ST. PARIS — Operation Rebirth, a Christian boarding school for boys near St. Paris, houses between eight and ten teens at a time on its campus. With no public money supporting their program, donations of money and items keep the school going. They recently received a donation of a walk-in refrigerator-freezer and now need support through the Community Foundation’s Match Day to house and operate the large commercial appliance.
“The wonderful gift of the 12-foot by 24-foot refrigerator-freezer means we can replace our 12 regular freezers and we can butcher all year round,” said executive director Dr. Sam Ronicker. “Match Day gifts will provide the funds to build a building to enclose the walk-in freezer and upgrade our electric system to run it.”
Operation Rebirth’s motto is ‘It is better to build boys than to mend men.’ In addition to traditional schoolwork that is recognized by the state, Operation Rebirth offers a program of farm and animal management and supervised dorm life built around a warm home environment where Christian principles are taught through Bible study, responsibility and relationships.
To support Operation Rebirth on Match Day, gifts must be made payable to the Community Foundation of Shelby County with: Match/Operation Rebirth noted on the memo or in an accompanying note or form. Details and forms are available at the Community Foundation website at commfoun.com and at Operation Rebirth 1638 Apple Road, St. Paris. Gifts must be received on or before Nov. 30 to be eligible for matching money. Credit card gifts may be made only on Nov. 30.
The Community Foundation of Shelby County holds its Match Day event annually on Giving Tuesday. Twenty-three local charities will ask supporters to make a gift to the Community Foundation that will be matched up to a total of $5,000 per charity.
Match Day participating organizations have a 501(c)(3) tax status and an organization fund within the Community Foundation of Shelby County with an asset balance exceeding the Foundation’s fund minimum. Gifts received will not be placed into an organization’s fund, but instead will be returned to the organization for its work in the community.
