From left, Chris Fancil, Laura Deal-Decker, Jason Branham, Jennifer Stewart, Darren Bickel. Laura and Jennifer are holding a United Way, Fill It Up Box. Photo provided by KLA.

News Release

WARSAW – Kosciusko Leadership Academy cadets last week visited the K21 Health Services Pavilion to learn about many of the human services Kosciusko County has to offer through Cardinal Services, the K21 Health Services Pavilion, and United Way.  

Jennifer Stewart from the K21 Health Foundation hosted the session.

According to Matt Boren, Executive Director of Cardinal Services, “The mission of Cardinal Services is to assist and advocate for people with disabilities and challenges to live lives full of dignity, growth, and opportunity.” Cardinal Services’ programs fall into three categories: Individuals with disabilities, children & families with challenges and KABS transportation. Cardinal Services serves over 4000 people annually through residential (group home) living, community (apartment) living, Career Links, Early Head Start, Headstart, and affordable housing.

Laura Deal-Decker, Director of K21 Help Center, presented information about each tenant in the K21 Health Services Pavilion.  Laura assists Kosciusko County residents who are overwhelmed financially due to health issues and need guidance for medical, dental, and social services. Pavilion agencies are all non-profits that offer a health-related service, such as Brightpoint, providing free help for families to enroll in and understand state and federal health insurance programs.  Other Pavilion agencies include Healthy Families of Kosciusko County, Heartline Pregnancy Center, Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice, Medication & Dental Assistance, WIC, and Northern Indiana Hispanic Health Coalition. For more information see http://k21pavilion.org/

Darren Bickel, President of United Way of Kosciusko County, explained how United Way’s 2-1-1 phone line connects people to local resources or online at https://in211.communityos.org/. Additionally, United Way’s last Big Give delivered 2,500 bags of school supplies in August. https://www.uwwk.org/blog/united-ways-big-give-delivers-for-kids/. Another great program is the Fill it Up Box which provides essential supplies to children displaced from their homes. https://www.uwwk.org/volunteer/fill-it-up/

KLA cadets will meet next on Nov. 2 at Ivy Tech Community College for Whitepaper Round-up.

The Kosciusko Leadership Academy is in its 40th year of service to our county.  As an independent 501-3(c) organization, KLA conducts bi-weekly morning sessions around the county to expose leaders to a wide variety of local topics and experts.  The annual whitepaper projects have yielded many benefits to the citizens of Kosciusko County.  For more information, visit www.kocsciuskoleadership.org.