Community Impact Report

Understanding Our Community

GIFT VII planning grants supported a comprehensive planning process. This allowed the Community Foundation Alliance to utilize these grant dollars to contract with Chmura to collect and compile data, and Thomas P. Miller & Associates (TPMA) to lead the planning process.


For this process, the nine-county affiliates were grouped based on geographic proximity, as well as factors such as the overlap of industry and services, common time zones, and work travel patterns. Learn more about Region A which includes, Daviess, Knox, and Pike counties.

Key Development Indicators

For each subregion, Chmura identified 46 meaningful development indicators, conforming to four primary categories.

Demographics

Economics

Human Capital

Quality of Place

Determining Top Priorities

TPMA reviewed all data collected by Chmura, analyzed additional data, and explored basic demographic trends for each county using information from the U.S. Census Bureau.


TPMA then identified five potential priority areas of need and opportunity for each subregion, to be further prioritized through a series of Community Forums that helped identify the county specific issues and opportunities

Increased Economic Opportunity

  • Learn more

    Plans looked to increase economic opportunity. To accomplish this, plans suggest the subregion focus on:

    • Retaining business
    • Strengthening regional collaboration and assets
    • Strengthening partnerships with economic development organizations, local elected officials, and business and community leaders

Workforce Development

  • Learn more

    Plans looked to increase workforce development opportunities. Subregions focused on:

    • Agribusiness Food Processing
    • Advanced Materials
    • Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

Infrastructure

  • Learn more

    Subregions focused on:

    • Housing
    • Drainage
    • Broadband

Obesity

  • Learn more

    • Currently, there are programs to motivate residents to become more physically active
    • There are programs to educate residents about nutrition to help motivate change in nutritional behavior
    • Things to consider: food environment and access to exercise opportunities

Mental Health & Substance Abuse

  • Learn more

    These two topics can be interconnected, but not always

    • Struggle to access care
    • Cost for treatment is a barrier
    • Shortage of Mental Health providers
    • Alcohol, opiod, and meth abuse or dependency
    • Drug addicts have unmet healthcare needs because mental health issues are not addressed
    • Mental Health Care providers are strained
    • Need for more addiction counselors
    • Good employment opportunities play a role in helping people with substance use disorders seek the help they need
    • There is also a need for Primary Care Physicians

Community Forums

Structure

The Community Leader Forums began the process of narrowing to a single topic area that would be addressed in the Lilly Endowment GIFT VII Implementation Grant proposal. Forum participants included local leaders of nonprofit organizations, municipal and elected officials, business and industry leaders, and active community philanthropists. Forums were conducted with an initial overview of the background research and an explanation of how the top five topics were chosen. In addition, participants added the following topics: 


  • Transportation
  • Education


Participants prioritized topics and held active discussions about what they have observed about the specific topic. Upon completion, TPMA facilitated Regional Board Forums for each subregion to further narrow the topics. These forums followed a similar process to ensure consistency.

Forum Findings

Infrastructure

Increased Economic Opportunity

Mental Health & Substance Abuse

During the forums, several areas of improvement were documented. With regards to Infrastructure, a few key concerns were discussed: housing availability and affordability, access to broadband, and availability of transportation. With regards to Increased Economic Opportunity, concerns highlighted were: difficulty attracting businesses, workforce development/attraction, and a lack of quality of place amenities.

Leading Change

Overview

Through an active stakeholder engagement process including data and document review, community leader forums, and issue-specific stakeholder meetings, the Pike County Community Foundation selected increased economic opportunity as its top priority to address with GIFT VII Implementation Grant funds to align with existing work in the community. Due to a lack of jobs and skilled workforce, exacerbated by low industry diversity and the limited number of large employers in the area surrounding Pike County, community leaders believe workforce training and diversification in the economy is needed to align Pike County workers’ skills to industry needs. As coal and power plant jobs leave the community each year, training and retraining become vitally important. It was determined that a workforce for the next generation is needed, and therefore, the Community Foundation will utilize the Gift VII Implementation Grant funds to help Pike Central High School expand its CTE (Career and Technical Education) programs.

Implementation Grant Recipient


Pike County School Corporation

Collaborating Organizations


Pike County School Corporation

Pike Central High School

Elmer Buchta Trucking

Sisson Steel Inc.

Benner & Co. Heat and Air

Elmer Buchta Technology Center

City of Petersburg

Town of Winslow

Activity Update

  • March 2023

    During the previous six-month reporting period, the Fire Science and Construction programs have grown and collaborated, introducing students to new skills. The school corporation is discussing a partnership for Diesel Mechanics education and searching for an instructor for the Construction program. Community Foundation staff received a tour of each program during a Pike Central High School visit, where students demonstrated their skills and presented their projects.

  • September 2022

    Over the last six months, the Fire Science and Construction classes at Pike Central High School have continued to increase in student enrollment. The Construction program expanded from half day to a full day (6 class periods). The Fire Science students are completing graduation requirements and certifications through the Fire Science and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) programs. The Pike County School Corporation is in the process of searching for a teacher for the Diesel Mechanics and Electrical program they would like to implement as part of the grant. In addition, the school corporation is reviewing options to expand the workspace/lab area by either renovating an empty building or building a new facility.

  • March 2022

    The Fire Science Program has experienced a 15% increase in enrollment from its first year. Students in the Fire Science program are now partnering with local township fire departments for additional training and certification. 


    The school corporation approved the transition of a current teacher to include four periods of Construction Trades courses at the high school for the 2021-2022 school year. The courses have been very successful and early registration for the 2022-2023 school year indicates a need for a full day (six periods) of Construction Trades courses. The Construction Trades students are partnering with students in the precision machining and pre-engineering classes for several projects including the expansion of a common workspace at the school.

  • September 2021

    (January 2022) The Fire Science Program continues with steady enrollment from last year, and students have been very engaged in this new opportunity. To add to the fire truck that was donated by a local fire department for use in the Fire Science program, several items have been purchased over the last few months, including SCBA kits, extinguishers, pike poles, and a generator.


    The school corporation has hired an instructor for the construction program. Initial courses are introductory level and will prepare students for advanced courses in Construction Trades, HVAC, and Electrical courses. Enrollment numbers are strong for this program, with 44 students in two class periods. The school corporation plans to expand the CTE program for the 2022-2023 school year.

  • March 2021

    (July 2021) During the 2020-21 school year, the Fire Science program hired an instructor, and the class had its first students. The school corporation is in the process of hiring instructors for the other CTE programs (Diesel Technology, HVAC, and Electrical, as well as a newly added program, Mechanical Drawing). In addition, a local fire department donated a fire truck to be used in the Fire Science program. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted project implementation, it is anticipated that additional progress will be made with the start of the 2021-22 school year.