2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Recipients from Delaware County Announced

The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County is pleased to announce that the 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship recipients for Delaware County are Lucy Holaday of Yorktown High School, and Jillian Kimmel of Muncie Central High School. 

“Finalists for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in Delaware County must show great leadership potential, be well-rounded in their involvement, and exhibit community-mindedness,” said Marcy Minton, president and CEO of The Community Foundation. “Lucy Holaday and Jillian Kimmel were selected because of their unique experiences in leadership and for their service to their community. They will represent Muncie and Delaware County as Lilly Scholars and carry that honor with them for the rest of their lives.” 

Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and required equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. 

Lilly Endowment Inc. created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-1999 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling more than $505 million. More than 5,200 Indiana students have received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship since the program’s inception. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program is administered statewide by Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. (ICI) with local support from Indiana community foundations. 

Holaday and Kimmel were selected from an applicant pool of 65 candidates from high schools across Delaware County. Each high school nominates one representative from their school to be considered for this scholarship. 

Lucy Holaday, a senior at Yorktown High School, plans to study law, ethics, and decision making with a minor in economics at Indiana University – Bloomington. Lucy is the daughter of Heather Holaday and Benjamin Holaday. Lucy’s broad experiences during her high school career provided opportunities for leadership and service. She has shown leadership and excellence in student publications, where she currently serves as co-editor-in-chief. Lucy is a varsity member of the swim team. She is captain of the English academic team and a member of the history academic team. She is a member of the Ambassador program, National Honor Society, Tiger Writing Center, TONGI Spirit Squad, Diversity Club, and Book Club. In addition, Lucy is an active member of the Yorktown Compass Students Youth Group, where she engages in volunteer service for a variety of organizations. Lucy was also an exchange student, spending her tenth-grade year living in Germany. Her experience abroad allowed her to bring knowledge, understanding, and leadership back to her home community.  

Jillian Kimmel, a senior at Muncie Central High School, plans to study animal science, biology, and equine studies at the University of Southern Indiana. Jillian is the daughter of Robert Kimmel. During her high school career, Jillian has been an active participant in her school community. Jillian excels as a volleyball player, both for the MCS team and as a part of Munc club volleyball. She served as team captain and was named most valuable player and NCC all-conference during the 2022-2023 season. As a freshman, she also decided to try color guard and has been a four-year member of summer marching band and winter guard. In addition, Jillian takes a leadership role in her high school, serving as class officer (currently class treasurer), vice president of the Student Council, and as a member of the National Honor Society and Student Advisory Board. Jillian is also the senior class representative for the Hope Squad, a suicide prevention group that trains students to be available to their peers who are experiencing suicidal thoughts or other personal challenges. Jillian was nominated by her peers to serve in this role and has taken on additional training to provide this support in her school. Service in this role shows great commitment to her school community. 

In selecting Delaware County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholars, consideration is given to leadership potential, community and civic service, student activities and achievements, and academic ability. After the field of nominees was narrowed, the finalists’ names were submitted to ICI to select the recipients.  

In addition to administering the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County manages more than 50 additional scholarship funds that provide scholarship awards to graduating seniors and current college students in Delaware County. Scholarship applications are now open at DelawareCountyScholarships.com. The deadline to apply is February 26, 2024. Each scholarship has unique criteria, and awards are given for a variety of activities and for a wide range of grade point averages. All current high school seniors are invited to visit DelawareCountyScholarships.com to complete the universal application to determine for which specific scholarships they may apply. Questions may be directed first to high school counselors or emailed to scholarships@cfmdin.org. 

The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are: 1) to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) to encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state.  

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The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. encourages philanthropy, assists donors in building an enduring source of charitable assets, and exercises leadership in directing resources to enhance the quality of life for residents of Muncie and Delaware County. Since 1985, community members and businesses have helped the Foundation grow our endowment to $85 million. Using the earnings on the endowment, the Foundation distributes grants to nonprofit organizations, including scholarships to support students through post-secondary education. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than $63 million to enhance the quality of life of the residents of Muncie and Delaware County. 

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. The Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. However, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. 

Since 1997, Independent Colleges of Indiana has administered the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program statewide with funding provided by Lilly Endowment. Founded in 1948, ICI serves as the collective voice for the state’s 29 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. ICI institutions employ over 22,000 Hoosiers and generate a total local economic impact of over $5 billion annually. Students at ICI colleges have Indiana’s highest four-year, on-time graduation rates, and ICI institutions produce 30 percent of Indiana’s bachelor’s degrees while enrolling 20 percent of its undergraduates.  

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