The Community Learning Center in Kendallville, where the Dekko Foundation’s offices are based. The organization has issued a round of grants totaling $590,000 for 12 youth-serving organizations, including the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce and Sacred Heart Elementary School.

News Release

KENDALLVILLE — Sacred Heart Catholic School and Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Inc. were two of the 12 youth-serving organizations awarded grants by the Dekko Foundation, totaling $590,000 in all.

Warsaw’s Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce was given $25,515 to support the county’s early learning coalition. This will provide professional development for early learning educators and help improve learning environments.

Renovation and expansion for Sacred Heart Catholic School, also Warsaw, was supported with $250,000. With the grant, the school can increase the number of grades served and improve learning environments for students.

The Dekko Foundation, a private family organization, started in 1981 by the late businessman and philanthropist Chester E. Dekko. It invests in projects and programs that help young people from birth through age 18 to be self-sufficient and grow up to be economically free.

Its grantmaking is concentrated within 13 counties in four states — Indiana, Iowa, Alabama, and Minnesota — where Dekko had business or personal interests.

Other organizations receiving grants and pledges were:

• Apple Tree Center in Kendallville: $52,500 .
• Freedom Academy, Inc. in Kendallville: $80,000.
• Healthier Moms and Babies, Inc. in Fort Wayne: $10,000.
• Impact 2818: Outdoor Ministries in Wolcottville: $100,000.
• St. Joseph Catholic School in Garrett: $7,000.
• Westview School Corporation in Topeka: $5,000.
• Southern Iowa STEAM Academy Chariton, Iowa: $12,250.
• Limestone County Schools in Athens, Ala.: $30,000 from two separate grants, $25,000 and $5,000.
• Athens City Schools in Athens, Ala.: $9,000.
• Ada-Borup-West School District in Ada, Minn.: $9,260 from two separate grants, $5,700 and $3,560.

To learn more about the Dekko Foundation, go online or contact a Dekko Foundation program officer at (260) 347-1278.