The story of Matt Dibley’s legacy living on. It was an unseasonably warm day in March. Folks in and around Elkhart County went about their days as usual. Among them was Heather Streiter, then a 17-year-old getting ready for her day at Concord High School. She set down her straightener on her marble...
How one family has invested everything in Elkhart. In a lot of ways, education is an investment in human capital. For Elkhart County, it’s no different. Here, education is an investment in home…an investment in people. Clark Air Base — Luzon Island, Philippines. Home to a U.S. military base from 1903 through 1991,...
The story of home and the people in it. The visitation room at the correctional facility looked like an elementary school cafeteria that hadn’t been updated since 1974. The walls were taupe but for two bold roller-rink stripes of maroon and blue. The tiled floor was patterned to make the room feel busier...
The story of the time, talent, and treasure behind the Elkhart Environmental Center. It’s 6:00 a.m. and Jamison Czarnecki is swapping his orange and grey running shoes for a pair of well-worn hiking boots. He’s on his feet the bulk of the day, and much of that is spent outdoors. Red laces offer...
The story of helping those in the greatest need. The room is awash with light. Streaming in from two large windows, filling the homey space with warmth. Joyce Menchinger herself exudes warmth with or without the sun’s presence. She stands in the entryway. Joyce is soft-spoken and kind. It would be readily...
The story of lifting a burden, thereby a congregation. An air conditioner is a simple convenience. Maybe not the product of a transformative gift, or a changemaker in the landscape of our community. But how simple is it, really? When an air conditioner is a stand-in for the simple expenditures of a lean-running...
How Walnut Hill provides stability to a community in need. It’s 6:40 on a Monday morning and the Bergholz’s home is already in full motion. Sarah’s hair, still dripping from her shower, leaves an imprint, growing on her maroon scrubs top. Someone takes excessively long steams in the morning before she gets up,...
The story of Goshen Theater, reborn. Click. Click. Click. Her vintage Ferragamo’s, studded and black, clack across the empty stage. Maple boards creak intermittently, each filled with memories of the thousands of footsteps that have come before. As she slowly edges across the floor, she’s careful to feel each board, she’s careful to feel each...
When we think of home, our definition is contextual. It depends on where we are and what we are doing. As we sit on our couch and settle in for a Notre Dame football game, home means that couch and that TV. Home for me is Wendy and I with...
A letter from Community Foundation president, Pete McCown, and board chair, Dzung Nguyen: For 28 years the Community Foundation of Elkhart County has focused on connecting generous people to community causes. If you talk to leaders of the nonprofit agencies (NPOs) in Elkhart County, they speak about the remarkable generosity and volunteerism...