Elkhart County residents bringing fun, important community-building projects to life with Little BIG Idea Grant Funding
When Esperanza “Essie” Monge moved with her husband and son from their West Goshen neighborhood to the Shanklin/Millrace area near the Goshen Public Library, she was excited about being closer to schools, the library’s array of wonderful programs, and their favorite Downtown Goshen businesses and eateries. The move was a good one, but Essie, who works at Oaklawn as a mental health liaison, found one specific area sadly lacking.
Mother to a 5-year-old son, Emery, who was diagnosed with autism in November, Essie took it upon herself to think of ways she could fill a void and encourage more social events, interactions and group activities for people with autism in Goshen. Essie, who attends a monthly group for working moms at the library and has previously organized adult crafting events there, felt that the resources and opportunities offered by the Goshen Public Library could help bring her own BIG idea to life!
Essie applied for and received a $500 grant award from Vibrant Communities’ Little BIG Idea Grant program to coordinate a monthly LEGO Club at the Goshen Public Library. The plan for Essie’s LEGO Club—modeled after a similar program she read about in Warsaw—is to accommodate adults and children of all ages and abilities and provide crucial opportunities for beneficial social activities and group interactions.
“I was talking to my husband, Emmanuel, on the phone and he saw the award email before me,” Essie said. “He said to me, ‘Congratulations!’ And I said, ‘For what?’ Then I saw the email that my application was accepted for funding, and I was just blown away. I was bouncing in my seat with joy. I believe in the saying, ‘If you don’t see it, you can make it.’ The lack of resources for kiddos with autism is not specific to Goshen, but it is an issue that—as a mom, and in my work—is close to my heart. I felt a LEGO Club could help my son, and other people with challenges like autism, feel more represented and included. I had Emery during the pandemic, and it was difficult—no peers, no fellow moms or groups to meet with, no family members around to help. Taking action on my own, applying, and then receiving this grant award is incredibly meaningful to me, my husband, and our whole family. It lets us all know that we are not alone.”
Although Goshen is often bustling with action and wonderful activities for kids, Essie noted that many such activities are too noisy, unfamiliar or simply overwhelming for her son and others like him. With the funding, Essie will partner with the library to offer a LEGO group with an open invitation to all, with a special focus on including differently abled kids and adults, and their caregivers.
“A LEGO Club is a great way for people with autism to have some familiar structure while practicing new social skills,” said Essie. “It’s something both younger and older kids can enjoy as well as their parents. It provides important interactions and offers the chance to improve communication skills and grow more confident. It helps with problem-solving and emotional regulation, and helps them learn to share and ask for help. The LEGO group also allows participants to improve new skills by being in new situations and learning to move those new skills from one context to another. And Goshen has a great library and a great staff—with the ability to help translate the club advertisements into Spanish—meaning that the club can be multicultural as well as multi-generational.”
According to Little BIG Idea Grant program manager Bil Murray, it did not take long for the funding committee to understand the inherent value, and importance, of Essie’s plan.
“To receive an application from someone like Essie warms our hearts and reinforces why we offer these community grants in the first place,” said Murray. “We are honored to award her with Little BIG Idea Grant funding to help bring her idea to life. We have a young mother here who is trying very hard to find ways to improve her child’s quality of life, and in the process of trying to do that, she’s selflessly thinking about others in the community who could potentially benefit from her idea. Coming up with ideas to improve our community and overall quality of place for all residents is an important tenet of our community grant programs. We thank Esperanza for applying, and encourage others in our county to follow her lead.”
Movie night, anyone?
Wakarusa resident Justin McNally, a self-titled “serial entrepreneur” and an owner at the popular Wakarusa Dime Store, had a BIG idea of his own to present a free movie night at Wakarusa Downtown Park. McNally applied for Little BIG Idea Grant funding and was awarded a $500 grant to cover movie licensing fees for two future events.
“Each movie license is a little over two hundred dollars, so this grant would get us through August without having to find additional sponsors,” said McNally. “Our inaugural Movie Night in the Park was on June 28 and was funded solely by local sponsors, and there was a huge amount of interest. The Little BIG Idea Grant award allows us to plan two future Movie in the Park nights and, potentially, turn this into a regular community event for the town and people of Wakarusa.”
According to McNally, Movie Nights are free for the whole community, appropriate for all ages, and offer a wonderful opportunity for Wakarusa residents to connect with neighbors while enjoying entertainment under the beautiful summertime sky. McNally also plans to coordinate with other Wakarusa businesses and eateries to ensure everyone is included in the potential benefits of the monthly event.
More BIG ideas from Wakarusa
Judy Briganti, a retired school teacher in Wakarusa, was awarded Little BIG Idea Grant funding for $500 to coordinate a gathering in Wakarusa’s Southwood neighborhood. Her father owned and—in the early 1970s—developed the land that eventually became the Southwood Addition. The neighborhood gathering will include the dedication of a new Southwood sign to replace the original identifying sign, which was removed during recent curbing and paving work, and to cover the cost of a neighborhood ice cream and pizza social.
“We intend to have a neighborhood gathering of 28 property owners to dedicate the new sign and renew interest in creating neighborhood connections and activities,” said Briganti. “The gathering and dedication will occur in late July or early August. My father and mother held many neighborhood gatherings out here during their time, and I held many at my home as well before COVID. Creating strong neighborhood connections is something many of our residents believe in strongly, and I believe in always doing my best to encourage support for the community. I’m thankful for the grant award, and glad that so many of the influential leaders and quality people who reside in Southwood have been so interested in supporting this effort.”
Submit YOUR BIG Idea!
An initiative of the Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, Vibrant Communities’ Little BIG Idea Grant encourages residents to submit creative, fun and effective ideas for community events, projects and gatherings that promote quality of place in Elkhart County. All ideas are welcome for consideration by the committee, with awards ranging up to $500. Fun and festive submissions that celebrate artistic creativity and offer the potential to increase unity and send positive, long-term ripples throughout the community are especially encouraged.
Submit your application today at https://vibrantelkhartcounty.org/lbig-application/.
Essie Monge, whose son Emery was diagnosed with Autism in November, applied for and received a $500 grant award from Elkhart County’s Little BIG Idea Grant program to coordinate a monthly LEGO Club at the Goshen Public Library. The plan for the LEGO Club is to accommodate adults and children of all ages and abilities and provide crucial opportunities for beneficial learning and growing through social activities and group interactions.
