{"id":100209,"date":"2026-06-01T14:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T18:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/?p=100209"},"modified":"2026-06-01T14:01:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T18:01:27","slug":"community-foundation-and-lighthouse-mission-launch-free-shoe-bank-for-wabash-county-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/?p=100209","title":{"rendered":"Community Foundation and Lighthouse Mission launch free shoe bank for Wabash County children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!--AUTO-AD-BEFORE-->\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block\"\n        data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n        data-ad-layout-key=\"-gw-3+1f-3d+2z\"\n        data-ad-client=\"0531879237494766\"\n        data-ad-slot=\"5600453644\"><\/ins>\n    <script>(adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({});<\/script>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WABASH COUNTY, IN \u2014 The Community Foundation of Wabash County and Lighthouse Mission will celebrate the opening of a new free shoe bank for local children on Tuesday, June 10 at noon at Lighthouse Mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shoe bank was inspired by the success of a special initiative launched in fall 2025 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Imagine Early scholarship program. Through a partnership with New Shoe Day, the Community Foundation provided a pair of new name-brand shoes to every fourth through eighth grade student participating in Imagine Early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The initiative revealed a significant need in the community and prompted the Foundation to create a permanent resource for local families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beginning June 10, families may schedule an annual appointment to bring children ages 0\u201318 to Lighthouse Mission for a professional shoe fitting and a free pair of new name brand shoes. No income information is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During appointments, families who are not already enrolled in Imagine Early will also have the opportunity to learn about and enroll in the free scholarship program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe expect that many families will come for the shoes, but they will leave with something even more important and life changing: the opportunity for their child to earn up to $3,000 for their future career training,\u201d said Alex Downard. \u201cMost of that $3,000 is generated by the student\u2019s own effort to attend school and complete all their in-school assignments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jenny Ritzema, Director of Lighthouse Mission, said the impact extends beyond footwear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHaving access to new shoes means dignity, belonging, and possibility for Wabash County children,\u201d Ritzema said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Families may schedule appointments by contacting the Community Foundation at 260-982-4824 or by email at imagine-early@cfwabash.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Established in 2016, Imagine Early transforms everyday schoolwork into opportunities for students to prepare for their futures while earning scholarships for education and career training after high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students may enroll free of charge as early as birth. Participants in grades 4\u20138 earn scholarships each nine weeks for completing in-school assignments, while students in<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">grades 9\u201312 earn scholarships for extracurricular involvement and career preparation activities. From birth through grade 12, students may also earn savings matches for deposits into their 529 accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All scholarship earnings and savings matches are deposited into a Community Foundation fund in the student\u2019s name and may later be used for tuition, books, or required equipment at trade schools, vocational schools, community colleges, or universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Research conducted by the University of Michigan found that, compared to non-participants, Imagine Early students achieve higher grades, demonstrate stronger social-emotional skills, and save more frequently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information about Imagine Early or the free shoe bank, contact the Community Foundation of Wabash County at 260-982-4824.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"468\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-100210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-3.png 468w, https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-3-300x108.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n<!--AUTO-AD-AFTER-->\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;text-align:center\"\n        data-ad-format=\"autorelaxed\"\n        data-ad-client=\"0531879237494766\"\n        data-ad-slot=\"9212395598\"><\/ins>\n    <script>(adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({});<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WABASH COUNTY, IN \u2014 The Community Foundation of Wabash County and Lighthouse Mission will celebrate the opening of a new free shoe bank for local children on Tuesday, June 10 at noon at Lighthouse Mission. The shoe bank was inspired by the success of a special initiative launched in fall 2025 to celebrate the 10th &#8230; <a title=\"Community Foundation and Lighthouse Mission launch free shoe bank for Wabash County children\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/?p=100209\" aria-label=\"Read more about Community Foundation and Lighthouse Mission launch free shoe bank for Wabash County children\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Wade Weaver","author_link":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/?author=3"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">Uncategorized<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"WABASH COUNTY, IN \u2014 The Community Foundation of Wabash County and Lighthouse Mission will celebrate the opening of a new free shoe bank for local children on Tuesday, June 10 at noon at Lighthouse Mission. The shoe bank was inspired by the success of a special initiative launched in fall 2025 to celebrate the 10th&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100209"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100212,"href":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100209\/revisions\/100212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masterzradio.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}