RSRF Awards 16 Grants Totaling $280K

Press release from the Rising Sun Regional Foundation

(Rising Sun, Ind.) - The Rising Sun Regional Foundation (RSRF) awarded a total of $280,919 in 16 new grants at its recent meetings.  These grants included:

$50,000 to the City of Rising Sun toward the purchase and installation of a Splash Pad at its community pool;

$5,000 to the Rising Sun Municipal Utilities toward the purchase of three mobile radios and accessories for the RSMU Superintendent, department heads, and a base unit especially needed during emergency conditions;

$6,500 to the Rising Sun/Ohio County Community School Corporation toward the purchase of a poster printing system to be used throughout the school system;

$5,000 to the Ohio County Community Foundation to serve as an initial endowment fund for the United Methodist Church of Rising Sun in memory of founding RSRF board member Larry Elliott;

$45,000 to the Indiana Trail Riders Association toward the development of primitive campsites at the Versailles State Park to begin to significantly enhance and expand its horseback-riding program;

$25,575 to the South Dearborn Community School Corporation toward the purchase of one mobile device lab specifically for its Aurora Elementary School and for technology related staff development workshops;

$5,135 to the Town of Milan toward the installation of a fourth and last welcome sign with complementary landscaping for the Milan Community;

$31,683 to the Ripley County Commissioners toward the purchase of a cardiac monitor for the Ripley County EMS;

$24,741 to the City of Aurora toward the purchase and installation of an irrigation system for use at its Park Avenue Park;

$11,000 to the Friendship Volunteer Fire Department toward the purchase of five pagers and a base unit to comply with new Federal Communications Commission requirements;

$24,225 to the American Legion Post #337 in Sunman toward the purchase and installation of a standby emergency gas power generator to enable the post to serve as an official Red Cross Disaster Emergency Shelter for the region;

$3,000 to the Southeastern Indiana Economic Opportunity Corporation (SIEOC) toward the purchase of a Welch Allyn SureSight Vision Screener and a Welch Allyn OAE Hearing Screener for its Head Start Program;

$19,060 to the Sunman Area Voluntary Endeavors toward the purchase and installation of handicap-accessible bathtubs for its Raintree Terrace Apartments, which provide affordable housing for senior citizens in the Sunman area;

$5,000 to the Milan Rescue 30 toward the purchase of two Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) for its two rescue units;

$5,000 to St. Louis School in Batesville toward the purchase and installation of a much needed larger and upgraded wireless technology system for the school;

$15,000 to the Town of Versailles toward the purchase of two tornado sirens.

In announcing the awarding of these new grants, foundation President Marianne Wiggers stated, “RSRF is pleased to be able to continue awarding grants toward so many and varied needs in its grantmaking region.  For a number of these proposed projects, they simply would not happen without RSRF grant assistance.”   She continued, “The challenge for RSRF, however, will also be to continue to conscientiously respond to the large number of grant applications received each quarter, generally less than half of them to which we can favorably respond with some level of grant assistance within our own budget constraints.”

The Rising Sun Regional Foundation was created in 1994 by the City of Rising Sun in conjunction with the development of the Grand Victoria Casino and Resort by the Hyatt Corporation.  The foundation began its grantmaking program in early 1997, which it has continued to implement. It is now funded by the Rising Star Casino Resort, owned by Full House Resorts, Inc., which makes monthly contributions to the foundation based on a percentage of its adjusted gross revenue.