WHIN Receives a One Million Dollar Grant from North Central Health Services for Six Million Dollar E-Learning Project

Wabash Heartland Innovation Network Board of Directors has allocated five million dollars from the Regional Cultivation Fund for a three-year e-learning project. This project is supported by North Central Health Services (NCHS) who awarded WHIN a one-million- dollar grant. This project will improve Internet access at home to enhance e-learning opportunities in the 10-county WHIN region.

Significant areas of the WHIN region do not have Internet access or have service that is not adequate to the high-bandwidth demands of e-learning. Furthermore, of the 49,000 public K-12 students in the counties of the WHIN region served by NCHS, 48% are identified as economically disadvantaged (IN DOE). Financial stress also contributes to a lack of Internet access in homes, even if access is technically available.

WHIN is uniquely positioned with resources available to address the problem financially and technologically. This e-learning project will enable as many students as resources allow to have adequate Internet access at home to provide their e-learning needs. Support for education is an explicit part of WHIN’s mission concerning both its Regional Cultivation Fund and the need for an educated workforce to support the emerging technology sector around IoT. WHIN is charged with improving the quality of life in the region.

“We are excited to offer a solution to homes in the WHIN region that are un- or under-served,” says Johnny Park, WHIN CEO. “This project will greatly impact our region and will pave a path for school corporations in the future.”

NCHS provides grants to organizations that share the commitment to developing healthy communities in Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White counties. The grant from NCHS will support WHIN’s e-learning initiative by providing access to reliable Internet services available to those in the WHIN region who currently lack connectivity. In addition to providing access, this grant will help to enhance e-learning opportunities across the region.

“North Central Health Services is pleased to award this one-million-dollar grant investment to improve Internet access at home for school purposes and enhance e-learning opportunities. The WHIN project closely aligns with the Resilient Youth Initiative, a 6.1-million-dollar grant supporting schools in our eight-county region, implementing proven social and emotional learning (SEL) and substance use prevention programs, reaching close to 33,000 K-12 students,” says Stephanie Long, FACHE Chief Executive Officer.

WHIN is honored to partner with NCHS to promote and enhance e-learning in the WHIN region, and we cannot wait to see the value and positive changes this grant brings to the region!

SOURCES: Alivia Roberts, Marketing and Communications Manager, Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN): Alivia@whin.org, Jason Tennenhouse, VP Strategy and Design, Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN): Jason@whin.org, and Michelle Kreinbrook, Community Outreach and Benefit Director, North Central Health Services (NCHS): Michelle.Kreinbrook@nchsi.com.

ABOUT WHIN: WHIN is an innovative nonprofit organization devoted to making the 10-county Wabash Heartland region of north-central Indiana the global epicenter of digital agriculture and next-generation manufacturing empowered by smart IoT technology.

ABOUT NCHS: This project was made possible in part by grant support from North Central Health Services (NCHS). NCHS has a primary responsibility to operate River Bend Hospital, a nonprofit inpatient psychiatric hospital licensed and certified by the Indiana FSSA Division of Mental Health and Addiction. NCHS also is a grantmaking organization providing primarily capital grants to 501(c)(3) organizations that share the NCHS commitment to health and the development of healthy communities in Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White counties.