As we enter the third year of Bethany Legacy Foundation’s existence, we want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of those who made it possible. Thanks to your efforts, great positive change has occurred in Jefferson County.

“Mental Health Matters” has been our focus for 2024. The result has been grants and partnerships to increase mental health support and access in our community.  Our grants to Centerstone of Indiana, Girls Inc., Jefferson House, Madison Consolidated Schools, Ruth Haven, and Recovery Café, to name a few, are all examples of investments designed to improve mental health conditions locally. Our ultimate goal is to move the dial on Jefferson County’s mental health desert designation by state and national agencies monitoring access to mental health treatment. Moving forward, we will continue to look for opportunities to move that dial. 

There have been positive advances through partnerships and investments. 2024, in particular, has been a year of branching out into pilot projects that may have state and national implications going forward. Infants In BLOOM stands out as one of the most innovative attempts to assist vulnerable infants and families. This effort may very well be elevated to a national level – if successful in southeastern Indiana. 

Our Board has expanded to nine Directors. Each of these women brings knowledge and talents to help further our mission to make Jefferson County the “Healthiest County in the World”. Our staff, led by our Pres./CEO, Dora Anim, is operating at a high level – each working seamlessly to find the projects to move us closer to our goal.

Our community has been extremely involved in providing feedback and information.  Thank you to the many participants of our listening sessions designed to feed into our strategic plan! Great effort has been made to capture a true picture of conditions that keep our community from having better health. 

As we reflect on the progress made in 2024, we encourage you to explore the grants awarded this year, which highlight the transformative work happening in our community. These investments are not just numbers—they are the heart of the efforts to create meaningful change. We invite you to review the full list of 2024 grants and celebrate the collective impact of the work happening in Jefferson County. 

Working together we look forward to the new year, and new opportunities to keep improving!