Hancock County Community Foundation Education Funds

Long-time supporters of Imagination Library, Bert and Irene Curry chose honor all members of their family through the establishment of a named fund.  Income from the endowment assures that children will receive age-appropriate books, that are delivered monthly to their home and in their very own name, in perpetuity.

This fund provides immediate funds to the Eastern Hancock Education Foundation to support projects and programs benefiting the students of Eastern Hancock Schools.

The Eastern Hancock Education Foundation Endowment provides long-term operating support to further the organization’s mission of providing charitable funding for educational activities that are beyond the scope and financial ability of Eastern Hancock School Corporation.

Dan and Becky Riley created the Achievement Fund to provide support to the Greenfield Central School Foundation for the benefit of G-CHS Academic Academies, including Bio-Medical Academy, PLTW (Project Lead the Way) Engineering Academy, and any future established G-CHS Academy.

The Greenfield Central School Foundation, Inc. Endowment provides operating support to further the organization’s mission to provide funding for educational activities that are beyond the scope and financial ability of the Greenfield-Central School Corporation.

Established by George and Dorothy Link in honor of Dorothy’s parents, this fund provides income to Hancock County High School libraries for the purchase of books, software, and educational multi-media to enhance student learning.

Established by the Homemakers, this fund provides support for programs for continuing education, volunteer community support, and leadership development.

Donald and Lois Hanson were married in 1950. During their 47 years of marriage, they raised ten children, all of whom live across the United States. Home could have been identified in any number of places since Donald and Lois were born in the Midwest and traveled the world during Donald’s career with the Army. Fortunately, Colonel Donald Hanson retired from the Army and made his and Lois’ permanent home in Hancock County. Donald started and owned a successful business and seven of their children graduated from Mt. Vernon High School. Donald passed away in 1997 and Lois knew that he would have approved of establishing a fund at the Community Foundation.

Lois first established the Donald F. and Lois M. Hanson Family Endowment Fund in 2008. Its defined purpose reflected her and her late husband’s desire to provide support for educational attainment initiatives such as literacy enrichment programs and family strengthening services such as retreats and recreation opportunities. In 2015, Lois learned that HCCF had identified the Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library as the  program to address kindergarten readiness improvement efforts in Hancock County.   Imagination Library provides accessibility to literacy materials through the delivery of quality age-appropriate books that are delivered monthly to the home of enrolled Hancock County children.  Since Don and Lois practiced  spending quality time with their children by reading to them regularly, the Imagination Library program spoke to Lois’ heart.  She revised the Donald F. and Lois M. Hanson Family Endowment fund agreement, designating it specifically for the purpose of funding books for pre-school aged children.  “I love this program!” shares Lois.

Lois inspires her family by continuing a tradition of organizing retreats that bring together her children, 27 grandchildren, and 24 great grandchildren from all over the United States.

This fund provides support to Imagination Library, an early childhood literacy program, that equips Hancock County children with the tools they need to successfully start learning on their very first day of kindergarten.á Income from the endowment assures that children will receive age-appropriate books, that are delivered monthly to their home and in their very own name, in perpetuity.

This fund provides operating support to Leaders in Navigating Knowledge (LINK) to help people plan, prepare, and pay for post-secondary education credentials.

The last thing an educational organization needs is to worry about how a classroom teacher will be able to purchase the important items needed for a stimulating educational project. Mt. Vernon Education Foundation supports the students and teachers of Mt. Vernon Schools in grades K-12 by raising funds to award teacher grants for classroom or grade-level projects as well as school corporation-wide initiatives. They support all areas of academics, the arts, citizenship, cultural awareness, athletics, healthy lifestyles, technology and more. This wonderful fund provides a healthy line item to the organization’s annual budget.

This fund, established by an anonymous donor, provides support to the Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation for elementary education efforts. Grants are administered by the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation for school-wide reading programs, tutoring, and teacher grants for classroom projects and supplies.

190The legacy of Ralph W. and Lois C. Myerholtz will forever be remembered through their endowment fund at the Hancock County Community Foundation. In keeping with the Myerholtz’s love for literacy and the opportunities provided by the Hancock County Public Library, Ralph and Lois named the Library’s endowment at HCCF as the annual grantee of their charitable fund.
Ralph and Lois both pursued degrees in the field of science at Purdue University. The couple met while working on the Purdue Scientist magazine staff. Both Ralph and Lois pursued further education and got married upon graduation in Nashville, IN on June 24, 1951.
Lois first began work as a research associate at Abbott Laboratories. Throughout her career, she also worked as a lab technician in a hospital, taught in a junior high school, and spent 20 years at her dream job as an Environmental Educator at the Morton Arboretum, west of Chicago. Ralph spent his 32-year career at Amoco Chemicals Company where he was the Director of the Polymer Physics Division.
The Myerholtz’s were also parents to two children, their son, Carl, and their daughter, Lynn. Later, they would become grandparents to Lynn’s children, Nick and Megan. Ralph’s work took the family to Japan for three years when the children were very young. Living in a foreign culture and raising a family was a wonderful growth experience for everyone, and Lois and Ralph enjoyed the challenge of immersing themselves into a new community. When the family returned to the U.S., they would stay in the Midwest living in both Illinois and Indiana.
Lois and Ralph always enjoyed exploring the world around them. They were lifelong learners and found the greatest enjoyment out of simple things. Both were avid readers, nature enthusiasts, and loved a day outside.
Ralph passed away in February of 2005. Lois continued to pursue both of their passions by helping at the library, becoming very involved at church, promoting women support groups, and working on community outreach programs.
Lois passed away in December of 2018. Both Ralph and Lois were long-time supporters and past board members of the Hancock County Public Library in Greenfield. The library was very important to them. The couple always felt that libraries brought joy and knowledge to everyone. As a result of this passion, the Ralph W. Myerholtz, Jr. and Lois C. Myerholtz Charitable Endowment Fund was established at the Hancock County Community Foundation to carry on their love for literacy and passion for the Hancock County Public Library.

Audrey named HCCF as beneficiary of her Individual Retirement Account. The remainder benefits Zion Lutheran School for student tuition assistance, library books, educational programming, and capital improvements.

Established by the Purdue Club of Hancock County, the fund provides grants to Purdue University for the purpose of providing scholarship support to graduating seniors who are residents of Hancock County. The income from this fund is administered in conjunction with Purdue University’s Purdue Promise Program combining federal, work-study, and state funding.

This operating fund provides support to further the organization’s mission of providing funding for educational activities that are beyond the scope and financial ability of Southern Hancock School Corporation.

Established by Zion Lutheran School Alumni, this fund will provide perpetual support to Zion Lutheran School to assist with student tuition, capital improvements, and other operating needs as deemed necessary.