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Author: Shelly Jones

22 Feb

Posted at 15:05h in Featured Story
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The gift that Merlin J. Loew gave to Grant County is still giving, 38 years after his death, through the Merlin J. Loew Family Trust. This Trust will make final payouts totaling over $3 Million to 19 local nonprofit organizations listed as beneficiaries. On February 21, the Community Foundation of Grant County will host a celebration to commemorate Mr. Loew’s generosity and the amazing legacy he has left with the named nonprofits, their board members, and a few individuals that helped to steward the Trust over the years. President/CEO Dawn Brown stated, “Although it’s bittersweet when our donors pass away, to know we helped them leave a legacy of generosity is amazing. Mr. Loew is a prime example of the enormous impact one can have on a community when a planned gift is designated to your favorite charities through a will or estate plan.” Board of Directors Chairwoman, Georgette Miller stated, “The impact that Mr. Loew had, and will continue to have, on the Grant County community is truly a legacy. Mr. Loew was obviously a very generous man, and by setting up his trust and naming these 19 organizations, he continues to give back, even 38 years after his death. When...

04 Feb

Posted at 19:16h in A Message from Dawn, Community News
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Blanket Jackson. I never understood why Michael Jackson would name his son, Blanket. Celebrities, in general, never choose ‘normal’ names like Mary or John. Gweneth Paltrow chose Apple for her daughter; yes, like the fruit. And, Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller chose the name Moxie Crimefighter. Nothing says, ‘It’s a girl!’ like Moxie Crimefighter. But, Blanket—that one’s making a bit more sense to me this winter. We just experienced a polar vortex, where boiled water thrown from a pan outside freezes in mid-air; no wonder a fuzzy blanket readily becomes your favorite accessory. With temps and wind chills, both in the negative double digits, our thermostats had a hard time keeping up…no matter where they were set. We were on a strict 68-degree limit growing up, to keep the heating bills low. Recently, we were lucky if the indoor temp stayed at 68 degrees. So, blankets were essential. I used to have a favorite blanket. It was a muted green with the softest fleece on one side. Some friends got it for me for my birthday one year—from Comforts of Home when it was still in downtown Marion. I loved that blanket. Well, technically, I still love it—although I...

17 Jan

Posted at 23:25h in A Message from Dawn, Featured Story
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I’ve been tired this week.  All in favor of blaming winter say ‘aye’.  While it’s true that it’s dark when I wake up and dark when I get home from work, ultimately, I think that re-entry is hard…even if you love your job.  The time off during the holidays spoils you.  Cuddly blankets by the fire and predictable Hallmark movies on 24/7 where Nick (his name is Nick most of the time) always wins the girls heart in the end--you know this because he finally kisses her and the most beautiful white snowflakes begin to fall.  Add all that to staying up late, sleeping in later, decadent food, and the frivolity that extra time provides for friends and family and what do you get?  You get entering 2019 tired.  Or in my husband’s case, entering 2019 re-tired. I know what you’re thinking--how can someone so young and vivacious as me possibly be married to someone old enough to retire?  LOL!  Probably the same way I’m old enough to have a son with a beard!  Somewhere along the way, we blinked, and the years caught up with us. Beware, it happens when you least expect it. As most of you know, my husband...

31 Oct

Posted at 17:14h in A Message from Dawn, Community News
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The pain was fierce. Not fierce like when your husband has a cold, but still awful.  😊 Although I came to work that Halloween day several years ago, I ended up urgently seeking a doctor’s attention before the day was done.  I’m obviously still here, so it wasn’t anything life-threatening.  But, he did write me a prescription which I had filled before I went home.  Once I arrived back to the Brown Bungalow, I headed straight to bed leaving it up to my husband to distribute the Halloween candy that I had already placed in a bright orange trick-or-treat container on the table next to the door.  Once I took my meds, I was down for the count and really don’t recall much until the very next day.  That was when we became ‘those neighbors’. Technically, the problem started much earlier in my life when I discovered that I liked to organize things.  And, I must admit that I do have an affinity for a good label maker.  Who doesn’t?  Yes, I’m one of those people who makes a label that says ‘label maker’ just so I can stick it on the label maker.  So, when I was organizing the pantry...

10 Oct

Posted at 19:32h in A Message from Dawn, Featured Story
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Remember that scene in Elf where Buddy is in the mail room?  He said, “This place reminds me of Santa’s Workshop, except it smells like mushrooms and everyone looks like they want to hurt me.” I laughed out loud when he was sticking mail through the tube and declaring it was ‘very sucky’? Well, we haven’t exactly replicated that at our house, although having a son in Afghanistan is pretty sucky. But, we have set up a  mini-post office in our kitchen. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know my son has been in Afghanistan for the past five months.  Five months that felt more like five minutes—under water.  So, to help the time slip away a bit quicker, for us and him, we send care packages…every week.  So, at all times, we have a couple of corrugated boxes that we’ve snagged from anyone who has recently got an Amazon shipment and we fill them up a bit each day.  Since he’s at a base camp, and not an actual base, there are no grocery stores or amenities like we enjoy.  So, if he’s craving some Oreos, he can’t just drive down to a convenience store or up to...

25 Sep

Posted at 14:03h in A Message from Dawn, Featured Story
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She was feisty. No one would argue that fact. Well, they could try, but they wouldn’t win. I think it must run in our family. The feistiness. Or maybe that’s just what feisty people say. No matter what you call it, the stories are worth remembering and, I think, repeating. Her name was Elvie. Not ElviS, as in the King of Rock and Roll. But ElviE, as in the Queen matriarch of our family. She was as beautiful as she was bold. As an adult, I totally get her—she made things happen. As one of her grandkids, I was occasionally mortified. I know my cousin Cathy remembers well, ‘that one time’ when we were nine-years-old, following our grandma to the back of Kmart. Elvie was in Indiana visiting and took us ‘into town’, as she called it. Her mission that day was a new set of pots and pans for my mom. Chances are my mom didn’t even know she needed a new set of pots and pans. But, Elvie thought she did, so it was happening. However, since grandma wasn’t from Grant County, she didn’t know the layout of the store, so she was having some difficulty locating exactly...

10 Sep

Posted at 14:47h in Featured Story
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Many of our donors choose to leave gifts to charity in their will. Are there any causes you are passionate about in our community? Provide this sample gift bequest language below to your attorney or professional advisor when planning to include a gift in your will or estate plans for The Community Foundation of Grant County. And then notify us so that we can ensure your gift will benefit the causes you care about most and in the way you intend. Property given by will, also known as a bequest, can significantly reduce the taxes otherwise payable by your estate (cash, securities, or real estate). The value of the bequest will not be subject to estate taxes. Your heirs' benefit and if an Endowment Fund is established, your good work in the community will continue permanently in your name, a living symbol of your charitable intentions. Leaving a bequest is one of the easiest ways to give. With the help of an attorney, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift to be made to family, friends, or the Community Foundation as part of your estate plan. This type of giving can benefit any fund held at the Foundation...

31 Aug

Posted at 12:54h in A Message from Dawn, Community News, Featured Story
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Twelve. A dozen.  It works well with eggs and even Tollhouse cookies.  But, when your house turns twelve, something starts happening.  It’s been a bit like dominos falling.  One-by-one, like teenage hearts, things started breaking.  First up was our washer.  I loved that washer.  It was orange.  I love orange.  And, technically it could be fixed—but the repairman said that would cost more than a brand-new machine.  Ugh.  After washing thousands of loads of laundry and probably eating an army of socks, we had to bid farewell.  So, I told my husband that I’d be shopping for a new washer and dryer after work.  Now, all the wives reading this probably know what’s coming next.  And you’d be right.  The hubs had no idea why we’d need both a washer and a dryer—after all, the dryer was working just fine.  When I informed him that an orange washer replacement wasn’t an option, he still didn’t quite get it.  That’s right, he was perfectly fine with having a white washer and an orange dryer…as long as they both worked. Any woman with Pinterest knows that’s not happening.   So, we compromised and got a new washer and dryer.  He wanted working machines...

08 Aug

Posted at 14:45h in A Message from Dawn, Community News, Featured Story
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Eight years ago, my son’s baseball team had just played their final game of the season and we were looking for a way to celebrate their hard work all summer. In my normal go-big-or-go-home fashion, I had this wild idea that we should take the whole team and their families to an Indianapolis Indian’s game. You’ve probably been to an Indian’s game before—good, old-fashioned family fun. But, I didn’t just want them to go to see a minor league game, although I knew they’d love it. My hope was that they would get to experience some things most of this team had never experienced in their short ten years on earth. We don’t think about this much, but with 1 in 3 children living in poverty in Grant County, some of the team had never been outside of our county before. Not only had they not been to a minor league game, most had never even seen the skyline of a city like Indianapolis. Not surprisingly, they hadn’t done these kinds of things because there just wasn’t money for extravagant activities like this, which would be costly for an entire family. But, they were awesome kids and I was on a...

16 Jul

Posted at 15:34h in Featured Story
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Here at the Community Foundation, we love connecting people like YOU with causes that matter. We recently revamped our website to make it easier to navigate and make those connections. One way you can help is by visiting our Donor Marketplace and reviewing the information listed on your fund page. Then tell us your fund story by completing the Questionnaire below. We all love stories – stories that make us laugh, make us cry, and most importantly, stories that compel us to work towards the betterment of our community. It is often stories about impact that lead to action. This brief questionnaire will help you tell your story. It's setup in a way that will allow you to skip the questions that are not relevant to your story. You can even submit photos to post on your fund page. The CoFo Team is here to help put it all together! What’s your fund story? Let us know. We look forward to helping you support your charitable goals in this way! [vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][gravityform id="10" title="true" description="true" ajax="false"][/vc_column][/vc_row]...