Members of GOAL leadership pose with check from Hillsdale County Community Foundation. Courtesy | Rachel Marinko
The Hillsdale County Community Foundation awarded $25,778 to GOAL earlier this month, providing financial support to the college’s volunteering program for the eighth consecutive year.
“It enhances what the program is able to do for those people,” said Rachel Marinko, director of student programs at the college. “It enables the volunteers to show that they care in a very tangible way. It’s definitely a huge asset to GOAL and what we’re able to do in the community.”
The foundation is the GOAL program’s largest source of funding, according to Marinko. The money will support 19 of GOAL’s 26 programs, which applied for funding from the foundation earlier in the fall semester, said Mindy Eggleston, program director at Hillsdale County Community Foundation.
HCCF began supporting GOAL programs in 2018, with a grant of about $15,000, Eggleston said. Since 2022, HCCF has given the college group more than $20,000 each year.
“We’re very grateful for this partnership — to be able to work with the college and the GOAL program — and for all of its benefits to our community,” Eggleston said.
The grant will allow the programs to acquire new materials and equipment as well as buy supplies for events, Marinko said.
“Without this funding, they definitely would not have the impact on the community that they’re able to have,” Marinko said.
Programs will also use the money to support training for student volunteers at organizations such as Domestic Harmony, a women’s domestic violence shelter, Eggleston said.
A Few Good Men — a group that does yard work, home repair, and other service projects — will buy new chainsaws and replace yearly supplies with its money, Marinko said. It will also support prom and bowling events for GOAL’s Hillsdale Buddies program.
“Special needs people in the community can come to Buddy Bowling and get to bowl a couple of games for free because of the Hillsdale County Community Foundation,” Marinko said. “It’s a big staple in the special needs community in Hillsdale.”
