“Give all you can, whatever you can.”
“The most important thing there is is your family,” says Helen McCollum, who last year established the Helen and Howard McCollum Family Scholarship Fund at the Foundation. The scholarship honors her family, including two sons who are active in their own communities, and the memory of her late husband, Howard McCollum.
Mrs. McCollum grew up in Blackford County and later lived in Muncie where her husband worked in the building trades. The McCollums moved back to Blackford County when Mr. McCollum took a local building job. Mr. McCollum was also the county sheriff in the 1970s.
Mrs. McCollum decided to create the scholarship fund when the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s GIFT VI program provided a 50% match opportunity. “I wanted to do something that was worthwhile and lasting,” she said. And getting the match on her contribution made creating the scholarship fund even more worthwhile.
The fund provides a scholarship for a student already enrolled in an accredited two- or four-year degree program. Mrs. McCollum hopes that the fund will help the students receiving the scholarship to complete their education and then do something worthwhile themselves.
