LAWRENCE CO. – In December 2023, the 30th Annual L.I.F.E. Fantasia brought in more than $35,000 to help those in need. Taylor Lee was named Lawrence County Community Foundation’s 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar, and NASCAR driver Chase Briscoe and the Pacers bring happiness to local children.
Annual L.I.F.E. Fantasia brought in more than $35,000
BEDFORD – O Christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches. Many came to bid and see the beautifully decorated Christmas trees, centerpieces, and wreaths for auction during Saturday’s 30th Lawrence County Interfaith Endeavor Annual Fantasia Christmas Auction held at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds Expo Center.
The 30th Annual L.I.F.E. Fantasia brought in more than $35,000.
The top-selling item was a tree decorated by Bedford Federal Savings Bank, purchased for $3,000.
“This is a 30-year tradition,” said Donnie Hall, Director of Communications at L.I.F.E. “It is the beginning of the Christmas season, followed by the Christmas Parade. It is a change for us as a community to come together, show what the season means, and show Christ’s love to our neighbors.”
Stephen Robinson of Robinson Auction Service auctioned 99 items Saturday, bringing in more than $35,000.
Carla Bell comes to the auction every year.
“It is just beautiful to see and a nice holiday outing,” she said. “It is a great cause and way to start the holiday season. And I get to see people I have not seen in a long time.”
Lora Joyer had her bidder card in hand, ready to support L.I.F.E. by bringing home a festive item. She has been attending the annual event for more than seven years.
“I love the cause,” she added. “It’s a great community event and just so much fun.”
L.I.F.E. is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization that started in 1987. It is a cooperative ministry supported by more than 40 churches throughout Lawrence County.
L.I.F.E. provides emergency food assistance every 30 days and emergency rent or mortgage/utility assistance. In addition, L.I.F.E. sponsors “Life Blessings” for each student is given a bag of nutritional food on Fridays to take home to help with food insecurity.
The pantry delivers more than 12,000 items each month to families in need.
Here were the judges winning picks.
Adult
- First Place: Phi Beta Psi Sorority Theta Alpha Gamma Bedford Chapter
- Second Place: Bedford Federal Savings Bank
- Third Place: The Family of the late Polly Lindsey
- People’s Choice Englewood Baptist Church
Youth
- First Place: Girl Scout Troop 03220
- Second Place: Brileigh Osterhage
- Third Place: The Eichem Family
- People’s Choice: Brileigh Osterhage
Wreath
- First Place: Wendi Mullis
- Second Place: Flowers from Lambrecht Farm
- Third Place: Marsha Ralston
- People’s Choice: Wendi Mullis
Centerpiece
- First Place: The Day Family
- Second Place: Englewood Baptist Church
- Third Place: The Day Family
- People’s Choice: Paula Herendeen & Darcy Ireland
Specialty
- First Place: Keach & Grove Real Estate
- Second Place: Architectural Stone Sales
- Third Place: Williams Carpenter Realtors
- People’s Choice: Williams Carpenter Realtors
For those unable to make it out to this year’s event and still want to help with LIFE, you can still drop items off food, personal care items, or money donations at the L.I.F.E. Food Pantry located at 1204 I Street in Bedford.
Taylor Lee named Lawrence County Community Foundation’s 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar
BEDFORD – Taylor Lee, daughter of Chad Lee and Heather Reed, was named Lawrence County Community Foundation’s 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
Taylor is a senior at Mitchell High School and will work toward a bachelor’s degree in business with a minor in political science. Her school choice is undecided, but the top contenders are Indiana University and Purdue University.
Taylor responded to the news by sharing, “I am extremely grateful and honored to be the 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship recipient. It feels surreal to be reaching one of my dreams. I have been pushing myself for the last four years, hoping to receive this scholarship. I want to thank my family and teachers who have helped me reach this point. I look forward to all the opportunities this will open for me.”
Taylor has been active in school sports, playing on the MHS varsity volleyball and travel teams and the MHS varsity basketball teams. She has worked with a group of incoming first-year students as a peer leader and has been a Student Council and Honor Society member. An educator writes that her unwavering commitment to academic excellence sets her apart.
The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and required equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis leading to a baccalaureate degree at any Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Taylor will also be able to participate in the Lilly Scholar Network (LSN), which connects current scholars and alumni with resources and opportunities to be active leaders on their campuses and in their communities. The scholarship program and LSN are supported by grants from Lilly Endowment to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and Indiana Humanities.
Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-99 school year and has supported the program every year since with grants totaling more than $505 million. More than 5,200 Indiana students have received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship since the program’s inception.
The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana, to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities, and to encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state.
The Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion. The Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in religion.
However, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. Since 1997, Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) has administered the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program statewide with funding provided by Lilly Endowment. Founded in 1948, ICI is the collective voice for the state’s twenty-nine private, nonprofit colleges and universities.
Participating in this exceptional program is an honor for the Lawrence County Community Foundation. They are impressed each year by the caliber of students in Lawrence County. These young women and men have positively influenced change by serving their schools and community. It is heartening to know the county has young leaders devoted to Indiana. The Foundation looks forward to seeing these students’ accomplishments for years to come.
Chase Briscoe, hometown NASCAR driver, gives back to his community
MITCHELL– NASCAR Cup Series driver and Mitchell native Chase Briscoe donated more than 700 Huffy bicycles to two elementary schools in his hometown on Monday, December 18, 2023. Students from Hatfield Elementary School and Burris Elementary School received the bikes from Briscoe at school-wide celebrations held at each elementary school.
The donation, which provided each elementary school child in the Mitchell School District a brand new Huffy bike, was made possible by Chase Briscoe and the Gene Haas Foundation, who sourced bikes through the Huffy Foundation, which provides quality crafted bicycles to charitable organizations to help them serve their communities through putting more children and families on bikes.
“I grew up riding a Huffy around Mitchell. Some of my best memories are hanging out with friends, cruising around town, or racing through the chalk track I laid in the driveway. I want these kids to feel the same sense of freedom and exploration I had when I was their age,” said Chase Briscoe. “I’m thankful to have great partners like the Gene Haas Foundation and Huffy Bicycles who helped me make these kids’ dreams come true!”
The hundreds of donated bikes were assembled by high school students and local businesses – who gave workers a paid day to go and assemble bikes – at the brand new field house at Mitchell Junior High. Student participation didn’t end there as the Mitchell High School IT Team, with the help of Abbie Briscoe, Chase’s sister, who works for the school’s IT Department, created a barcode for each donated bike that included the student’s name and bike that they were receiving so the school could easily confirm that families received their bike and officially take it out of their “inventory,” making for a smooth and seamless pickup process for families. For those unable to pick up their bike at the school, volunteers in the Mitchell School District volunteered to serve as bike deliverers to take bikes to students’ homes.
In addition to Abbie, Chase’s entire family was also involved in the bike donation. His mother, Jamie, is the PE teacher at Burris Elementary, and his dad, Kevin, his wife, Marissa, and their son, Brooks, were also present for the day.
“We’re honored to receive this remarkable gift of bicycles from Chase Briscoe and the Haas Foundation. Chase has given these kids possibly the best holiday they will ever have,” said Dr. Brent Comer, Superintendent of the Mitchell School District. “For them to not only get a gift, but for it to be a bike they can be active and explore the world with. It’s invaluable. Chase has also taught the kids an important lesson about taking care of your community in any way possible, whether making a big donation or helping your neighbors around the garden.”
During the event, eight-year-old BMX Champion Huck Kurinsky of Bay Village, Ohio, who is also a Huffy youth ambassador, along with his coach, Olympian and American Freestyle BMX cyclist Nick Bruce of Youngstown, Ohio, showed off their Freestyle BMX skills getting serious air during their demonstration.
“Chase embodies everything Huffy stands for: family, fun, and living the ride,” said Vice President of Brand and DTC Marketing United Wheels, Kris Parlett. “It’s a great feeling to have a small part in this donation to help bring bikes to kids, which is at the core of what we do. Riding a bike is not only a great way for kids to get physical exercise, but can also help with mental wellness, and nothing gives a child the sense of freedom that riding a bike can.”
Briscoe’s relationship with Huffy began in 2020 when the COVID pandemic halted on-track action in NASCAR, and the series pivoted to virtual competitions on the popular iRacing simulated motorsports platform. Noticing his fit with the Huffy brand and incredible background story, the company partnered with Briscoe for the virtual events and has continued to build on the relationship over the past three years. Briscoe continues to advocate for the benefits of riding a bike. He and his family have regularly been seen riding their Huffy bikes and battery-powered ride-ons.
Pacers and Jaaks Pacific donate 2000 toys to children at the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence County
BEDFORD – The Indiana Pacers and the Indiana Fever brought huge smiles to children at the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence County on Thursday with the Big Toy Giveaway. Kids cheered as Freddy Fever, the mascot of the Indiana Fever, rode in on a skateboard to hype the crowd. After a few words from the Mayor of Bedford and team representatives, a curtain was drawn back to reveal the surprise the children had waiting for them: toys.
This is the 14th year the Pacers and Fever have handed out toys to youth all around the state of Indiana and they plan to give more than half a million toys this season alone. It takes over 150 volunteers from all over the organizations to sort and ready the toys for distribution to communities all over the state.
On hand to celebrate the event were the Mayor of Bedford, Sam Craig, Police Chief Terry Moore, and members of the board of the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence County.
“The donation of 2,000 toys is incredible, and we are grateful that Bedford and Lawrence County are being served with this partnership”, said Mayor Craig in his opening remarks.
“It all started with a line email,” stated Frank. They told us we were going to receive 2,000 toys. Frank was appreciative and excited about the news of the Pacers and Jakks Pacific Inc.’s great generosity. Frank was anticipating small toys and could not wait for their arrival to give them to the children.
“We knew about the toy giveaway being here,” said Frank Decker, Chief Professional Officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence County, “but we were so surprised to see a semi with nine skids of toys stacked to the ceiling”. The gym was brimming with thousands of name-brand toys, like Disney, for the kids. The most popular choices? Skateboards for the boys and a large, blue horse that resembled Frozen 2 Else’s spirit horse for the girls that was rideable.
“We love to see that all kids are equal here at this event”, Decker said. The staff works very hard to hit one of the daily goals of the club, and that is always to make all kids feel equal. And on this day, they could do that; all kids could select a toy of their dreams. The event was open to all Boys and Girls Club members of Lawrence County, with over 100 children in attendance.
The remaining toys will be distributed to the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence County off-site campuses at Lincoln, Oolitic, and Shawswick elementary schools in the following days. The club will then partner with nonprofit organizations in Lawrence County, such as Becky’s Place, to organize a toy drop-off for their children.
