The Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center has received a $25,000 contribution from ArcelorMittal USA.

The gift successfully completes a campaign to raise $50,000 in endowment funds at the Porter County Community Foundation. The $50,000 will be matched by GRANTS, Inc., resulting in $100,000 in new endowment resources for the Dunes Learning Center at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

The matching grant is part of the GRANTS, Inc. Award for Nonprofit Excellence presented to the Dunes Learning Center in January 2007 by the Porter County Community Foundation.

The award recognizes nonprofit organizations that show leadership in organizational governance, strategic planning, oversight and evaluation, and resource development.

“On behalf of the Dunes Learning Center Board, staff, and most importantly the students who will benefit, I want to thank ArcelorMittal,” said John Hayes, Executive Director of the Dunes Learning Center. “Their contribution and the subsequent match from GRANTS, Inc. is really a gift to all of our future students. It will go a long way toward ensuring the kids in our region will continue to receive high quality environmental education.”

“ArcelorMittal is committed to sustainable development in the Northwest Indiana community,” said Bill Steers, President of the ArcelorMittal USA Foundation. “Partnering with exemplary organizations such as the Dunes Learning Center aligns with our community goals of youth education and supporting environmental programs.”

The Dunes Learning Center is a non-profit organization established in 1998 in partnership with the National Park Service.

Dunes Learning Center is devoted to providing innovative environmental education in the Indiana dunes region. It offers environmental education programs exploring the relationship between humans and the environment through hands-on science and investigation in the Lakeshore.

Over the past nine years, the Center has provided residential environmental education programming to more than 37,500 students, teachers and adults. The Center has 10 cabins and a total residential capacity for 80, with a dining hall and full-service kitchen for meals and meetings.

Endowment funds will be held at the Porter County Community Foundation. Building endowment funds help insure the future of environmental education in the region by supporting tuition assistance for schools and students in need and operating expenses for the Dunes Learning Center.

For more information, contact the Dunes Learning Center at 219-395-9555 or check out the website www.duneslearningcenter.org

Posted 2/12/2008