McClurkin Fund Awards Community Grants

Left: Darke County Historical Society (Garst Museum) is a recipient of a McClurkin Community Grant through the HOPE Foundation. Front: Ami McClurkin. Back (left to right): Christy Prakel (HOPE Foundation), Clay Johnson (Garst Museum), Verd and Gini Stuckey (Ami’s parents).
Right: Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley receives a grant from the HOPE Foundation. Front (left to right): Carson Bergman and Reed Raterman (Kinder Korner Preschool); Ami McClurkin. Back (left to right): Kim Custenborder (Catholic Social Services), Tiffany Bergman (Kinder Korner Preschool), Verd and Gini Stuckey (Ami’s parents); Kathy Vail (Catholic Social Services).

Friends and family of Ami McClurkin recently gathered at Brethren Retirement Community to honor her birthday and celebrate a legacy of community giving.

The Ami McClurkin Community Fund of the HOPE Foundation awarded $5,500.00 to four organizations that are dedicated to enriching the lives of Darke County residents.

The 2012 recipients included Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Darke & Shelby County, which will use its grant to provide after-school mentoring to students at Woodland Heights Elementary School. The grant to Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley will help fund early childhood intervention programs. The Darke County Historical Society (Garst Museum) received a grant to purchase materials for a new exhibit on Darke County communities. Friends of Bear’s Mill will use its grant to support the Art at the Mill artist series.

Ami’s parents, Verd and Gini Stuckey of Greenville, established the fund in Ami’s honor after she was severely injured in an automobile accident in 1985. Ami currently resides at Brethren Retirement Community. Because of the family’s generosity, non-profit organizations will benefit from these grants for years to come. Any non-profit group serving Darke County is eligible for the grants. The applications are available in April each year.

As Darke County’s community foundation, the HOPE Foundation receives, manages and distributes charitable gifts for the benefit of Darke County residents. For more information, visit HOPE’s website at www.hopedarkecounty.com, or call 548-4673.

Left: Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Darke & Shelby County celebrates its grant from the HOPE Foundation. Front: Ami McClurkin. Back (left to right): Christy Prakel (HOPE Foundation), Lisa Brown (Big Brothers/Big Sisters), Gini and Verd Stuckey (Ami’s parents).
Right: Ami McClurkin and the HOPE Foundation present a grant to Friends of Bear’s Mill. Front: Ami McClurkin. Back (left to right): Gini and Verd Stuckey (Ami’s parents); Julie Clark, Ray Lepore and Merri Niekamp (Friends of Bear’s Mill).