For the past four years, the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) has been partnering with local elementary schools to promote volunteerism and giving back to the community through its Kids Caring for the Community service program. Participating schools throughout Northwest Indiana complete service projects and are entered in a drawing to receive a monetary award as recognition for their community service.

Each year, Kids Caring for the Community awards $9,000 total to participating elementary schools in Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties. One winner from each county is chosen. There are four total Kids Caring for the Community sessions throughout the academic year, giving local elementary schools multiple opportunities to be selected as winners.

Local 1485 IKORCC Representative John Carr is proud to see the IKORCC families involved in the program. “Many students participating in the Kids Caring for the Community program are children of IKORCC members,” said Carr. “It is so rewarding to know the impact this program will make for many generations to come. When we teach our children to serve, we know the results will be far-reaching.”

LaPorte County schools that participated in Session 1 include Crichfield Elementary, Westville Elementary, Indian Trail Elementary, Kingsford Heights Elementary, Knapp Elementary and Rolling Prairie Elementary.

Last month, Crichfield Elementary was selected in a blind drawing of participating schools as the Session 1 winner for LaPorte County. As their service project, students collected pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House supports families of children being treated for cancer and other serious illnesses or trauma while the child receives treatment at a nearby hospital or medical treatment center. To reach their goal of collecting 100 gallons of pop tabs this school year, students made posters and gave speeches about their service project.

Donna Biggs, Principal of Crichfield Elementary School, was thrilled to see the kids’ hard work being recognized. “Our student council and K Kids Club are very active in the community, and we love helping the students get excited about giving back.” Biggs said the school plans to use the awarded funds for a Buddy Bench for their playground, which is a place where students can go when they don’t have anyone to play with. The goal of the bench is to eliminate loneliness and encourage friendship on the playground. Additionally, Crichfield Elementary will be starting a Striders Club in the spring to promote more physical activity.

For more information, please contact John Carr, IKORCC Representative, at jcarr@ikorcc.com.

The Indiana Secretary of State’s office provides a great website for you to check out your elected officials. You can enter address in top left corner, and narrow results on right hand side all the way to school district! With contact information provided, we encourage everyone to reach out to your elected officials regarding issues of concern. 

LEBANON, Ind. – Earlier this month, Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) training director, Todd Pancake, was a featured presenter at an Elevating Work & Learn in Indiana event at Lebanon High School. Pancake gave an overview of the IKORCC apprenticeship program.

“It was a great honor to be invited to speak at the event,” said Pancake. Among others, both Governor Mike Pence and Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann addressed attendees. 

Elevating Work & Learn in Indiana targets residents in Indiana in an effort to educate them on potential career opportunities. It encourages schools, businesses and educators to create and identify opportunities to expose individuals seeking employment to viable work environments. 

During his presentation, Pancake discussed the model of the IKORCC apprenticeship as a great example of a “work and learn” environment that fuels the pipeline for “high-wage, high-demand” careers in the construction industry.

“Our apprenticeship program,” said Pancake, “has so much to offer in terms of being a great model of how to marry classroom training with real on-the-job experiences. We are thrilled to share with others what we are doing.”

Fourth year carpenter apprentice, Kraig Bergman, shared the value the apprenticeship program has had on his ongoing career.

“We are so grateful for the opportunity to increase work and learn opportunities throughout the state for future generations through our partnerships with the Indiana Career Council and Works Councils,” said IKORCC member and Indiana Region 6 Works Council member Tim Conley.

For more detailed information, please contact Tim Conley at tconley@ikorcc.com

LA PORTE, Ind.- Last month, Carpenters from the The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) Local 1485 donated food, toiletries and other essentials to the Center Township Food Pantry & Resource Center. The Resource Center is coordinated by LaPorte’s trustee Lisa Pierzakowski. 

Volunteers from We Stand joined Local 1485 for the food drive. We Stand is an organization consisting of spouses and companions of Local 1485 carpenters who develop different ways to give back to the community. “Resource centers do a lot of good for their communities as do local carpenters. We realize you have to build up the entire community not just certain sectors,” said We Stand Representative Angela Carr. “This resource center wants to improve the economic situation by putting local citizens to work, which drives us to help them more.”

We Stand members and Local 1485 Carpenters reached out to local grocery stores to promote and set up drop off sites for people to donate food and toiletry items for the pantry. In mid-September, they hosted the weekend-long food drive at La Porte Al’s Supermarket locations and the La Porte Savings Bank.

They also reached out to their locals members who contributed items at their bi-monthly meetings. In addition to the items and food donated, Local 1485 and We Stand presented the food panty with a check for $1,000. Carr added, “Holidays can be especially difficult for some families, so we were excited to take part in this food drive.”

For more information, please contact John Carr jcarr@ikorcc.com.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Earlier this month, Carpenters from the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) Local 435 Member Action Committee (MAC) volunteered to build Santa’s sleigh for the Light Up Lorain Waterfront Winterfest parade.

To kick off the Christmas season, Light Up Lorain Waterfront Winterfest is an annual two- day celebration held in Lorain that includes a lighting ceremony at Veterans Park, visits with Santa at Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen and an annual parade on Broadway and West Erie Avenue. This year, the celebration will be held on Nov. 28 and 29.

Director of the Lorain Port Authority Stephen W. Bansek was thrilled to accept the donation of the Santa sleigh that was designed, constructed and painted by the Carpenters Union. “We could not be happier for their help. Our community looks forward to the fest every year. We are thankful for all who made this possible, specifically Local 435 carpenters, John Muriello and Loren Haskins.”

Upon completion of the sleigh, Santa and Mrs. Claus visited Muriello and Haskins to inspect their work. Luckily, they passed with flying colors and were told the craftsmanship and kind heartedness of the IKORCC volunteers should make carpenters proud from all over. All four sides of the sleigh will proudly display an IKORCC “carpenters making a difference” sign.

IKORCC Representative Kevin Ennis said, “Having the opportunity to give back to the community and knowing how excited the kids will be to see Santa on his sleigh will make this year’s parade even more special to us.”

For more information, please contact Kevin Ennis kennis@ikorcc.com.