Celebration and legacy
December 18, 2024Jenine Stickler Memorial Fund
This story comes from the newsletter of our affiliate, Mecosta County Community Foundation. While MCCF holds the Jenine Stickler Memorial Fund, the fund also benefits young people in Newaygo, Osceola, Lake, and Montcalm counties.
For more than 50 years, Wheatland Music Festival has been a celebration of the music and art that is passed from person to person and from one generation to the next. The organization’s Jenine Stickler Memorial Fund at Mecosta County Community Foundation continues that celebration and legacy.
Jenine Stickler served on Wheatland’s arts and crafts committee and was a vocalist, pianist, and community leader. “There was always music in her home,” said Pamela Burke, a Wheatland Music Organization volunteer. “She was full of life and giggles. She was a ‘reacher-outer.’ She might stop and visit five people on her way home from work to check on them.”
After Jenine passed away, friends and family created a fund in her memory to help local students develop their artistic abilities. Through the fund, youth with financial need from Mecosta, Newaygo, Osceola, Lake, and Montcalm counties can apply for help obtaining art tools and equipment like instruments, dance shoes, art kits, and more. Teachers and nonprofit instructors can also apply for funding for a group of instruments or art supplies that students can use and take home.
“We established the fund at the Community Foundation because we wanted to have a fund that’s invested and earning interest,” said Pamela. “That makes it permanent, and permanency is the key. The fund will always be there, growing and helping people.”
As the fund helps young people buy instruments, pottery supplies, dance shoes, and more, it introduces new generations to art forms that have been carefully preserved over many years. It also celebrates the vibrant life of a woman who valued creativity and community.
“Jenine was very much a gift-giver,” said Pamela. “This is her still giving. She was full of joy, and filling others with joy would make her so happy.”
For more information on applying for funds from the Jenine Stickler Memorial Fund, visit Wheatland’s website at wheatlandmusic.org or email scholarship@wheatlandmusic.org.
