Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation has awarded three Community Engagement grants through the Mattoon Foundation for Academic Excellence Fund. The awards were presented on November 7, 2024, at Elevate, LLIC.
Rachel Schafer received $4,500 for a Recycling Program at Arland D.
Williams Jr. Elementary School, fostering collaboration with the Eastern
Illinois Area of Special Education Recycling Program. This initiative
integrates recycling education into the school curriculum and engages the
local community. Pictured below is Rachel Schafer, photo by Greg A. Cooper/EIU
Journalism.
April Drake received $6,000 for the Riddle Elementary After School Game
Club. This program will organize a weekly club for students to learn and play
strategic board games, promoting skills such as planning,
decision-making, and collaboration. The games will be
selected with help from the University of Illinois at Urbana
Champaign. Pictured below is April Drake, photo by Greg A.
Cooper/EIU Journalism.
Vincent Walk received $10,000 for a Financial Literacy
program aimed at parents and students. This initiative provides teachers with weekly financial lesson plans and offers parents resources to reinforce these concepts at home. The
program includes an online platform with webinars and
activities, and each family will receive a copy of Dr. Linda
Simpson’s book, Mindful & Intentional Money
Management: An Unbeatable System to Calm the
Chaos. This initiative aims to build a strong foundation
of financial knowledge and skills within the
community. Families will not only learn money
management principles but will be able to apply them
effectively to their own financial situations. Pictured below is
Vinnie Walk, photo by Greg A. Cooper/EIU
Journalism.
The Mattoon Foundation for Academic Excellence operates under Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation, established in 2009 through a merger of Effingham County Community Foundation and Mattoon Area Community Foundation, serving communities in southeastern Illinois. The Mattoon Foundation for Academic Excellence is a fund of Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation.
For more information, contact Alex Pleasant, President/CEO, at 217.342.5409 or alex@southeasternillinois.org.
Pictured below from L to R. Vincent Walk, Brian Hinton, Committee Member of the fund, Jessica (Closson Peterson), a past recipient, April Drake, Rachel Schafer, and Kristen Bertrand, Program Officer, Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation.
All photos were taken by Greg A. Cooper/EIU Journalism.