Elkhart’s community grant program awarded $500 to Goshen’s Rebekah Whirledge to support a book giveaway.
The Little BIG Idea Grant is a community micro-grant program. It aims to help Elkhart County residents bring their inventive and fun placemaking projects to life. The program awarded over $50,000 in grants during its first run. The first award of the 2.0 version of the program will help Whirledge fund her 2025 Halloween Book Giveaway.
Whirledge, a literacy advocate with PaperPie Books, envisioned a Halloween book giveaway. She aimed to promote reading and foster community and neighborhood connections. In 2024, Whirledge hosted a book-fair-style event on her front lawn with help from a matching grant program from PaperPie. She gave out candy and offered over 600 new books for trick-or-treaters to select.
“Rebekah's Halloween Book Giveaway is a perfect example of why the Little BIG Idea Grant program was created in 2017,” said Bil Murray, program project manager, in a press release. “We are proud that our Little BIG Idea Grant award will help her to present her Halloween Book Giveaway once again in 2025.”
Vibrant Communities of Elkhart County and the Community Foundation of Elkhart County fund the program. The microgrant program encourages residents to submit ideas for community events, projects and gatherings. The ideas should celebrate unity and have the potential to send positive, long-term ripples throughout the community. The committee awards grants up to $500.
Residents of all ages can submit their ideas for the Little BIG Idea Grant program. Learn more here.
“This grant program exists for one reason, and that's to help Elkhart County residents like Rebekah make their ideas a reality,” Terry Mark, Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau director of communications and public relations, said. “This award is the first of many more to come, and we continue to be inspired by the applications and interest we receive from the community.”
