Dec. 11 -- GOSHEN -- A Goshen native is the first to receive funds from the second iteration of the Little Big Idea Grant. Rebekah Whirledge was awarded a $500 micro-grant to help fund a 2025 Halloween Book Giveaway event.
The Little BIG Idea Grant program was created in 2017 to help Elkhart County residents bring inventive and fun placemaking projects to life. In its first run, the program awarded over $50,000 in grants across the county such as Goshen Rocks, Middlebury Pumpkin Races, Encuentro in the Alley in Goshen, Elkhart County Treasure Hunt, Christmas at the Powerhouse in Goshen, and Bristol's Lunar Lunch. Now entering its 2.0 version, the program is funded hopefully through 2025, with about $20,000 in funds available.
"The Little Big Idea Grant has funded so many terrific, community-inspired projects over the years and we're so excited for the program's new, 2.0 launch," said Terry Mark, director of Communications and Public Relations for the Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "This grant program exists for one reason, and that's to help Elkhart County residents like Rebekah make their ideas a reality. 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. We encourage all residents to share and submit their placemaking ideas with us."
The first recipient of the Little Big Idea Grant this time around, Whirledge is a mother and a literacy advocate with the children's book publisher PaperPie Books. Her new Halloween Book Giveaway is designed to create unique community interactions and neighborhood connections. Whirledge has been a brand partner with Paperpie for about four years.
"Books and spreading literacy to children is totally my passion and I knew I wanted to do something special for my community's children on Halloween because we get so many children at our door every year," Whirledge said.
For Halloween 2024, Whirledge also hosted a book-fair-styled event, featuring hundreds of visitors to her Historic Southside home's front lawn with candy and over 600 new books for youngsters to hand-select.
"I had been collecting books over the year through book drive fundraisers, purchasing books from my company's yearly Dollar Days sale, and redeeming free book credit I've earned through the company," Whirledge explained.
Whirledge said the event was so wildly popular that they ran out of books about half an hour before trick-or-treat hours ended. She was assisted by her husband Brian and son George.
"It was such a joy to see so many excited kids picking out a book of their choice," Whirledge said. "I was totally exhausted by the end of the night, but overflowing with gratitude from all the thank yous I received from appreciative parents and kids alike. It was such a wonderful experience and community outreach that was so well-received."
Project Manager Bill Murray said Whirledge's Halloween Book Giveaway is the perfect example of why the Little Big Idea Grant was developed.
"She had a great idea to promote community literacy, and she took action," he said. "She brought a free, community book fair to life with the help of a matching grant program offered by her company, PaperPie. Her Halloween Book Giveaway event was wildly successful in 2024 and thrilled hundreds of young trick-or-treaters while promoting a great community cause. We are proud that our Little Big Idea Grant award will help her to present her Halloween Book Giveaway once again in 2025."
Whirledge's $500 grant will be matched at 50% by PaperPie, through the company's Literacy for a Lifetime program, giving the project $750 with which to purchase new books for children to select and plan her 2025 Halloween Book Giveaway, Oct. 31, 2025.
Residents of all ages who are interested in the Little Big Idea Grant program can review the application form and submit their ideas via the program's application page.