LIMESTONE SOCIETY OFF TO GOOD START: MORE CHARTER MEMBERS NEEDED

IF you’re a baseball fan, your heart is quickening about now: the baseball season has started and game results (and statistics) are beginning to appear in newspapers. As American as apple pie and mom, the ideal of baseball—a game of individuals working as a team on the broad green pastures of the American landscape—really does, to many in this country, signify eternal hope and a regular renewal of dedication in a uniquely American way.

Harmony Education Center’s Annual Fund drive is just as hopeful, dedicated and American. With an ambitious goal of $205,000 to strive for, I’m happy to report that half-way through our fiscal year we are over half-way there.

Among the nearly one hundred people who responded with a gift to our first support letter in December, we counted eighteen charter members of The Limestone Society. The box on page four shows the people who have stepped up to the plate by committing to a higher level of support with gifts of $1,000 or more, often pledged over a period of years. Among other things, these unrestricted gifts allow Harmony to sustain its scholarship support for all students and maintain its remarkably diverse student body.

Another significant part of the Annual Fund is made up of Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) tax credits. NAP donors take advantage of Indiana’s innovative tax credit program where a gift of $100 and above in support of Rhino’s Youth Center qualifies the donor to receive 50% of that amount as a tax credit against their 2005 state taxes. It’s a crafty way of ensuring that your money goes farther and benefits you as well as Rhino’s. These credits are limited. To claim your share or to find out more about joining The Limestone Society, call me at 812-334-8379.

Special News for Indiana Residents: DON’T FORGET NAP CREDITS. Rhino’s Youth Center has $32,500 in tax credits under the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP). NAP credits give you extra tax benefits. Your support will allow a credit on your Indiana 2005 tax return equal to 50% of your donation. NAP tax credits are limited so contact us soon for more information.

With this much generosity sustaining us we feel optimistic that, with your help, we’ll meet our goal this season. This goal is to help another set of students in self-determining their futures through their education at Harmony School, their after-school engagement at Rhino’s, supporting more research about democratic values in education, and providing professional development for teachers throughout the nation.
Play ball!

< Page 6