SIA Foundation awards grants to 11 Indiana nonprofits, 5 from Tippecanoe County

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — As part of their semi-annual tradition, leaders from Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA) presented 11 non-profit organizations with a grant to help fund the projects they’ve been wanting to make a reality.

These grants were a product of the SIA foundation, which was established in 1997. SIA awards up to $15,000 per non-profit in hopes of helping create projects that will promote arts and culture, health and wellness, or educational project for the community.

In total, SIA received around 393 applications for this year’s foundation fund, but ultimately, SIA selected eleven, donating in total around $101,000 in funds.

Out of the eleven non-profits organization, five of them were from Tippecanoe County, and the rest were from Boone, Cass, Harrison, Howard, Jackson, and St. Joseph Counties.

Tippecanoe County's non-profits

East Tipp Middle School - Sharita Ware, an engineering and technology teacher at East Tipp Middle School, and recipient of the 2022 Indiana Teacher of the Year Award, went up the stage to accept an $8,578 check written out to East Tipp Middle School.

In hopes of cultivating the minds of the next generation of engineers, this grant is aimed at giving the school funds to purchase a laser cutter and engraver, an air filter to cover the cutter, and a workbench to create new projects on.

“I think it’s an opportunity for us to introduce more technology to the students,” Ware said.

“Introducing kids to more STEM, manufacturing innovation, making things and learning how to use technology that some of them might potentially use in the workforce, is important.”

Lafayette Jefferson High School – Josh White, an engineering and technology teacher at Jefferson High School, accepted a $10,690.62 check written out to Jeff High School.

Similarly to East Tipp, as a way to motivate students to pursue a career in STEM or construction, the grant will help fund the creation of a new shop in the school and purchase the industrial tools and construction curriculum equipment needed for the new shop.

“This award means we can expand the number of courses that we serve in the construction industry. Currently, we have eight periods in a day, and we have ten classes that need to use the facility that we have for construction. With this we can expand out into a separate shop,” White said.

“My goal with my students is not to turn them into builders, my goal with my student is to turn them into people who can contribute to their community.”

West Lafayette Fire Department – West Lafayette’s Fire Chief, Jeff Need, and several other firefighters went on stage and accepted a $10,095 check.

The grant will help pay for a new ADA-accessible four-room inflatable educational firehouse and give the West Lafayette Fire Department a new tool that they can use when trying to teach the public about fire safety.

“Trying to be proactive is a big thing in the fire service. You know, if we can prevent fires before they even start, that’s the best thing. This gives us the opportunity to bring in people. It’s bright and attractive and draws a crowd to it, especially to the young kids. We can bring them in and present them with a small fire safety message,” said Need.

Riggs Community Health Center – Members from the Riggs Community Health Center accepted a $10,146.28 check to help fund a vaccine transport system to ensure that they can reach all corners of the community and push forward on their vaccines for children mission.

Wea Ridge Elementary School – Kindergarten teacher Michela Rieck accepted a check for $1,240.30 for Wea Ridge Elementary School, which will help fund the school’s little library project.

In hopes of encouraging students to read, the school plans to create three little libraries across the campus, where kids can freely borrow books and return them when they are finished.

Other counties' non-profits

Boys & Girls Club of Seymour (Jackson County) – SIA donated $13,710 to the Boys & Girls Club of Seymour to help fund the creation of a Tween Center at their club.

Currently, the club has more than 100 active members between the ages of 10 to 12 years old. This age group is too young for the teen center but too old and uninterested in the youth center.

With this grant, the club hopes to address this unique problem with a section that tweens feel welcome in and hopefully find interesting.

Emmaus Mission Center (Cass County) – SIA donated $13,860 to Emmaus Mission Center to help purchase new bed frames, mattresses, and clothing chests for the homeless shelter that the organization runs.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, shelters across the county saw an increase in need.

Since then, the Emmaus Mission Center has been at full capacity helping around 100 people annually.

Harrison County Community Service (Harrison County) – SIA donated $6,294.00 to Harrison County Community Service to help purchase six new freezers for their community’s food banks.

In 2021, the organization gave away more than 1,000,000 pounds of food to countless families within their county.

Senior Citizens Inc. Lebanon (Boone County) – SIA donated $10,811.32 to Senior Citizens Inc. Lebanon to help fund several restoration projects of the current building they operate in, which was initially built in the 1960s.

The organization plans to install attic insulation and new automated doors in the building, which will help retain heat, lower energy costs, and ensure that their older patrons remain warm during the winter.

Studebaker National Museum (St. Joseph County) – SIA donated $3,202.10 to Studebaker National Museum to help fund a new hands-on STEM-focused activity station in the museum.

The station will challenge kids and families to create race cars out of Legos and race them down a track to see who built the faster car out of the lot.

Western School Corporation (Howard County) – SIA donated $13,112.65 to the Western School Corporation to help purchase a brand-new set of percussion equipment for their school corporation.

Much of the current equipment being used by students is around ten years old and in need of replacement.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: SIA Foundation awarded grants to 5 non-profits from Tippecanoe County