Lee Botts Environmental Education Fund

Purpose

Lee Botts Environmental Education Fund

Named for Dunes Learning Center co-founder and President Emeritus, the Lee Botts Environmental Education Fund seeks to create an enduring legacy of learning in the dunes.

Established to support teachers and parents in their efforts to connect children with the unique natural and cultural of the Indiana dunes, proceeds keep Dunes Learning Center programs affordable and accessible through need-based scholarships to deserving youth.

With a mission to provide “an in-depth exploration of the dynamic relationship between people and their environments using the natural and cultural resources of the Indiana Dunes Region where nature and society co-exist,” the possibility of the Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center was born in 1966, when Senator Paul Douglas included public education as a mission of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in the legislation that authorized the new National Park.

Lee Botts recalls learning of this proposed addition from Douglas himself, “He believed that lack of understanding of the unique and historically significant resources of the Indiana Dunes had contributed to the intense conflict over the park’s creation and could possibly threaten its future.”

Today, Dunes Learning Center programs serve more than 7,500 individuals annually, adding to a total of more than 80,000 since opening its doors in October of 1998. Your donation today will support the next generation of environmental stewards with unforgettable environmental education experiences in the dunes.

Visit the Dunes Learning Center website to learn more: www.duneslearningcenter.org

Contact

Legacy Foundation, Inc.
370 E. 84th Drive, Suite 100
Merrillville, Indiana 46410
Tel 219-736-1880
https://legacyfdn.org 

Donate Today

Friends of Marquette Park Fund of Miller

Purpose

A fund of Legacy Foundation, Lake County's Community Foundation

All donations made to this fund will be eligible for a $1 - for - $1 match!

 

Friends of Marquette Park Fund of Miller Citizens Corporation Shoreline Committee

Mission of Friends of Marquette Park Fund:

The mission of Friends of Marquette Park Fund (FMP Fund) is to raise funds to support and implement special projects for Marquette Park in collaboration with the Gary Parks Department. This is a Field of Interest Non-Permanent Fund Agreement between the Legacy Foundation, Inc., and Miller Citizens Corporation Shoreline Committee. Marquette Park is a 241-acre historic park along the southern shore of Lake Michigan with 2.8 miles of beach in northwest Indiana.

Ongoing Projects

  • Concrete repairs on Statue Garden stairs
  • Memorial Bench project
  • Maintenance of Statue Garden & Lagoon Area
  • Landscaping
  • Beach Water Safety & Signage
  • Support programs in the park to make
  • Marquette Park an inviting destination

New Projects

  • New Marker with Marquette Park Map near concession stand
  • Cleaning and polishing of Fr. Marquette Statue
  • New LED lighting of Fr. Marquette Statue with electrical connections.
  • Elimination of bagworms infesting evergreens
  • Painting lifeguard stands different colors and painting easement street sign posts near the beach
  • New FMP apparel to wear with our new logo

Contact

Legacy Foundation, Inc.
370 E. 84th Drive, Suite 100
Merrillville, Indiana 46410
Tel 219-736-1880
https://legacyfdn.org 

Association for the Wolf Lake Initiative Fund

Purpose

Association of the Wolf Lake Initiative

Wolf Lake has been a family-friendly destination for generations. Fishing, swimming, skiing, canoeing and learning stewardship as a family keeps it that way. And so does your donation

For today, giving to enhance Wolf Lake heightens the joy of the outdoors for the today's youth, enriches their learning, and instills in them a stewardship ethic. A direct donation to the Association of the Wolf Lake Initiative enables the not-for-profit organization and land trust to serve as a custodian of the bi-state lake.

For tomorrow, giving back will make it possible for our children’s children to establish their own cherished memories of Wolf Lake!

Keep the Association for the Wolf Lake Initiative in your estate planning.

AWLI established an endowment fund for Wolf Lake in 2001. It is managed by the Legacy Foundation of Lake County to “provide support to the bi-state improvement and enhancement of Wolf Lake.” There are other options to give back to Wolf Lake. One can leave a bequest or arrange a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder. AWLI could be named beneficiary of a life insurance policy or recipient of appreciated securities and real estate.

By giving back, you can foster life-lasting memories in tomorrow’s youth. Think of it as your own self-imposed inheritance tax.

Giving back makes Wolf Lake your children’s children’s Great Lake

Donate Today

Contact

Legacy Foundation, Inc.
370 E. 84th Drive, Suite 100
Merrillville, Indiana 46410
Tel 219-736-1880
https://legacyfdn.org 

Cara M Spicer Fund

Purpose

The Cara M. Spicer Fund provides support for educational activities such as class fees, field trips, art and dance classes, summer camp, and art supplies for children of low income families in northwest Indiana.

In her all too brief career as Program Director at the Legacy Foundation, Cara touched many people with her resolve to help non-profits of Northwest Indiana improve their organizations and reach their goals. Her interest in philanthropy stemmed from the late 1980s when she was “blown-away” by the chorus of the Emerson School for Visual and Performing Arts. She began writing grants for the Friends of Emerson and continued doing so through her years in the private sector managing hair salons, including one of the largest in the country.  She brought those skills to Legacy following a return to college. While in college she directed The Gary Art Works, an after-school arts program.

Following her untimely death at the age of fifty-seven, The Cara M. Spicer Fund was established to provide under-privileged children the funds to attend after-school and summer Fine Arts activities.

Cara was one of those people who, as a friend said, “If she was in the room you just wanted to sit down next to her.”  She brought enthusiasm and good nature to everything she touched.

A Facebook page reflects the success of the Fund with thank you letters from children who have benefitted from this fund: www.facebook.com/caraspicerfund

Donate Today

Contact

Legacy Foundation, Inc.
370 E. 84th Drive, Suite 100
Merrillville, Indiana 46410
Tel 219-736-1880
https://legacyfdn.org