The Orell Farley Foundation is once again accepting applications for the annual grant process. In 2021, nine organizations received a combined total of $30,205.87 toward projects that benefit the general public of Jasper County. The Foundation is accepting 2022 applications for grants May 1 through July 30, 2022 to benefit charitable, education, religious or scientific purposes within Jasper County that currently have 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service.

Initially funded in 2018, the Orell Farley Foundation supplements qualified organizations in Jasper County, Illinois that sponsor projects and activities that enhance public health, safety, recreation and education for the use and enjoyment of the community. An organization must be either a tax-supported governmental unit or entity, or must be a tax-exempt organization under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) and must be located in Jasper County.

Ms. Orell Farley, a retired schoolteacher, began her career in 1928 in a one-room schoolhouse with first through eighth grades. According to an article written by former student Ray Elliott, she was instantly someone the students respected.

“She made the rules and we played by them,” Elliott wrote. “We read when we were supposed to read, studied when we were supposed to study and kept quiet when we were supposed to keep quiet.”

Farley acted as teacher, janitor, coach and PE teacher to hundreds of rural students during her time behind the desk. She taught a total of 45 years in Crawford and Jasper Counties, mostly with all the grades in the same room, and appreciated knowing where her students were coming from.

“By knowing the background and family life of each student, I knew what to expect and sometimes what to overlook,” she said. She rarely found it necessary to spank students. However, she was a stickler for rules and expected them to be followed.

“If we broke one of her rules, she’d discipline us,” Elliott wrote. “She ran her classroom like a Top Sergeant, yet she was both kind and loving to everyone.”

That kind and loving spirit was the spark that created the Orell Farley Foundation. Grant forms are available from the Peoples State Bank as Trustee of the Foundation, which has offices at 100 W. Washington Street in Newton. You may request an application by stopping by the main bank or emailing psbnewton@psbnewton.com.