The Gary W. Addison Scholarship Fund was created in 2010 in order to financially assist a Delaware County high school graduate planning to major in K-12 education.

Gary Addison, a former Muncie teacher who spent 36 years in the Muncie school systems, created this scholarship through The Community Foundation because he has “been concerned by not seeing enough qualified students becoming teachers. There’s a lot of challenges in education, and I encourage others to get in that career.”

Gary’s scholarship fund was created as a direct reflection of his own experiences as a college student.

“I might never have gone to college if someone hadn’t made funds available to me,” said Gary, whose scholarship awards in college allowed him to attend university.

The generosity of others allowed Gary to receive a higher education, and he, in turn, has created two scholarships for teachers. He also serves as the past president of the Optimist International Foundation. This foundation supports the Optimist Club, an organization with many branches throughout the country that benefits children, particularly through scholarships.

Knowing that he wanted to financially contribute to the education of high school graduates in need, Gary chose to create a fund through The Community Foundation.

“I thought, ‘Somebody helped me in college; maybe I can start a scholarship.’ Every little bit helps,” Gary said. “The Community Foundation is unique because it isn’t a single-focused foundation. You can support almost any charitable purpose with this foundation. The Community Foundation exists to help the community, and it’s not restrictive.”

Gary, who has remained “closely involved with philanthropy” through volunteering, supporting the Back to School Teachers Store as a board member and Muncie Optimist Club, and serving on the board of Cornerstone Center of the Arts, is very proud of what his scholarship funds have accomplished within the Muncie community. He is especially proud of the fact that his scholarships have the potential to one day become full-tuition scholarships. This passion to give back to the Muncie community has been invaluable to Gary.

“The kids of Muncie have been my kids, and I’ve been blessed,” Gary said. Helping to support the education of these students has been priceless to Gary.

“I just don’t know how you put a value on something like that,” he said.