By CHRIS MORRIS
Chris.Morris@newsandtribune.com
June 25, 2009 01:43 pm
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The third time was a charm for the St. Johns Lodge No. 8 in New Albany.
The lodge had applied two previous times for a Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County grant. And both times, lodge members came home empty-handed.
However, this year, they finally got the answer they were looking for, receiving a $5,000 grant to paint the exterior of the lodge, replace the back porch and upgrade furniture at their facility located at 1702 E. Main St.
That work needs to be done and this will make it a lot easier, said lodge member Jack Robinson, who accepted the award. This was extremely important [for us].
St. Johns Lodge was just one of 33 nonprofit and educational organizations to receive Horseshoe grants Wednesday afternoon at the Carnegie Center for Art and History.
The Horseshoe Foundation gives out grants in two cycles fall and spring. On Thursday, $375,025 was handed out. The foundation board, comprised of 26 volunteers, had grant requests totaling more than $800,000.
The Horseshoe Foundation was established in 1999 by Horseshoe Southern Indiana in partnership with Floyd County and New Albany officials. In 10 years, the foundation has awarded $18.2 million to area nonprofits and educational institutions, including some outside of Floyd County.
Thats a long way from the first gift of $1,342 it received from the casino. In 10 years, the Horseshoe Casino, formerly Caesars, has given $33.3 million to the foundation.
The foundation still has $14.4 million in assets, said Jerry Finn, executive director of the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County. The economic downturn has been tough on the foundation. At a time when we could be cutting back, the foundation has stepped up to the plate.
This is a celebration of so much good going on in Southern Indiana.
A variety of organizations received grants, including the Carnegie Center for Art and History, which received $24,870 to assist with the creation and installation of five sculptures for the New Albany Bicentennial Public Art Exhibition. Five temporary sculptures will be placed in New Albany starting next spring and running through the citys bicentennial in 2013.
This is a multiyear project, said Sally Newkirk, director of the Carnegie Center. This gives us a great boost to get started.
The Carnegie Center is teaming up with the New Albany Urban Enterprise Association to sponsor the sculpture exhibition.
The two largest grants handed out Thursday $25,000 each went to Community Coordinated Child Care Inc. and the Howard Steamboat Museum Inc.
Several educational facilities, including Indiana University Southeast, Providence Jr./Sr. High School, S. Ellen Jones and Silver Street elementary schools received grants, as did Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
The smallest grant totaling $1,000 went to the Tri-County Health Coalition.
SO YOU KNOW
Horseshoe Foundation grant recipients
Howard Steamboat Museum Inc., $25,000
Clark County Youth Shelter and Family Services Inc., $5,000
Tri-County Health Coalition, $1,000
Indiana University Southeast Athletic Department, $1,570
Blue River Services Inc., $1,835
Indiana University Southeast Music Department, $2,000
Floyd County VFW Post No. 3281, $2,500
Louisville Visual Art Association, $2,500
Silver Street Elementary School, $3,000
Floyd County Community Corrections, $4,380
Indiana Youth Institute, $4,400
NA-FC School Corp. Opportunities For Success, $4,520
Friends of the Culbertson Mansion Inc., $4,800
House of Ruth, Inc., $5,000
St. Johns Lodge No 8 P.H.A., $5,000
Hosparus Hospice of Southern Indiana, $9,000
Indiana Grantmakers Alliance Foundation, $10,000
S. Ellen Jones Elementary, $10,500
Floyd County Youth Services Bureau, $11,000
S.I. Net Surfers LLC, $12,500
Providence Junior/Senior High School, $15,000
Georgetown Optimist Club, $15,000
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, $15,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana, $15,000
Bilingual Education Center for Adults, $15,000
Fairmont Elementary School, $17,360
Rauch Inc., $18,500
Grant Line Girls Softball Inc., $20,000
Youth Count, $20,000
Floyd County Head Start, $23,925
Cancer Care Center, $24,865
Carnegie Center for Art & History, $24,870
Community Coordinated Child Care, Inc., $25,000
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