(Effingham, Illinois – June 12, 2023) Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation is pleased to announce the 2023 Ray, Mary, and Tim Niebrugge Scholarship recipients. Scholarships totaling $51,000 have been awarded to 30 high school seniors and graduates from high schools in Effingham County.
Altamont High School: Ashley Goeckner, Madison Splechter, Lanie Tedrick
Beecher City High School: Kenneth Robbins
Dieterich High School: Cortney Brummer, Kaylie Miller, Kinley Parish, Breanna Shull, Brody Will
Effingham High School: Marissa Allie, Andrew Blacker, Kourtney Cordes, Ella Niebrugge, Krista Phillips, Airin Price, Meredith Schaefer, Lillian Wise
St. Anthony High School: Matt Herzing, Taylor Quandt, Anne Strullmyer, Conlan Walsh
Teutopolis High School: Joleen Deters, Carley Habing, Bailey Niccum, Elise Passalacqua, Abby Schmidt, Madeline Thoele, Isaac Vahling, Athena Walker, Eve Walker
The Ray, Mary and Tim Niebrugge Scholarship is open to all current students and alumni of high schools in Effingham County. It was established by Tim Niebrugge, the son of Ray and Mary Niebrugge of Green Creek. Ray Niebrugge inherited a tract of land from his father, John, and continued reinvesting in the farm for more than 40 years. Tim farmed the ground after his parents passed away and gifted the farm to help Effingham County students with financial needs to continue their education.
The Niebrugge Farm was the first gift of farmland through the Community Foundation’s Fields of Opportunity program. Fields of Opportunity puts the Community Foundation in a unique position to receive and retain gifts of farmland and use the available income to benefit local charities that make the community a stronger and better place to live. Retaining local ownership of farmland means wealth generated stays with local tenants, circulating throughout the community.
The fund has awarded almost $450,000 in scholarships over the past 11 years. The Fields of Opportunity program will ensure that scholarship funds will continue to be made in perpetuity.
Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation manages more than 200 funds for the immediate and long-term benefit of communities in southeastern Illinois. For more information, contact Alex Pleasant, President/CEO of Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation, at 217-342-4988 alex@southeasternillinois.org.
Top Row, L-R: Marissa Allie, Andrew Blacker, Cortney Brummer, Kourtney Cordes, Joleen Deters, Ashley Goeckner
Second Row, L-R: Carley Habing, Matt Herzing, Kaylie Miller, Bailey Niccum, Ella Niebrugge, Kinley Parish
Third Row, L-R: Elise Passalacqua, Krista Phillips, Airin Price, Taylor Quandt, Kenneth Robbins, Meredith Schaefer
Fourth Row, L-R: Abby Schmidt, Breanna Shull, Madison Splechter, Anne Strullmyer, Lanie Tedrick, Madeline Thoele
Bottom Row, L-R: Isaac Vahling, Athena Walker, Eve Walker, Conlan Walsh, Brody Will, Lillian Wise
Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation was established in 2009 as a result of a merger between the Effingham County Community Foundation (est. 1999) and the Mattoon Area Community Foundation (est. 1980). Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization managing permanent and non-permanent assets for the long-term benefit of communities in southeastern Illinois.
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