Launches the Giving Season on the Tuesday Following Thanksgiving
The latest flyer describes this program, which will continue in cooperation with the Tipton County Public Library and United Way of Howard County. More than 40 local families took advantage of the Tipton Library drop off last year.
The Tipton County Foundation would be delighted to assist more young people who are organizing non-sectarian community benefit projects. TCF can help with fundraising advice, production of brochures, mailing costs, etc. [Click the contact button] to send an email with your name and contact information, with a brief summary of what you would like to do.
The mission of the Youth Philanthropy field of interest fund is: to provide support to young people who are learning about ways to help others; to promote youth development and experiences of philanthropy, including giving, serving, leading and engaging; to promote and encourage community initiatives that address concerns of or for youth; to engage youth and adults in partnership where they work together to serve the common good.
The Women’s Fund partners with IU Health Tipton Hospital to provide funding for the Heart Health Awareness event each February, the Breast Health Awareness event each October and Diabetes Awareness event each November. If interested, please contact lori@tiptoncf.org for more information about the next event.
TCF is revising its credit card donation service. Please email records@tiptoncf.org to request notification when the service resumes in a few days. Thank you!
County-Wide Study on Education
In collaboration with all of our partners who provide Education at any level, the Foundation is currently conducting studies on the state of education in Tipton County.
One of these studies surveys recent alumni of Tipton and Tri-Central schools regarding their perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of their overall experience and preparation. TCF began with the class of 2014 and will conclude gathering information with the class of 2018.
The other studies will examine ideas about programs and structure for the next generation. With the assistance of several contracted consultants, this wave of five studies will seek to define success, evaluate efficiency both in structure and academics, search for gaps, discover opportunities for collaboration, and craft a case for the value of small rural school districts.
Tipton County Promise (529 Savings Accounts)
The Promise is an initiative of comprehensive activities for youth and families to build hope for their future and create community college-going culture. The Promise helps reinforce parents’ expectations for children’s futures, fosters a community-wide culture and creates a saturation of savers. The Promise will realize success when all youth in Indiana have savings and champions from the community in their lives who support their dreams for the future.
The goals of The Promise are to leverage the entire community to make it easy for families to begin saving for post-secondary education, to incentivize savings behavior with community matching funds, and to build college-saver identity for youth by exposing them to college and careers in the classroom and on campus, including a “Walk Into My Future” celebration. Contextualizing 529 accounts, which may be foreign, in a familiar process (registering a child for school) helps families move to action.
Kindergarten Countdown
Currently the major component of the Foundation’s “Readiness for Kindergarten” Initiative, this program is a four week, half-day “pre-kindergarten” class, staffed by a licensed elementary educator with the purpose of preparing those children with little to no preschool experience to begin Kindergarten in the fall.
Each year, more and more students are arriving in Kindergarten under-prepared. The Kindergarten Countdown program seeks to provide skills to students who were not given the opportunity to attend a pre-school, or equivalent. Among these skills are basic knowledge of letters, numbers, shapes and colors, as well as introductions to reading and writing. In addition to these “educational” skills, students are prepared for the technicalities of the classroom setting, and therefore make a smoother transition into the classroom, impacting the learning environment for both the subject and his or her classmates.
Readiness for Graduation
TCF is also examining such programs as workforce ethics and various aspects of graduation requirements to help make sure students are prepared for the world of work, military, or continuing their education.
Ducky Day in Tipton Park
On the Sunday a week ahead of Labor Day weekend, the Tipton County Foundation hosts hundreds of children and their families for an afternoon of fun at very low cost. It is not a fund-raiser, but a gift to the community as summer ends. With more than a hundred teen volunteers from our schools, more than a dozen partner organizations that serve youth, and many financial sponsors and donors, this event initiated in 2003 is the fourth largest annual gathering in Tipton County (after the Pork Festival, the 4-H Fair, and the Fireworks.) August 26, 2018
2-1-1 is a three-digit phone number anyone can call to get information about health and human services. You can also TEXT your information request to the same office: 8-9-8-2-1-1. And, you can search their website: www.in211.org.
From any landline or cell phone, at home, from a business, or on the road in Tipton County, call 2-1-1 if you need information on housing, employment, legal aid, counseling and much more. (At some businesses, you may have to dial an 8 or 9 to get an outside line first. And cell phones that are not based in Tipton or Howard Counties may reach the Indianapolis call center; just tell them you need information for Tipton County and they can provide it!) The Tipton County Foundation has contracted with the United Way of Howard County in Kokomo for them to include Tipton County among the other counties in the area for which they maintain up-to-date service information through 2-1-1.
Please keep the Foundation informed about your plans for asking donors or conducting events or other “fundraisers” as they develop. We want to be aware of your fundraising event in case of inquiries from the public. We count on you to read and abide by this Donor-Initiated Fundraising Procedure. We want to help you be sure to:
Funding for the greatest show in north central Indiana comes from nearly 100 donors of small and large amounts. Look at the poster for details; print it and put it up.
With the Tipton County Chamber of Commerce and IU Health Tipton Hospital, the Foundation hosts business and community leaders at its Conference Center for food, entertainment, and the start of the holiday social season. It’s on the First Thursday of December from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
A program in partnership with the Indiana Youth Institute (IYI), Youth Worker Cafés are local gatherings of community youth workers to network and learn about timely youth topics. Traditionally, these are free 90 minute luncheons that include a presentation by an IYI approved expert on a given topic. In addition, time is provided for community youth workers to network and share ideas.
Youth Worker Cafés are intended to provide the chance for those who work directly with children to learn about available resources and gain knowledge they can use right away in their professionalor volunteer roles. The Tipton County Foundation works with IYI to host 3-4 Youth Worker Cafés annually on a variety of topics, which have included substance abuse, suicide and depression, children with incarcerated parents, and the “State of the Tipton County Child.”
Contact the Foundation with any topics your organization would like to see covered in the future, and watch our Facebook page for upcoming events
Any time you can, you may wish to provide some cash your support to help replenish local Food Banks that many families depend on to sustain themselves. With the help of Food Finders, a local pantry can triple the purchasing power of your cash gift, compared to actual cans and boxes you bring in!
The Foundation has established a grant relationship with Food Finders for their monthly Mobile Pantry visits to Tipton County. Sponsors are needed to help underwrite about $1,500 per month every time the truck goes out to a county. It is one of the most expensive programs for them to run, but it is also one of the most efficient in getting food distributed to our area.
Please send whatever support you can to TCF, memo “Food”, PO Box 412, Tipton 46072. The Foundation will combine your gifts with those of others to provide the Mobile Pantry all twelve months of the year.
Shoes for Kids
As the need increases and even the bargain price of children’s shoes grows, our Shoes for Kids Fund is somewhat depleted. Every family would like their sons and daughters to have fresh well-fitting footwear when school is about to start, or at holidays, birthdays or other special events. With hard economic choices parents wonder, “How do we pay for them?”
Can YOU help TODAY? Please send a check to TCF marked Shoes for Kids in the memo line. The Fund needs $40 to buy a good pair— but any amount you can send now is appreciated and will be used for this worthy cause. Thank you!
Held from 11 am to 1 pm on Thanksgiving Day at the 4-H Community Center, the dinner is organized by collaboration of the Tipton Lions Club, with Tipton County churches, civic organizations, businesses, volunteers, and Donors like you!
The Community Thanksgiving Dinner is a traditional meal with all the fixin’s. It is of special value to those who may otherwise be alone on our great national holiday. Singles, older couples, needy families, and anyone who would like to help with the event will all be welcome!
Disaster Recovery
As hurricanes, floods, tornados, and earthquakes affect millions of people, Tipton County donors are advised that for immediate relief they should choose the United Way, the Salvation Army, or American Red Cross which each have a long track record in natural disaster relief. Some churches also have a mechanism for this kind of assistance. You can find an up-to-date list of well-vetted and experienced Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters at https://www.nvoad.org/voad-members/national-members/. This site includes links for information and to make donations.
Following TCF Board action in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the role of the Tipton County Foundation has been to receive donations from school groups, families, companies, organizations, and individuals who would like to support the long term recovery of social services in the affected area. After a needs assessment, the donated recovery funds will be passed along to community foundations along the devastated area, to help them in making special grants to organizations as needed.
Please contact us if you would like information or assistance in organizing support for longer term recovery. Donations payable to TCF with the memo “STORM” may be mailed to PO Box 412, Tipton 46072.
