WINONA LAKE — The William and Helen Dye Endowment Fund recently donated $11,069 to Lakeland Christian Academy to increase the safety of students and staff.

Earlier this fall, LCA initiated a four-stage security campaign to maximize campus safety. Stage one was to install 60 state-of-the-art, high definition security cameras that can be accessed wirelessly from anywhere in the world. This was completed in September 2018. Stage two of the safety plan, where the Dye Endowment will be spent, is to reconstruct the entrances to the building to ensure that there are various protective barrier levels in order to gain access to the buildings’ interior.

This will include remodeling the entrance, changing the path for visitors with several new locked doors, bullet-resistant glass, and safety bollards to stop an intruder from driving a car into the building. Widman Construction will install a door connecting the vestibule to the office and another door with safety glass between the office and the office hallway.

The William and Helen Dye Endowment Fund is a component fund of the Kosciusko County Community Foundation. The late William (Bill) Dye was a car mechanic in Warsaw. He and his wife Helen also owned several apartments in the Warsaw area. The Dyes raised their two disabled children in the house Bill’s grandparents built after they immigrated from Germany.

Bill named his trust officer John Elliott and his neighbor Janice Blosser as advisors to the fund. Annually, John and Janice recommend grants to charities they believe Bill would want to support. Since 2001, the fund has awarded over $163,000 in grants to charities impacting those who live in Kosciusko County.

Bill’s story is a great example of how ordinary people can leave a legacy. Bill and Helen didn’t live in a fancy house or drive the latest car. They lived quiet lives committed to their families and communities. That commitment lives on through the fund in their name.