Porter-Starke Services Awarded $5,000 Grant to Help Starke County Residents Access Health Care

Operation Round Up Board Director Judy Jelinek presents check to Porter-Starke Services Director of Medication-Assisted Treatment Programs Megan Fisher and Vice President of Clinical Services Sandy Carlson (photo provided by Kankakee Valley REMC)

Porter-Starke Services hopes to make it easier for people with opioid use disorder to get the health care they need. The mental health organization recently got a $5,000 grant through Kankakee Valley REMC’s Operation Round Up program. It plans to use that money specifically in Starke County.

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Starke County Community Foundation Presents $20,000 in Grants to Starke County Park Board

The Starke County Forest will get $15,000 worth of improvements this spring, thanks to a grant from the Hardesty Memorial Endowment Fund. The funding was formally presented to the Starke County Park Board Tuesday by Starke County Community Foundation Director of Development Sarah Origer and Northern Indiana Community Foundation Executive Director Jay Albright.

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Starke County Park Board to Get Updates on Grant Applications

The Starke County Park Board will get updates on some grant applications tonight. The park board has already been awarded $5,000 from the Starke County Community Foundation to help prevent and repair erosion at the Bass Lake Beach. Starke County is also seeking funding from Arrowhead Country Resource Conservation and Development and Kankakee Valley REMC’s Operation Round Up program.

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Two Starke County Organizations Receive Operation Round up Grants

Two Starke County organizations have been awarded grant funds from the Kankakee Valley REMC Operation Round Up program.

Community Services of Starke County received $3,300 grant to help purchase a computer system that will better serve the organization’s needs and the needs of clients. The organization helps low-income, elderly and disabled citizens in Starke County. Community Services hosts a food pantry, senior activities, meal assistance, and transportation assistance.

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Starke County Youth Club Receives Operation Round Up Grant

Starke County Youth Club Executive Director Irene Szakonyi and Amanda Steeb from Kanakee Valley REMC
Starke County Youth Club Executive Director Irene Szakonyi and Amanda Steeb from Kanakee Valley REMC

The Starke County Youth Club is benefiting from Kankakee Valley REMC members who choose to round their monthly bills up to the nearest dollar. The organization received a $3,000 Operation Round Up grant from the electrical cooperative. SCYC Executive Director Irene Szakonyi says the money will provide supplies for the many science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) projects the club offers at sites across Starke County. She says the activities the club offers in an after-school setting help youngsters develop critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving skills and build confidence. Visit www.thescyc.org for more information. Kankakee Valley REMC is a member-owned rural electric cooperative serving approximately 18,000 members throughout portions of Starke, Pulaski, Porter, Lake, Marshall, St. Joseph and LaPorte Counties. Members who take part in Operation Round Up donate an average of $6 per year, which is then distributed to local nonprofit organizations throughout the service territory.

 

Operation Round Up Scholarships Available

  
 
Operation Round Up is offering a total of six scholarships for high school seniors who are planning to continue their education at a college or university in 2014. Operation Round Up Scholarships are available for students whose parents or guardians are Kankakee Valley REMC members and have been participating in Operation Round up since Jan. 27, 2014, which is one month prior to when the applications are due.

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Marshall County REMC to Begin Rounding Up Participating Members’ Bills

  
 
Marshall County REMC customers that have opted to participate in Operation Round Up will begin receiving affected bills beginning with their next bill for July, due in September. According to MCREMC Communications Specialist Emily Howard, the program offers customers the chance to give back to their communities by rounding up their bills to the next dollar amount, with the extra change going to a special fund to be distributed to places in the community that need it the most.

“We’re allowing our members to kind of give back to the service territory that we serve – mainly Marshall County, but also parts of Starke, Kosciusko and Kankakee also. And we’re allowing different organizations and individuals to fill out applications for different needs,” said Howard.

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