The Greater Seymour Trust Fund board recently awarded $48,000 in grants to 19 community organizations.

The grants, which came from the Evie Scott Fund, the Verna Robertson Fund, the Miriam Newkirk Fund, the Maude Welch Fund and the Nellie Kloeker Fund, will be used for a range of needs in Seymour, according to a news release.

Those needs include a $3,000 printer system for Jackson County United Way; $1,500 for new kitchen equipment for Girls Inc. of Jackson County; and a total of $12,500 in two separate grants for Schneck Medical Center for nursing education, breast pumps and educational materials for the pregnancy learning center.

“We are very thankful for these grant dollars, which will allow us to provide the best in patient safety and quality of care for our community,” said Stephanie Furlow, director of marking and public relations at Schneck.

Schneck received $7,750 from the Maude Welch Fund for the continuing education of nurses and $4,750 for two portable breast pumps in the obstetrics unit and a new computer, software and DVDs for its pregnancy care center.

The trust fund, established in 1969 by the late E.S. Welch, serves the cultural, scientific, religious, literary and educational needs of the community.

Funds are received from the public as gifts or bequests to be held by the trustee, JCB.

Brandon Hunsley, assistant vice president and trust officer with JCB, said a board of managers for the fund allocates the money to organizations in Seymour following an application process.

The purpose is to assist, encourage and promote the welfare of present and future residents of the community. Grants can only be used for capital expenditures, which can include chairs, computers, tables, book shelves, etc.

Matt Nicholson, executive director of Read Jackson County, said until that organization recently received a $2,900 grant, it was unable to afford a tutoring system for students and adults with dyslexia. 

“We had been trying three to four months now on how to rearrange funding to make it happen,” Nicholson said. “Then when this came out, it was the answer to how to make it happen.”

The Barton Tutoring System works to improve spelling, reading and writing skills of children, teenagers and adults who struggle because of dyslexia or a learning disability.

It has a tutor training DVD, tutor manual with lesson plans, color-coded letter tiles and more.

Nicholson said the plan is to train tutors using the system and then provide the service to the county.

Trinity Lutheran High School’s agriculture department was awarded $1,500 to purchase new computers for its agriculture building classrooms.

Bryan Schroer, ag teacher and FFA adviser at the high school, said the money will go toward the purchase of five laptop computers that can be used by students for record-keeping for farm business records.

Currently, the ag building doesn’t have any computers, so students must go to the main school building’s computer lab, which is across the parking lot.

Schroer said the computers will add convenience to the students so they can do their classwork in the ag building. 

Other organizations, the amount of its grant and the purpose:

• Boys & Girls Club of Seymour, $1,000 for new tables and chairs.
• Child Care Network Inc., $1,388 toward the purchase of a laptop computer, a paper shredder and re-branding products.
• Girls Inc. of Jackson County, $1,500 toward the purchase of new kitchen equipment.
• Developmental Services Inc., $1,700 for the purchase of two iPads, iPad covers and speech impairment educational applications.
• Immanuel Child Care Ministry, $3,000 to purchase new cribs, strollers, changing tables and other child care equipment.
• Jackson County United Way, $3,000 to purchase a new printer system.
• Lutheran Community Home, $1,665 to purchase two documentation kiosks for its skilled nursing units.
• Matthew 25 Street Ministries, $2,000 to purchase a new engine for a van to pick up donated food from local businesses.
• Reins to Recovery Inc., $1,698 to purchase a new manure spreader.
• Seymour Christian Academy, $1,500 to purchase new overhead projectors for its classrooms.
• Seymour Main Street, $2,180 for two new downtown street signs.
• Seymour Municipal Airport Authority, $2,500 toward the cost of erecting two life-size Tuskegee Airmen statues for the new Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Plaza at Freeman Field.
• Seymour Schools Band Boosters, $3,269 to purchase new music stands, carts and band uniforms.
• St. Ambrose Catholic School, $2,000 to purchase three document cameras and three projectors for its third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms.
• The Point/NextGen Children’s Ministry, $1,700 to purchase a new dishwasher, washer/dryer and other children’s furniture for its nursery.
• Turning Point Domestic Violence Services, $1,000 to purchase two desks and a laptop computer.

The board of managers for the trust fund includes the mayor of Seymour, president of the Seymour area Jaycees, three at-large members and the president and trust officers of JCB.

The fund presently consists of 38 component funds with a market value of $11.3 million at the end of the past fiscal year in June 2014. Since its inception, the fund has provided scholarships and grants to 2,464 recipients totaling $4.75 million.

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The Greater Seymour Trust Fund was established by Elbert S. Welch in 1969 to serve the charitable, cultural, scientific, religious, literary and educational needs of the community. It receives funds from public-spirited citizens as gifts or bequests to be held by the trustee, JCB.

For information, visit greaterseymourtrustfund.com.

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