Hancock County Community Foundation Health Funds

Established in memory of Matt, family and friends wish to carry-on his spirit by supporting charitable causes that exemplify his “We Before Me” attitude with a special emphasis on those providing resources to families battling cancer.

This operating endowment fund provides a perpetual stream of income that will allow the Hospital Foundation to carry out its mission to enable and strengthen the work of the hospital and enhance community healthcare efforts.

The fund, created by Don and Marg to address their great concern for the welfare of those less fortunate, will provide support to The Rotary Foundation’s Clean Water and Sanitation Fund for projects that give communities the ability to develop and maintain sustainable water and sanitation systems around the world.

Mary Katherine created this fund through her estate. It provides operating funds to the Hancock Regional Hospital Foundation.

Vera named HCCF as the beneficiary of her trust. Upon maturity it created the Robert W. and Vera S. Maxwell Charitable Endowment Fund. Grants generated support the work of Hancock Regional Hospital Hospice Care.

Kim Hall worked in the banking industry for many years and recalls getting to know customers and the joys and troubles of their lives. With a note of sadness in her voice, she shares a staggering fact:

Since that time, three customers she worked with have taken their own lives.

That’s why she joined the Mental Health Partners of Hancock County (MHP) board of directors in 2010. Since April of 2015, she’s been the executive director of the social service nonprofit.

“I’ve completed suicide prevention training for that reason because there are people sitting at a desk who talk to people every day, and they don’t know how to help,” Hall says. “That’s why I’m here, and that’s my passion.”

MHP focuses on addiction recovery and suicide prevention. From January to April 2016, Hancock County averaged one suicide death per week among its residents. The most current data hasn’t been officially reported, but based on word of mouth, Hall believes this trend has not yet improved.

One service MHP provides is mental health counseling for individuals with extreme financial need, focusing on grief, anxiety and depression. Through MHP, a person can attend six free, hour-long sessions with one of two therapists with whom MHP contracts. They helped 18 people last year with counseling services.

MHP also convenes a Teen Forum that works to remove the stigma of mental illness. Hall recalls a story that frustrated one of the teen members and motivated her to catalyze change. A student sitting next to her in the school cafeteria dropped a tube of lip balm and it rolled toward a table where students with autism were sitting. This student didn’t pick it up because she didn’t want to go near “them.” Hall said the Teen Forum member who witnessed this became involved with MHP because she believes too many students don’t know how to interact with their peers who have disabilities.

Finances and sustainability are constant needs for all nonprofit organizations, but with multiple leadership changes in a short period of time, MHP was having trouble making ends meet.

To ensure the good work continues, the Mental Health Partners of Hancock County Operating Endowment Fund was established at the Hancock County Community Foundation by an anonymous donor in 2016. The fund will provide operating funding to Mental Health Partners of Hancock County to further its mission – working for the promotion and preservation of mental health and wellness, increasing access to resources in the treatment of persons who are affected by emotional or mental illness, and forming partnerships between business entities, government agencies and private individuals and organizations to achieve those goals.

“I was so shocked. I wanted to cry,” Hall describes her reaction to the news that this fund had been established. “When someone tells you they believe in you, that really gives you the ability to believe in yourself and know that you’ve been doing something right. Even if you don’t know who that person is, that gives you a reason to want to help more people.”

Marjorie and Donald established a fund to benefit Riley Children’s Foundation.  The fund supports families of Indiana children born with cleft and craniofacial anomalies to help defray expenses related to their care or to assist children with eyesight problems.

As we journey through life, we sometimes have the privilege of meeting someone who has encountered what, for many of us, would be insurmountable odds, survived, and used those experiences to help others. Suzanne Walker is one of these courageous souls.

In 1990, Suzanne was diagnosed with cancer. It was important to her to be treated in her own community, where she felt most at home, rather than in Indianapolis. The staff at Hancock Memorial Hospital (now Hancock Regional Hospital) provided excellent care, even though providing the treatments necessary was relatively new to them at that time.

Through her experience, Suzanne identified an opportunity to help others. She felt that cancer patients could use more peer support to accept their diagnosis and get through the mental and physical anguish of treatment. An idea formed and a dream was fulfilled when, with the help of a great nurse, a dear friend, and $1,000, Suzanne created the Walker Foundation.

The Walker Foundation worked with the hospital to provide a room for monthly meetings for patients and family members. Those attending the meetings were privy to special speakers, uplifting music and tapes, and, most importantly, a time of fellowship where they could listen, support, guide and help one another.

The Walker Foundation provided supplies for patients who could not afford things like Ostomy supplies, wigs, and mammograms, and each year has sponsored Relay for Life so cancer survivors have a team.

One of the most touching and appreciated gifts that the Walker Foundation provided to cancer patients is stuffed bears. The bears were purchased by Suzanne, identified with a special necklace made by Suzanne’s son, and distributed to patients through the Hancock Regional Cancer Clinic. Suzanne and her Foundation Board have received many special notes and cards sharing how much comfort the bears have brought to those undergoing treatment.

How have Suzanne, friends, and supporters managed to support all these wonderful activities? Through lots of work and the generosity of a caring community! In the early years, the Walker Foundation had dances to raise needed funds; later, the Board began issuing annual appeal letters.

So why did Suzanne and her Board decide to create an endowment at the Hancock County Community Foundation? “I wanted the work of the Walker Foundation to continue after I was gone and knew an endowment at the Community Foundation would ensure that the efforts to help others would continue after my lifetime. I had heard good things about the Community Foundation from people I know that have created funds and made gifts to them, so I felt very comfortable that a fund to benefits cancer Survivors my wishes would be honored,” Suzanne shares.

She continues, “No one knows when this disease will touch you or someone you love, and you never know the special help you will need. I invite others to contribute to this endowment….to do so is to help others in need.” This past December, Suzanne and her Board created the Walker Cancer Survivors Endowment Fund. The 2007 annual appeal letter included a request to grow the fund, and gifts contributed totaled more than $1,450.

“This community has been very good to me and very supportive through two bouts of cancer and a very serious accident. It’s my desire to give back to this community during my lifetime and, thanks to the endowment, beyond my lifetime and for generations to come,” Suzanne says.