A little means a lot: Vigo County Education Foundation mini grants open doors to creativity

​By Sue Loughlin | Tribune-Star Aug 20, 2025

On the first day of school at Franklin Elementary, some students couldn’t wait to tell media specialist Amber Wigington what they would be doing for the year-end talent show. Some sing, others dance. A few have demonstrated their skills for magic tricks or gymnastics-type activities.
The show has a big opening number and finale; last year, 53 kids participated.
“I make a big deal out of the talent show,” Wigington said, just hours before she was to receive a $400 mini-grant from the Vigo County Education Foundation for the project.
“Our kids for the most part don’t get to participate in extracurricular activities. They’re not taking dance lessons. They’re not doing sports,” she said. “They still deserve a moment to shine.”
The Franklin Falcon Talent Show, along with a Community Theatre field trip and a combined art/literacy program — the Caldecott Art Show — are among the Franklin projects being supported this year through Vigo County Education Foundation mini-grants.
Franklin will benefit from $7,816 in mini grant funding that also supports family involvement programs and science and math projects. Some of the activities involve multiple teachers and classes or even other schools.

“The Great Monster Exchange” is an art project that will involve both Franklin and Sugar Creek Consolidated. Jana Weeks is an art teacher at Franklin, while her daughter, Jennifer, is an art teacher at Consolidated. The project also will involve fifth grade teachers.
The grants “mean a lot. They are very important,” Jana Weeks said. “They open the door to more creativity because we’re able to get supplies that we would not be able to afford” otherwise.
On Wednesday, the education foundation awarded 169 grants and a record $105,774 to teachers across the Vigo County School Corp., impacting education for learners in Pre-K through high school and enriching every curriculum content area.

The mini-grant check awards presentation took place at the VCSC administration building.
“All of these mini-grants are made for $750 or less, and it is amazing to see what great teachers are able to accomplish with that amount of money,” says Jane Nichols, executive director of the Vigo County Education Foundation.
Since 1984, the Foundation has granted over $3 million to VCSC schools and programs.
Superintendent Chris Himsel said the grants “are about going beyond the typical, normal stuff we would do in the classroom to engage students in ways that aren’t possible without the additional resources.”
He told the award recipients, “We look forward to seeing these projects come to life.”
Alex Allen-Hodge, VCEF board president, thanked those who support the foundation as well as teachers “for your creativity and passion that bring learning to life for our students.”
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At Franklin, Wigington and Weeks will collaborate in another project, The Caldecott Art Show, which gives third-graders the chance to read and explore award-winning books to inspire their own art pieces; the children then display their work in an art show.
In the Community Theatre experience, students will attend a performance of the holiday play, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” Children will also receive a copy of the book for their personal library.
The Foundation mini-grants “give these kids the opportunity to have experiences they would not get otherwise,” Wigington said.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at 812-231-4235 or at [email protected]. Follow Sue on X at @TribStarSue.

Amber Wigington, media specialist at Franklin Elementary, descibes how a mini-grant from the Vigo County Education Foundation helps fund a project that gives students the opportunity make a sculpture based on a Caldecott Medal book Wednesday at the school.  
Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza

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Jana Weeks, the art teacher at Franklin Elementary School, displays some of the clay art pieces created by students that are based on Caldecott Medal books Wednesday at the school. A mini-grant from the Vigo County Education Foundation funds the art project.
Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza