BRAZIL— Guys Who Give Clay County recently held their first meeting of 2023, where members selected a nonprofit organization to receive a grant. The Eliza Rizley Stacey Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution was the organization selected to receive the first quarter grant of $1,850.
The mission of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. The contribution received from Guys Who Give Clay County will go towards the organization’s “I Voted” Community Classroom Project.
The “l Voted” Community Classroom Project promotes literacy and the value of voting among all kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade students in Clay County schools. Each month,DAR volunteers and teachers read 12 books to K-2 students. The DAR volunteers also share lessons about the importance and privilege of voting in the United States. At the end of each month, the volunteers hold a Voting Day complete with decorations, voting booths, secret ballots and a ballot box. After each child votes, s/he receives an “I Voted” sticker to wear throughout the day to share their experience with peers and parents.
At the conclusion of the Voting Day, the Community Classroom chair prepares and sends the voting results in a spreadsheet to the principals with the winning books forkindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, staff and overall school. All student votes will be submitted to the state to be tallied with other K-2 votes from Indiana to determine the Hoosier winning picture book.
“The Eliza Rizley Stacey Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution is grateful for the wonderful generosity of Guys Who Give,” said DAR Regent Linda Hohenstein.“With the donation of $1,850, we are able to purchase for every Clay County elementary school [a full set] of the 12 select books [we will] read to K-2 students during the ‘I Voted’ project headed by our Community Classroom Committee. What a great boost to literacy in our community!”
Karen Webb, the Community Classroom Chair, also shared her excitement about the program.
“The ‘I Voted’ program is a great partnership between the schools in Clay County and our local DAR chapter,” exclaimed Webb. “Our volunteers have loved reading to the K-2 students, seeing the excitement on their faces and their obvious enjoyment of the books. When we host the Voting Day at each school, the children are very serious about deciding which book they should vote for, and they love to use the voting booths to mark the secret ballots that Riddell National Bank has printed for them. Can you imagine their joy when they learn that a set of these books will be available for them to check out from their library media centers? We cannot thank the Guys Who Give enough for funding the purchase of these books to promote literacy and the power of voting!”
Guys Who Give Clay County is a sponsored program of the Wabash Valley Community Foundation. This Giving Circle is comprised of community-minded individuals who pool their money four times per year and decide together how it should be distributed. This group offers social, educational and engagement opportunities, and helps provide a morethorough understanding of philanthropy and community needs.
The Community Foundation welcomes all interested parties to join as a guest at any of the Guys Who Give Clay Countyquarterly meetings. For more information, please visit wvcf.org/giving-circles.