LAWRENCEBURG, Ind., November 12, 2018 – The Dearborn Community Foundation (DCF), Inc. recently awarded a $1,000 Lauren Hill Make A Difference Grant to the Southeastern Indiana Veterans Treatment Court to help provide services aimed at assisting veterans in leading a productive and law-abiding life.
As a part of its 20th Anniversary Celebration, DCF is awarding 20 proactive grants of $1,000 each to charitable organizations in Dearborn County throughout 2018. Each of the Foundation’s 15 volunteer Board members is recommending a grant. Five lucky attendees at DCF’s 20th Anniversary Dinner in late July also were randomly drawn to recommend a $1,000 grant.
Dearborn Community Foundation Board member Paula Bruner, center right, delivers a $1,000 grant check to Southeastern Indiana Veterans Treatment Court team members, from left to right, Judge Jonathan N. Cleary (Dearborn County Superior Court I), Martin Justice (Community Mental Health Center), and Kristy Alig (Problem Solving Court Coordinator). The DCF grant monies are helping the Veterans Treatment Court provide services aimed at assisting veterans in leading a productive and law-abiding life.
The $1,000 grant to the Veterans Treatment Court, housed in Dearborn County Superior Court I under Judge Jonathan N. Cleary, was recommended by DCF Board member Paula Bruner of Greendale. Making a recommendation to support the Veterans Treatment Court was an easy one for Bruner, as her two sons, Charles (Marines) and Benjamin (Navy) served in the military.
“Veterans are very important to me,” Bruner said. “They put their lives on hold to serve our country. I believe we owe our freedom and life as we know it to the service and sacrifice of our veterans.”
The Veterans Treatment Court provides its services to residents of Dearborn, Jefferson, Ohio, Ripley and Switzerland counties. The mission of the Veterans Treatment Court is to restore honor, rehabilitate and assist veterans in leading a productive and law-abiding life, and to promote a safer and stronger community. Veterans who are involved in the Treatment Court want to improve their lives by working closely with a treatment team to achieve their recovery goals, develop job skills, connect to available Veterans Administration services, rebuild family and community ties, live a drug and crime-free life, stabilize their living situation, and reconnect with positive veteran peers.
Bruner says it’s our responsibility as a nation and community to support the health, both mental and physical of veterans and offer effective treatment for illness/injury related to their service. Veterans Treatment Court provides a long-term plan for veterans facing court, she said.
“I’ve been impressed with the veteran mentors that help graduates of the Veterans Treatment Court,” Bruner said. I’m very appreciative the Veterans Treatment Court is available in our community, and hope as a community we will seek more ways to reach out to our veterans.
For 20 years, DCF, a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt public charity, has helped donors’ dreams come true by safeguarding endowments for the community through contributions large and small. Grants awarded by the Dearborn Community Foundation support the needs and interests in Dearborn County in the fields of Art, Culture and Humanities, Community and Public Benefit, Education, Environment and Animal Protection, Human Services, Public Safety and Youth Programs.
In January 2009, DCF received the nation’s highest philanthropic standards for operational quality, integrity and accountability: the seal of approval from the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations Program operated by the Council on Foundations (COF), a national professional association based in Washington, D.C. DCF was reconfirmed for the National Standards by the COF in 2014.
To learn more about DCF, call 812-539-4115, stop by the office at 322 Walnut Street in Lawrenceburg, or visit the Foundation website at www.dearborncf.org. If you are interested in making a contribution to DCF, visit our website’s “Give Now” page to donate on line and to learn other giving options.