To show you how we are, have been, and will continue to be here to help Jefferson County thrive, we introduce Growing a Healthier Jefferson County: 2023 Year in Review series. 

In the upcoming months, we invite you to join us as we reflect on the ways our community partners have shown up for the most vulnerable residents of Jefferson County. Via emails, video testimonials, and social media posts, we will show you how brick by brick and pillar by pillar–through our funding and the work of so many throughout our community–we have been building a healthier, more self-reliant Jefferson County over the past year.

When I reflect on the inaugural year of Bethany Legacy Foundation and my role as Board Chair, there are three words that seem to capture this year. Those words are “We are here.”   

Dora Anim came in July 2022 as our President/CEO and began her listening tour of the county.  The message was clear:  WE ARE HERE to listen and learn your ideas to build a healthy community.

We held an event to reveal our brand and logo: WE ARE HERE and want you to recognize our presence and learn more about us. 

To our friends in the Dupont community who had no place to gather with their children and families: WE ARE HERE and applaud your grassroots initiative to improve your hometown.  

To our friends with mental health concerns who need professional support: WE ARE HERE to assist The Freedom Center as it provides counseling services. To our seniors who struggle with transportation availability: WE ARE HERE to improve Lifetime Resources services. 

To our traumatized children who need to tell their story in a safe place: WE ARE HERE to make sure the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southeastern Indiana has a facility to support you.  

To our cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: WE ARE HERE to ensure there are supplemental nutrition needs available to you through Norton Cancer Institute – Madison.

Bethany Legacy Foundation’s journey began 127 years ago with 12 caring women. Because of the journey they began, we can now say ‘WE ARE HERE;” and as we look ahead to future years, we can confidently say WE WILL BE HERE to ensure we are the healthiest county possible.

The first of the four pillars of this vision is developing strong youth. This pillar visions that children have a strong foundation to thrive and grow up to be empowered adults.

Some key results informed the development of this essential pillar. The 2022 Norton King’s Daughters’ Health Community Needs Survey, revealed that children living in poverty are part of the population with unmet health needs. And, child abuse/neglect ranks among the top ten community health issues. Further, according to the 2022 Jefferson County Health Rankings, 16% of our approximately 7,500 youth in Jefferson County live in poverty.

From our 2022 listening tour across the county, we concluded that

To this end, Bethany Legacy Foundation awarded thirteen grants this year totaling just over 1.2 million dollars to organizations whose mission and work creates such a foundation for our youth.