NIPSCO accepting applications for environmental grant
Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC (NIPSCO) is currently accepting applications for the 2025 Environmental Action Grant, an annual endowment awarded to local organizations to help fund environmental projects and programming across NIPSCO’s service area. Last year, 21 initiatives from local organizations were selected by the grant review committee to each receive between $500-$5,000 in funding. Eligible organizations must be a 501(c)3 or other non-profit as determined by the Internal Revenue Service with an environmental project focus and have a direct impact in NIPSCO’s service area. Applications will be accepted through April 4. Nonprofit organizations with an environmental restoration or education project are invited to submit a grant request following instructions on NIPSCO.com. When applying online, applicants should select the “Environmental Stewardship” option in the Area of Impact field on the application. Applications should include a project description and goals, budget, target audience, timeline and evaluation method. The NIPSCO Environmental Grant Committee evaluates requests in the following areas: strategic alignment, resource availability, visibility and recognition, project or program impact and organization priorities. To learn more, visit NIPSCO.com/environmental-action-grant.
United Way to host First-Time Homebuyer Fair
United Way of Northwest Indiana will host its annual First-Time Homebuyer Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Neighbors’ Educational Opportunities (NEO), 5201 U.S. 6 Portage. This free event will connect prospective buyers directly with realtors, lenders, home appraisers and other industry professionals who can guide them through the home-buying process and what to expect. The fair is open to the public. Visit https://unitedwaynwi.org/fthbf/ for more information and to register.
Master Gardeners offer webinar on ‘The Art of Growing Food’
Join the Lake County Master Gardeners at 6 p.m. March 19 for a free webinar presented by kitchen garden designer and author, Ellen Ecker Ogden on “The Art of Growing Food.” Learn what to grow for the best flavor and fragrance, and how to design the garden for beauty and productivity and to be a sanctuary of outdoor living. In addition to being a kitchen garden designer, Ecker Ogden is the author of a blog at ellenogden.com and six books on kitchen garden design; she also cofounded The Cook’s Garden seed catalog, introducing cooks and gardeners to European specialty vegetables, herbs and flowers. Register for the webinar at www.lakecountymastergardeners.org.
Author Percival Everett to speak at IU Northwest
Indiana University Northwest will host a reading and Q&A conversation with award-winning author Percival Everett, author of New York Times bestseller “James,” at 6 p.m., March 13 in the John W. Anderson Conference Center Room 105 on campus, 130 W. 35th St. Gary. Everett, an American writer and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California, will join the conversation virtually. The conversation will center on Everett’s best-selling novel, James, which was selected as the campus’s One Book, One Campus, One Community reading selection for the 2024-2025 academic year. “James” was featured as No. 1 New York Times Bestseller, winner of the 2024 National Book Award and 2024 Kirkus Prize for Fiction and featured on the six-author shortlist for the 2024 Booker Prize. Recently, Universal Pictures acquired feature film rights to James to produce an adaptation by Steven Spielberg through his company, Amblin Partners. This event is free and open to the public. Register to attend at https://events.iu.edu/northwest/event/1831074-a-conversation-with-author-percival-everett.
PNW to host Women’s History Month celebrations
Purdue University Northwest (PNW) invites the campus and local community to its Women’s History Month events during March, which are free and open to the public. PNW will bring together three dynamic alumnae for its annual “Unleashing Empowerment” panel at 4 p.m. March 13 in the Mane Zone of PNW’s CLO Building, 6933 Woodmar Ave., Hammond. The panel lineup features Erin Cullen (BS’99), Project Executive with Turner Construction; Kim Nagy (AS’95, BS’99, MS’04), Senior Healthcare Consultant; and Kim Yelich (BA’91), Kindergarten Teacher with Lake Central School Corporation. Dakita Jones (AS’03, BS’04), vice president of Community Relations at Centier Bank and PNW Alumni Advisory Board member, will moderate. To register, visit pnw.edu/empowerment. PNW’s College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences will host its third annual Women’s Art Exhibition as part of its Building Community Through the Arts initiative from 5 to 7:30 p.m. March 26 at Alumni Hall – Student Union Library Building (SULB). The event will celebrate and showcase local women artists and their various pieces, including paintings, sculptures, photography and mixed-media projects. An informative panel will focus on the impact of the Combahee River Collective on feminist history at 12:30 p.m. March 27 in Room 153 of the CLO Building on the Hammond campus, 2200 169th St. Panelists include Nicole Rousseau, visiting faculty member of Sociology; Brittney Autry Cole, assistant professor of Social Work; and Britt Hudson, interim Dean of Students. More information and registration for PNW’s Women’s History Month events, can be found at pnw.edu/womens-history.
