Dear Foundation Friends,
For over 30 years, the Community Foundation of Morgan County (CFMC) has been privileged to work alongside donors, nonprofit organizations, and community stakeholders to improve the quality of life for our community. Over the past year, CFMC awarded over $46,000 in grants to nonprofits impacting our community, $140,000 in scholarships to high school seniors to pursue continuing education, and we supported 182 funds with back-office support while they provided charitable services to our county.
Last year in response to the increasing need for workforce development, CFMC continued partnering with the Lilly Endowment, Regional Opportunities Initiative, and Monroe-Gregg schools to engage in the Ready Schools Initiative. This initiative utilizes a design thinking framework that supports school districts in aligning their kindergarten through 12th-grade curricular and programmatic offerings to the education and workforce needs of their community and region. By June 2023, the school system will have a five-year Ready Schools implementation strategic plan. While all school systems were invited to participate in the initiative, the response to the pandemic caused the other school districts to withdraw. We hope to learn enough from Monroe-Gregg to duplicate efforts in our other county school systems.
“My beloved spouse Judy Tedesco passed away in 2022. I was blessed to have her in my life and as my wife for 55 years. She was an intellectually gifted individual who held executive level positions in finance with municipalities in several states. More importantly, Judy was a very gracious, caring and comforting woman. A persona that she exuded throughout her life. Always caring about others. Similarly, Judy had a life-long interest in classical music, choir music, theatrical plays, high school concerts and various other performing arts productions. She avidly attended performances that our granddaughter Anna Bowlen was involved in over the years, particularly during Anna’s time at Martinsville High School. Thus, I decided to establish a commemorative scholarship to honor Judy Tedesco’s memory. And also as a way to acknowledge granddaughter Anna Bowlen’s participation in the performing arts at Martinsville High School. I sought out a resilient template that would provide assistance to Martinsville High School students planning to attend college. CFMC was the venue that I selected. CFMC staff were extremely helpful and sensitive to my emotions and needs. I was satisfied that CFMC was an appropriate way to honor the memory of my beloved wife Judy in the years ahead and, at the very same time, pay tribute to granddaughter Anna. And helping others. ”
-Paul Tedesco
Legacy Endowment Fund
