Donors Making a Difference

Gene and Christina Schwindel
Gene and Christina Schwindel both came from hard-working families who learned how to make a dollar stretch to provide for their families and still have enough to share. Even as a youngster, Christina recalls her mother would grow lots of tomato plants so she could share with neighbors. Someone once suggested that her mother could make more money if she would sell the extra plants. Her mother, Christina remembers, said that it felt better to share. Learn more...

Ralph Kennedy

Ralph Kennedy is known by some to be the founder of the Spencer County Community Foundation. It is due to his incredible generosity and dedication to the betterment of his community that the Spencer County Community Foundation is as successful as it is today. In a brief telephone interview with Mr. Kennedy in September 2008, he answered a few basic questions about the reasons for his giving and his devotion to Spencer County. When asked why he first became involved with the foundation, Mr. Kennedy said, "I saw it as a very simple program that could help people support any charity that they were interested in." Ralph seemed to feel that the foundation provided those community members with estates to give if they felt the desire to while also allowing them to control where their money ended up. He also said that he wished more people would include donations to the Community Foundation in their own estate planning. It is in result of Mr. Kennedy and his family's passion for giving that the Spencer County Community Foundation is capable of providing Spencer County with a body of funds to support our community projects and scholarships while simultaneously passing on the desire to give.

Rex Winchell

Rex Winchell is not a man unfamiliar with hard work, in fact, a majority of his childhood consisted of manual labor and sacrifice in the name of his family. Rex and his four brothers grew up during the Depression and experienced a great deal of hardship. Rex's father left his family when Rex was a young child, leaving his mother and himself to make ends meet. Rex took on various means of employment, but one he vividly remembers is that on his grandfather's farm.  Rex's mother was a school teacher and due to their financial insecurity, often had to take on second and third jobs to keep their family together. Later on in life, Rex went on to study chemistry, biology, and German.  While working in Germany Rex met his wife. When Rex and his wife returned home to Rockport, he established the Anna Winchell Memorial Fund in honor of his mother.   Learn More...

John D. and Marilyn Schilling

The John D. and Marilyn Schilling Fund is a donor advised fund which means the fund founder may recommend which charitable organization receives the proceeds from the fund in the form of a grant.  The donor may recommend a different charity each year according to his or her interests.  The fund is also endowed, so it will be prudently invested to provide grants now and forever. Mrs. Schilling will have the joy of seeing her fund benefit others during her lifetime and have the satisfaction of knowing it will continue to provide for the needs of Spencer County through the Spencer County Community Foundation for generations.  Learn More...

 North Spencer County School Corporation Library Endowment Committee