RCCF’s CIRCLe Fund (Chicks Impacting Rush County Life) offers women the chance to combine their resources and make a large grant each year to a transformative project. The competitive awards enable nonprofits to provide innovativeprograms that respond to the needs of the people of Rush County. Past grantees include: The Rushville Parks Department’s futsal court, Rush AIC Recovery Housing, Inc. and the Rush County Historical Society, among others.

The 2020 CIRCLe grant has been awarded to the Boys & Girls Club of Rush County. This $16,500 grant will be used to launch a technology center inside their building. Jon York, Chief Executive Officer of the Club, was quick to point out that computer programming, or coding, is the new literacy and shared his excitement about the possibilities this gift creates for local youth. The technology center will also be open to the public on weekdays.

The Club will offer a year-round coding class that develops the skills needed for careers in engineering and computer programming. The course was developed by former Indiana instructors with videos and projects and can be administered by current staff. This eliminates a barrier faced by many rural communities in providing this type of programming – the need to identify and offer a competitive salary to a qualified instructor.
Nick Culley, Youth Development Professional at the BGC of Rush County, stated during the Club’s presentation, “One of the main goals of the Club is to prepare youth for their future and a tech center will help do that.”

Children as young as 5-years-old will benefit from this program. Second and third graders will learn coding basics. By the fourth and fifth grade, students will be able to create their own apps.

This program will also help engage more girls in computer science education. Alexis, a 7^th grade club member, is excited to use the tech center to learn more and build on the coding she was exposed to in Rush County Schools. Having this opportunity is a great resource for her and other students to enhance and expand on that education.

The Boys and Girls Club of Rush County will be among the first five organizations in the country to offer the newly developed course. The technology center will have a positive impact for all of the Rush County community and CIRCLe members are pleased to be able to fund this worthwhile project.

Make your $300 annual donation to become a part of this giving group, online or by mailing a check to: RCCF, 117 N. Main St., Rushville, IN 46173. If you would like more information, please reach out to us at 765-938-1177 or info@rushcountyfoundation.org.