Making a difference right here in Elkhart County
These stories appear in our recent annual reports and provide a more complete story to the generosity of our community.
The Firehouse Family Gives Back
How the Wortingers’ gift is helping young firefighters find their calling in Goshen Chuck Wortinger remembers what it was like growing up as the son of a Goshen firefighter. His dad, Floyd “Bud” Wortinger, took them to every parade. His mom, Mabel, would make meals and take them to Goshen Fire Department’s Central Station along Third Street. He was accustomed to his father working 24 hours on and then being home for 24 hours. If he misbehaved on the day his father was working, his mom took care of disciplining him. “That was our life,” Chuck says. His family wasn’t Read More »
The Survivors’ Gift
Honoring Sang Brooks’ resilience by opening doors for students to pursue education Sang Pyong Brooks was a survivor. She never talked much about what she saw as a 7-year-old girl in Seokdal, South Korea. On a December day in 1949, soldiers came to her village of 98 people. Her mother hid her under her kimono as soldiers shot and killed the women and babies in the village. A bayonet barely missed Sang under the dress. When 46 men and children came back from school in a nearby village, the soldiers killed them too and Sang escaped again as people around Read More »
Jim Siegmann’s Enduring Gifts
Jim’s heart for people shaped his work, his giving, and the legacy he leaves behind Jim Siegmann used to say he had the best job in the world. As a program officer for the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, he met with people who worked at nonprofits in Elkhart County, constantly learning about them, but also supporting them. He’d been a printer, owning and operating Siegmann Printing Co. from 1967 to 2003 and also Impressions, Inc. From a shop along Main Street in Goshen, he was in a service business and then he transitioned to the Community Foundation for a Read More »
100 Women, 10 Years, Infinite Connections
100 Women Who Care Celebrates Giving More Than $425,000 Jenny Welch got the idea from a book and will tell you that God was moving between the lines of text. 100 Women Who Care Elkhart County started in 2014 after she and her friend Sheila Terlep partnered with the Community Foundation of Elkhart County to create a giving circle. Four times a year, women across Elkhart County gather and contribute $100 each, resulting in a $10,000 gift to a local nonprofit. The group celebrated its tenth anniversary in July 2024 and has given away more than $425,000 to nonprofits. The Read More »
Bernice Simms Gave Unwavering Support for Furry Friends
Estate Gift Extends Her Generosity They say Bernice Simms was the first one in the office and the last one to leave. Fred Lamble, who worked with her at Key Bank, tried to beat her into the office and got there at 7 a.m. one morning. She was there. He got there at 6:30 the next morning. She was there. And he gave up. “She just worked and earned money and saved it,” says Pam Hluchota, another coworker at the bank. Simms died in 2022 at the age of 81 and left her estate to the Community Foundation of Elkhart Read More »
From Concrete To Kindness: The Fidler Family’s Seven Decades of Impact
Family Members Give Together Once a year, the Fidler family gathers around John and Lois Fidler’s dining room table for an important conversation. Those who reside in northern Indiana come together to give away money from the family’s Donor Advised Fund. Over the last 23 years, the family has given generously to 65 local organizations. The collective impact of their donations is significant. “It’s fun to give money away,” said Karen Lacounte, one of John and Lois Fidler’s daughters. The Fidler name is well-known in Goshen. The Fidler family owned and operated a ready-mix concrete company for decades. Lewis Fidler Read More »
Memorial Scholarship Honors Lifelong Conservation Advocate
Honoring Dr. Walter Anglemeyer A memorial scholarship fund at the Community Foundation started with a letter and then a phone call. Dr. Walter Anglemeyer wrote a letter to the Nappanee Conservation Club. He was in his early 90s and had been a longtime member of the club that formed in the 1930s to promote conservation and shooting sports. His letter stated how much he appreciated the club as a longtime hunter and gun collector. Gus Feiler, a Nappanee businessman who respected Dr. Anglemeyer, had the idea of doing a competitive shoot at the club. He called Kenny Yoder and Dan Read More »
Building Strong Brains is Improving the system to help children thrive
Initiative Expected to Have Long-Term Impact on Success The effort to help children and families in Elkhart County has deep roots over decades, but doing it this way is new. Bringing organizations together to collaborate and work at the systems level to prepare children for kindergarten under an umbrella called Building Strong Brains is a recent effort that’s quickly gaining momentum. Building Strong Brains has a simple goal that will require a decade or more of work to shift systems. Candy Yoder, the Community Foundation’s chief program officer, has spent most of her four-decade career supporting children and their families Read More »
From Challenges to Chances: Fifth Graders Going On A Collective Journey
Elkhart Community Schools and Five Star Life Collaborating Elkhart Community Schools administrators were watching students struggling in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic to make needed connections. Administrators were seeing kids struggling with motivation, respect, and wanting to be in the classroom. Seth Maust, co-founder and president of Five Star Life, wanted to bus students out to the 350-acre property in southern Michigan for several hours of programming. The goal was to try something different than traditional classroom programming, says Aubrey Danielson, executive director of Five Star Life, a program that teaches character, leadership, and mindset changes. “And so we Read More »
Crafting Safe Passages and Stronger Bonds
Pumpkinvine Trails Coalition Builds On Connect In Elkhart County You will often see families enjoying a sunny afternoon biking, strolling, or simply taking in the scenery on Elkhart County’s trails. And in the early morning dawn, many weekday commuters frequent the same paths. More than 250,000 trips like these are made annually, according to Michiana Council of Government’s trail usage counters. The Connect in Elkhart County stakeholders are working hard to build a world-class network of trails that connect our communities. In 2022, representatives from across the county gathered to put their mark on a developing county-wide trails master plan. Read More »
