News Release
WARSAW ̶̶̶ Nine local organizations received funding during the most recent Kosciusko REMC Operation Round Up grant cycle, totaling more than $26,000.
Harrison Elementary was one of the organizations that applied for and received funding. Deb McClintock, a second-grade teacher, has managed a large vegetable garden at Harrison for the past decade.
“I wanted to purchase raised bed gardens to make the gardening experience accessible for more teachers and students,” McClintock said. “I saw an article in The Paper about the KREMC Operation Round Up grant program and realized this could be part of the
solution.”
Harrison plans to install raised beds for each grade level to plant and manage in the spring and fall. “They’ll be able to use it for STEM learning, to support a unit of study, or a theme that their grade level might be focusing on,” McClintock said. Raised beds are easier to care for than traditional row gardening. Soon more students at Harrison will be able to include the gardens in their existing curriculum.
“I’ve seen students who don’t like vegetables change their mind with that first bite of a sun-warmed tomato, or popping open a pea pod and tasting how sweet they are right from the vine,” McClintock described. “I want to pass on the joy of seeing students discover the many things that can be found outside in a garden and the world around them. You never know how impactful this real-world learning may be in their future.”
Operation Round Up is a voluntary program through which KREMC members pool their
resources to help those in need. They do this by choosing to round up their monthly electricity bill to the nearest dollar. According to KREMC, each participating member contributes $6.00 a year on average.
Additional grants were awarded to American Red Cross – Northeast Indiana; Kosciusko Senior Services; LifeTouch Ministries & Counseling Center; Mentone Youth League; Operation Read; Tippecanoe Valley Middle School; Stillwater Hospice; and Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts.
The next Kosciusko REMC Operation Round Up grant deadline is May 1 by 4:30 p.m. Nonprofit organizations serving Kosciusko County are encouraged to apply. For more information about grants available through the Community Foundation, visit kcfoundation.org/grants or call 574- 267-1901.
