Another great school year has concluded, allowing many of us a moment to pause and reflect on the past nine months.  At the Rush County Community Foundation, we’ve just concluded our busy scholarship season and proudly watched another class of exceptional students emerge from our school system.  Aside from awarding scholarships from our scholarship funds, the past nine months have offered us the opportunity to be involved with various projects at various grade levels through our education-focused endowment funds.

Donors have established permanent endowment funds to support education in Rush County.  Fifteen endowment funds serve a variety of purposes within the field, impacting teachers, students, classroom projects, and special resources and activities.  Grants from the funds that support education enrich learning for our students, opening doors and creating opportunities.

Over $220,000 in funding has been provided to Rush County Schools via these fifteen funds at the Rush County Community Foundation.  In fact, several of these funds are among the very first permanent endowment funds at the Foundation!  Funding has provided necessary supplies for children in need, classroom tools to enhance the learning process for students, resources to expand extracurricular activities and unique learning opportunities, and specialized training for teachers desiring to further their knowledge within their field.

As a future-focused organization, supporting education and our Rush County students will remain one of the Foundation’s priorities.  This year, the Foundation’s Board of Directors has decided to allocate $25,000 from the discretionary pool of funding to support learning at its earliest stages:  for children ages 0-5 years.  Funding early childhood education is proven to have individual, family, community, health, and economic return, and the Rush County Community Foundation is eager for the opportunity to make such a vast impact locally.  Stay tuned for additional information to come on the worthy project.

If you are interested in making an impact on Rush County’s children and students, consider a donation!  Contributions to our education-specific funds or our unrestricted endowment funds can offer generations of Rush County youth transformational opportunities that may not otherwise be possible.  Learn more about our funds or donate at our website www.rushcountyfoundation.org, or by contacting our office at (765) 938-1177.