From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. every Monday, the Community Diner provides nutritious meals to people at First United Methodist Church in Seymour.

The Jackson County Public Library worked with the Teens 4 Change group to apply for the Human Library Project.

Each December, the Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108’s Cops & Kids program pairs local police officers with less-fortunate children in the county to go shopping at Walmart Supercenter in Seymour for items that they need.

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All good nonprofit organizations, all good causes.

That made it difficult for the seventh- and eighth-graders from Jackson County schools involved in the YoJack youth leadership program to just pick one to receive a $1,000 grant.

After learning what each organization does and what it plans to do with the money, the students talked to others at their table, filled out a scoring rubric and tallied up the scores.

The results were shared with the whole group, and together, the students found out which organization had the highest score and agreed on the grant recipient.

The students’ recommendation will be passed on to the Community Foundation of Jackson County’s board of directors, which will make the ultimate decision during a meeting Oct. 24. Until then, that information is confidential.

During YoJack sessions in recent years, the board has given the grant to the cause selected by the students, said Dan Davis, the foundation’s president and chief executive officer.

At the start of Wednesday’s session at the foundation office in Seymour, first-year YoJack director Adam Disque had a message for the students.

“This is something that most kids your age don’t get a chance to do,” he said. “I certainly never got a chance to do anything like this as a kid. Enjoy it. You get to do something most people don’t. You get to actually make a decision to help a group of people.”

Davis then shared a message with the students that the previous president and CEO, Bud Walther, once told him: Giving money is hard.

“I kind of thought, ‘It shouldn’t be. Why is that?’” Davis said.

Walther later said giving away money wisely is difficult.

“You’ll see today that there will be a lot of things to take into consideration, such as how many folks that your grant request will reach, what kind of impact it will make on the community and the lives of people,” Davis told the YoJack students. “That’s where it gets kind of hard because there’s not enough money to help everybody, so you have to make some wise choices where your grant recommendation will go.”

To help the YoJack students make a decision, they heard from representatives of the three organizations.

First up was Lucy Dembek, president of the Community Diner board of directors. She said each Monday, between 100 and 120 people come to the church for a free meal, which is prepared and served by community volunteers.

Dembek asked the students if they were given $1, how would they spend it to make a nutritious meal. That’s what the Community Diner has to do each week.

“As you all figured out real quick, that’s not an easy task to do,” she told the kids. “But as a community, when we have $120 as opposed to $1, can we feed everybody better? Can we make it more nutritious? Can we make it more appealing to our clients? Absolutely.

“That’s why we call it the Community Diner. It’s a community,” she said. “We do a lot for the community, and if anyone says they need a meal, we’re right there to give them a meal.”

Dembek gave the students a Community Diner brochure, and it included a green insert with information about the meals in English and Spanish. She told the kids to keep the brochure but give the insert to someone in case they are in need of a meal.

The next presentation was by Lola Snyder, head of youth services at the Jackson County Public Library, and Jill Willey, a children’s assistant who helps with teen services.

Teens 4 Change is planning a project to make sure the library has books with stories of those who have overcome adversity in their lives, including LGBTQ, homelessness, racism, domestic violence, religion, suicide, addiction and mental health.

They also are in the process of getting 20 to 25 people in the community who have dealt with these issues to share their stories during an event in the spring at the library, giving people a chance to have a one-on-one conversation with the volunteers.

Ultimately, their stories will be shared in a booklet that also would include information about community resources, hotlines and websites.

“In a world so divided on everything, our goal is that people will reach a deeper understanding from someone who is different from them, that they will hear their stories, that they will hear struggles, they will hear overcoming or hear tips and tricks and just talk to other people,” Snyder said.

The project could be the start of a new chapter in someone’s life, she said.

“Imagine if we stopped to really listen to anther person, to have a conversation about our differences, but more importantly, a conversation about our commonalities,” she said. “Would people be more likely to stay in our community if they felt accepted and understood?”

C.J. Foster, president of the local FOP group, then talked about the Christmas shopping program for ages 5 to 16.

Once applications are received with a brief summary of the family situation, a committee reviews them to ensure they are eligible for the program, and notifications are sent to chosen families.

On the shopping day, kids are encouraged to pick out clothing and shoes they need. If any money is left over, it can be used for toys.

Each child is allowed to spend $130, and they receive cookies and a visit with Santa. The family also is given a meal of turkey, vegetables, rolls and desserts.

In 2017, a record 145 kids and 35 families were served, Foster said.

“It allows kids to get stuff they might not normally receive at Christmastime,” he said. “There are a lot of people in the community that don’t have a lot, so that’s why it’s another important thing for us to be able to do this program is to help people out in a time of need.”

The kids also benefit by interacting with a police officer, he said.

“A lot of our calls are unfortunately with families that don’t have a lot, and this allows us to bond with that child and help them understand that we’re not the bad guy all of the time,” Foster said. “We’re there to help them if they need help, that they can come to us for help, we can be their friend. We can be a positive role model in their life, as well. It’s someone extra that they can look up to and talk to.”

The program is funded by donations from individuals and businesses, fundraisers and grants.

“It’s a year-round activity trying to get funding to shop for all of these kids,” Foster said. “In the end, it’s all about the kids.”

The YoJack students said they liked learning about the organizations.

Nolan Walker, an eighth-grader at Lutheran Central School in Brownstown, said he knew about FOP but not the other two.

“It will give you more opportunities to volunteer for people who need help,” he said.

The grant-awarding process was fun, too.

“I like it because it helps involve the whole community and the youth, and it helps us feel more important,” Walker said. “It will help you whenever you get older in a job to be able to make a decision in your group. You had to take everything into consideration and all of the small details.”

Bailey Tabeling, an eighth-grader at St. Ambrose Catholic School in Seymour, said she was a part of the process last year, so that helped this time around.

“It wasn’t as hard as last year was because these are more of the same general idea of helping, so it just made it easier to decide which one to help,” she said. “It will help the young kids out in the future.”

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The Community Foundation of Jackson County was established in 1992 after the Lilly Endowment made $240 million available to help launch Community Foundations around the state.

The first grants were awarded by the local foundation in 1994.

Since then, it has been able to grant more than $6 million for local community projects and programs and scholarships.

Today, it oversees nearly 200 funds and manages more than $11 million in assets.

For information, stop by the foundation office at 107 Community Drive, Seymour; call 812-523-4483; or visit cfjacksoncounty.org or facebook.com/cfjacksoncounty.

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YoJack, Leadership Jackson County’s youth leadership program, started in 2000.

There are five meetings per session, conducted once a month at different locations around the county.

In each session, there are nearly 40 seventh-graders participating and 12 eighth-graders serving as youth advisers. The eighth-graders participated in the program in the previous session.

The first four meetings focus on small- and large-group activities to enhance team-building, leadership, diversity and communication skills. The students also learn how to use their time, talent and treasures to give back to the community and help others.

During the fifth meeting, each student makes a presentation in front of their peers sharing how the YoJack experience helped them. That’s conducted in the council chambers at Seymour City Hall.

Participation in the program and the presentations help determine the 12 students who come back to the next session as youth advisers and serve as mentors to the seventh-graders.

There are fall and spring sessions.

For information about YoJack, email [email protected].

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