Upland Lions to
host seniors for New
Year’s Eve—Page 2
The
SEGway will be back on
Thursday, January 5
History is a story:
Children’s Corner—
Page 7
SEGway News
Volume 1, Number 12
Serving South East Grant County
A Good News Ventures publication
December 22-28, 2016
Two Upland organizations receive Santa Grants
Two Upland Community
organisations received Santa
Grants this year from The
Community Foundation of
Grant County, bringing thousands of dollars in to propel
key groups towards growth in
their respective initiatives.
Located on Railroad Street
in Upland, Helping Hand assists families with financial
difficulties. There is a thrift
store which accepts clothing,
food and monetary donations,
as well as household items
and toys. Proceeds are used to
run a food pantry, bread distribution, a furniture assistance
program and a financial assistance program. Helping Hand
was recently gifted an historic
building on Railroad Street,
after they needed to relocate
some of their store space from
the Main Street premises.
The building requires renovation to make it fully serviceable, with the main project
being roof repairs. A grant
of $10,000 was awarded by
the Community Foundation
as part of their Santa Grants
program towards the goal of
$34,000 required to complete
the renovations.
Helping Hand has been a
central hub of community
assistance in Upland for decades, with many volunteers
giving years of service to organising and maintaining the
thrift store and food pantry.
Students from Taylor University have been involved
in projects, and also provide
a source of donations. They
also enjoy their thrift shopping, and are glad to have a
local store providing access
to upcycled goods. Melanie
Niswander, co-manager with
Roger Phillips, says the store
is a gathering place for people
all over the community.
Having a thrift store in a
small town is a huge asset
to the community. The benefits of thrifting have become
widely accepted in our cul-
ture, along with awareness of
how our consumer-oriented
economy impacts the environment. Minimalism and the
Kon Marie movement (started
by Marie Kondo, a Japanese
personal organiser with her
best-selling book The LifeChanging Magic of Tidying
Up) are sweeping western
society with their critique of
our accumulation of unnecessary material goods, and their
call to a more simple life that
focuses on relationships and
experiences rather than possessions. With this is mind,
having our own thrift store
and community assistance
charity in town is an excellent
resource for us to step into
more mindful ways of living
in our material environment.
If you would like to be involved in making Helping
Hand thrive, you can connect with them by donating
your unwanted used items,
by choosing to shop there for
clothing and gifts, by volunteering your time in the store,
or food pantry. You can also
help them reach their fundraising goal for their building
renovations. They still need
over $20,000 to complete the
refurbishment. Call Melanie
Niswander at 765-998-7926
or drop cheques in at the store.
The other organisation
which received a Santa Grant
was LIFT, the Christian-based
after school program for Eastbrook Schools students that
emphasizes whole person
growth, academic achievement, and spiritual nurture.
They currently have 36 students in their program, which
was featured in an article in
the SEGway last month. According to LIFT, “Rural counties in Indiana, such as Grant
County, often lack the abundance of social networks and
resources that surrounding
larger cities hold. According
to Kids Count statistical data,
Grant County has one of the
GROCERY
AND
VARIETY
STORE
CALL: 765-998-1111
Photo submitted by the Community Foundation of Grant County
The Helping Hand committee receives its Santa Grant from the Community Foundation of Grant County.
highest child poverty rates in
the state. Poverty, as we know,
takes many forms: academic,
spiritual, economic, physical
and relational. The reality is
many of the kids in our community may be exposed to
these various forms of poverty and often they are linked
to each other. Yet where there
is need there is also great opportunity.” To help the LIFT,
go to their website www.lifteastbrook.com
“Where there is need, there
is also great opportunity”
With the two Santa Grants
awarded to organisations
in our local area, the Community Foundation of Grant
County has championed the
work of people in our towns
who are passionate about connecting us all with the needs
of our neighbour, and helping
us to care for each other. We
can all get behind these initiatives with our own support
and encouragement.
In addition we can support
the Community Foundation
which has enabled people
who want to invest locally,
to manage their financial giving so that it creates the biggest impact. The Community
Foundation of Grant County
can be contacted at 765-6620065 or take a look at website
www.givetogrant.org.
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