This award, named in honor of long-time Hancock County resident and philanthropist Martha Beckenholdt, recognizes a Hancock County high school junior who has contributed outstanding time, talent, and energy to philanthropic endeavors. These are the true attributes of the woman whom the award honors. The award recipient will select a Hancock County nonprofit organization or agency to receive a $1,000 grant in his or her name, donated by the Hancock County Community Foundation.
Applicants must be Hancock County high school juniors with a recommendation from a high school staff member or nonprofit organization leader located in Hancock County.
2021 Applications are Closed–2022 will open in January
Meet the 2020/2021 Martha Beckenholdt Youth Philanthropy Award Recipient
The Hancock County Community Foundation is honored to announce the 2020-21 Martha Beckenholdt Youth Philanthropy Award recipient, Hayden Kovell of Mt. Vernon High School. This award, named in honor of long-time Hancock County resident and philanthropist Martha Beckenholdt, recognizes a Hancock County high school junior who has contributed outstanding time, talent and energy to philanthropic endeavors. These are the true attributes of the woman whom the award honors.
Each year, the award recipient selects a Hancock County nonprofit organization or agency to receive a $1,000 grant in his or her name, donated by the Hancock County Community Foundation. Hayden chose Fortville Area Resource Mission (FARM), previously known as the Fortville Christian Church Food Pantry, to receive this year’s grant. HCCF presented Hayden with an award plaque and FARM with a grant check Tuesday, April 6 at the Fortville Christian Church during their drive-thru food pantry hours.
The applicants for this award each gathered a letter of recommendation from a local nonprofit leader or Hancock County high school staff member. Hayden’s recommender was Erin Flick, Interim Director of FARM and previous director of Fortville Christian Church Food Pantry. Erin said of Hayden, “This volunteer was willing to serve the extra hours by sorting, packing and displaying the food items for the Saturday food giveaway. It is rare to find a teenager that is so responsible and eager to serve their community.”
Hayden has also been active in her church, East 91st Street Christian Church, as well as National Honor Society and other school activities. She wrote in her essay, “Over the past couple of years, service work and volunteering have become one of the top priorities in my life. I have always been raised that it is our duty to help others who are not as fortunate as we are.”
The recipient of the 2021 award was chosen via a two-step process. The blinded applications were evaluated first by HCCF staff who used a scoring rubric to narrow the field to three finalists. These finalists were then interviewed by HCCF to get deeper information about the students’ service hours.
