, vote, and enjoy each other’s company.This year’s $12,000 grant will be awarded to the Rush County Senior Center (RCSC). It will help purchase a new wheelchair lift for one of their Ride Rush vehicles and expand the activities they provide. READ MORE

SCHOLARSHIPS

Congratulations to the 2024 RCCF scholarship recipients! 115 awards from 73 funds totaling $266,535 were presented to 63 local students. Thank you for making this support possible! SEE THEM ALL.

Our Scholarship Celebration is always one of our favorite days of the year. We love watching donors and recipients connect. This is what generosity in action looks like. Smiles and laughter fill the room, as our community comes together to celebrate hard work with good deeds. SEE MORE.