Linda Lambert:
Reading makes
your life richer
—Page 3
The
Basque students
experience the
American dream—
Page 4
Correction: In last week’s edition we iden-
tified the new sesquicentennial banner as
being donated by Upland Print & Stitch,
which it was. However, Upland Print &
Stitch informed us that Bridgeman Con-
struction was also one of the sponsors of
the banner. We are pleased to give them
credit as well.—Ed.
SEGway News
Volume 1, Number 41
Serving South East Grant County
July 20-26, 2017
A Good News Ventures publication
Thriving families, thriving Grant County initiative
secures funding, hires Weatherspoon as exec. dir.
The Thriving Families,
Thriving Grant County ef-
fort began in November of
2015 at an IWU Citizen’s
Advisory Council Meeting
where we learned that Grant
County ranked #1 in child
poverty in the state of Indi-
ana. Although it didn’t have
a name at that time, that was
when nearly 100 community
leaders said they would like
to work together to create a
shared vision using the col-
lective impact model.
Since then, the Commu-
nity Foundation of Grant
County hired a collective im-
pact consultant, John Peirce,
who has steered Grant
County’s Collective Im-
pact Guiding Team through
the process of developing a
framework for our Thriving
Families outcome. For the
past year, this team has been
working diligently to direct
our local Collective Impact
Initiative that is now known
as Thriving Families, Thriv-
ing Grant County. But, now
it’s time to dig deep, spread
our wings, and begin to de-
velop strategies to reach our
goals--that’s where we need
the help of the Grant County
community, citizens, fami-
lies, organizations, and busi-
nesses.
With this in mind, we have
been making great progress
on the following three efforts:
Growing Workgroups/
Networks:
Opening the 12 Work-
groups/4 Networks up to
community members to join
in order to truly get collec-
tive, community-wide ideas
and response is of paramount
importance. This work con-
tinues as we would like the
Workgroups/Networks
to
represent all of the Grant
County community well.
The 12 Workgroups/4 Net-
works are listed on the at-
tached ‘wheel’ and we con-
tinue to encourage Grant
County citizens to become
involved. Simply email
ThrivingFamilies@GiveTo-
Grant.org if you’re interested
in participating.
Securing Funds:
Raise funding from donors
to launch Thriving Families,
Thriving Grant County was
necessary to create momen-
tum and results more ef-
ficiently and effectively by
hiring an Executive Director
to guide the Workgroups/
Networks and facilitate
progress. We are thrilled to
announce that nine funders
have joined together to sup-
port this targeted effort. This
Collective Impact Guiding Team:
Alex Huskey, Ivy Tech Community College
Alicia Hazelwood, United Way of Grant County
Beau Hamner, College Wesleyan Church
Dawn Brown, Community Foundation of Grant County
Jacquie Dodyk, Affordable Housing Corporation
Kylie Jackson, Marion-Grant County Chamber of Com-
merce
Lisa Dominisse, Family Service Society
Tab McKenzie, Mississinewa Community Schools
Tammy Pearson, Project Leadership
John Peirce, Consultant, Peirce Consulting, LLC
GROCERY
AND
VARIETY
STORE
CALL: 765-998-1111
is a unique situation where-
as each of these donors has
agreed to invest collectively
toward one common goal
simply because each believes
that all families in Grant
County deserve to thrive. We
are certainly overwhelmed
by the generous spirit of the
nine funders listed in the
sidebar; without them, this
work simply would not be
possible.
rience all added up to the
exact combination of what
we were looking for to lead
this entrepreneurial Thriving
Families initiative.”
The next year will be an
exciting one as we begin to
look at our Thriving Fami-
lies outcomes and work with
you, our community mem-
bers, to develop strategies
that will show us both mea-
surable progress and forward
momentum.
We’re excited for 2017 in
Grant County, Indiana…let it
be a year of abundant bless-
ings! Thrive on!
Hire an Executive Director
Once funding was secured,
we began the search for an
Executive Director. With a
robust list of qualifications
required (see attached), we
are delighted to announce
that Cathy Weatherspoon has
signed on as Executive Di-
rector of Thriving Families,
Thriving Grant County and
will begin her duties on Au-
gust 1, 2017.
Cathy brings with her a
wealth of experience and a
passion for Grant County
that is truly contagious,”
commented Dawn Brown,
Executive Director of the
Community Foundation of
Grant County. “Her educa-
tion and prior work expe-
Funders
• Atlas Foundation
• Community Founda-
tion of Grant County
• General
Motors
Foundation
• Indiana
Wesleyan
University
• Ivy Tech Community
College
• Marion General Hos-
pital
• Ott Foundation
• Taylor University
• Vectren Foundation
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