Fund Established in Honor of Dianna Risk

The MJHS Peer Counseling Endowment in Honor of Dianna Risk was established with gifts in honor of and in memory of Dianna. Mrs. Risk was a Madison Junior High counselor who instituted some innovative programs for her students, such as Bully Busters and Camp Win-Win where students are trained to be peer counselors. Much loved by her community, she passed away in November following a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

The endowment was started by two of her friends, Nancy Bear and Kathy Huffman. Dianna had asked them to be sure that there was enough money to pay for Camp Win-Win next summer and they said they would. (Camp costs about $5,000 for food, supplies and overnight lodging. The adult trainers volunteer their time.) What they really did was look for gifts to build a $100,000 endowment, grants from which should cover the cost of Camp Win-Win annually, so that Dianna’s work would continue to support the youngsters she “loved to the moon and back.” They didn’t tell Mrs. Risk about the endowment until it had reached $35,000 shortly before her death, and she was thrilled. It gave her great peace of mind to know that the program would continue without the hassle of having to raise funds to pay for it every year.

Camp Win-Win is a summer training program for 35 to 40 eighth graders, chosen by their classmates, where they are provided learning opportunities and experiences for the development of student leaders into effective advocates for the prevention of violence and drugs in their school and community. The students are provided with skills in the area of self-esteem, assertiveness, communication, bully prevention and healthy alternatives to drug use. They then spearhead the Peer Counseling Program for the entire student body during the school year. Mrs. Risk trained more than 300 students since she began the program eight years ago. 

In Mrs. Risk’s words: “Inspiring a core group of student leaders to accept responsibility for what is happening within the school can be a rewarding experience. Training at Camp Win-Win allows the transition of decision-making ownership for school related decisions from an adult level to that of a student leadership level. I do believe our school is a safer place because of our program.” 

Dianna Risk touched more lives than she probably realized. As of January 31st, the Foundation has received 438 gifts totaling more than $98,800 for the MJHS Peer Counseling Endowment in Honor of Dianna Risk. It is clear that a lot of people “loved her to the moon and back."

Scarlett Cline Goode leaves a gift to her brother's scholarship fund

In 1966, tragedy struck Jay & Blanche Cline when their 20-year old son, Joseph, was killed in an automobile accident two months before he was to graduate from Indiana University.

Joseph was an honor student at IU and absolutely love learning. To honor their son, Jay & Blanche established the Joseph V. Cline Scholarship. Its purpose is to annually award scholarships to Madison Consolidated High School graduating seniors who “contributed substantially to the student body and demonstrated a spirit of wholesome cooperation that has enriched the esprit de corps of the class and the school.” In addition, they donated a silver bowl to the school to be engraved annually with the scholarship recipient’s name.

Jay and Blanche passed on, leaving Joe’s sister, Scarlett Cline Goode, as the only immediate member of Joe’s family. Over the years, the Community Foundation sent her correspondence about Joseph’s scholarship and in November of 2004 the Foundation received the sad news that Scarlett had passed away at the age of 56 with cancer.

According to Frank Goode, Scarlett’s brother-in-law, Scarlett had promised her parents before they died that she would keep the family farm in the family. And she did. She bequeathed the proceeds of the sale of the farm - $634,000 – to Joe’s scholarship. This will have a tremendous impact on Madison’s graduating high school seniors: The annual award since the scholarship was established was less than $1,000. In May of 2007 two scholarships for $12,000 each will be awarded.

Talking to people who knew Jay, Blanche, and their two children, the words generous and kind are often mentioned, so it is no surprise that Scarlett continues that family tradition today and far into the future.

The Bill and June Nighbert Charitable Fund

is not an endowment. Instead, the Nighberts are using the fund principal to make their usual donations to charity and intend to add to the Charitable Fund when the balance gets low.

Bill and June Nighbert have simplified their charitable giving. They set up the Bill and June Nighbert Charitable Fund, a nonpermanent fund, in the Foundation. They are using the fund principal to make their donations to charities and intend to add to the Charitable Fund when the balance gets low.

The Charitable Fund is easy to use. They just let the Foundation know what charities they would like to support in what amount and the Foundation takes care of paperwork and check writing. Because the Foundation sends the Nighberts quarterly fund reports, they can also easily tell what has been given to whom and how much is left to give away. “This is such an easy way to handle our charitable giving that I encourage others to set up a Foundation Charitable Fund,” said Bill Nighbert.

(An added benefit for them is that Mr. and Mrs. Nighbert started the fund with a gift of appreciated stock. They received a charitable deduction for the full market value of the stock at the time of the gift and did not have to pay capital gains taxes on its appreciation.)

Brok continues to be kind to others

Five-year-old Brok Hensler died in an accident in 2002. He was Megg’s big brother and Paula and Chuck Hensler’s son. The family turned their devastation into hope by donating Brok’s organs and setting up an endowment in the Community Foundation that benefits children.

Brok was all boy. Whatever his father was doing, he had to be there to help. He loved playing basketball and T-ball at the Lide White Boys & Girls Club, horses, playing with his tractors and dump trucks, camping and just being outdoors.

The Henslers were surprised at how generous people were when Brok passed away. The family used the many memorial gifts they received to establish Brok’s endowment, the focus of which is children. Grants from the family advised fund built Brok’s T-Ball Field at Lide White Boys and Girls Club, sponsor basketball and tee ball teams, helped Canaan Elementary School buy some playground equipment and many other things that help children.

Brok’s parents were comforted when they learned that Brok’s heart stayed in Indiana and the rest of his organs were helping people across the country. Paula and Chuck didn’t take any time to decide about organ donation because Brok was unselfish and cared about others, and this was one more way he could do this. Paula is still amazed at his thoughtfulness because he was so young. For instance, on a visit to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum he wanted to throw a penny into an exhibit that demonstrates the power of gravity. Other children were watching the exhibit, too, and when his mother gave him a coin, he said “But what about the other kids? They need one, too!”

Brok Daniel Konkle Hensler will live forever through grants from his endowment because of our community’s generosity, and because of his parents’ desire to help Brok continue to be kind to others.

Mary Hoefling leaves a legacy

Mary Hoefling provided leadership in the best of possible ways by making a difference through example. Mary loved helping people. Up until her death at the age of 83, the lifelong Madison resident spent her time volunteering with the Lanier State Historic Site, Madison Railroad Station and the Jefferson County Historical Society, reading to grade schoolers and singing in the choir of her church.

Mary was a member of the Women of the Moose, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, the Madison High Alumni and a charter member of the Pilot Club.

A poet by nature, Mary loved to be involved in the community, an "active participant." Her enthusiasm and encouragement touched everyone that worked alongside Mary to make the place she called home an even better place to live and work.

Mary derived joy in helping others and that is leadership that truly makes a difference. Through the Carl J. and Mary M. Hoefling Endowment that she established in the Community Foundation by bequest, she and her late husband Carl will continue to make a difference in Jefferson County for generations to come.