Orell Farley Foundation Accepting Grant Applications
Applications available for Jasper County projects and activities
Newton (May 15, 2020) – In its inaugural award year, the Orell Farley Foundation awarded eight
organizations a total of $10,000 toward projects that benefit the general public of Jasper County. 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 much 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 over her 45-year
span 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 but never made us feel as though we were a total waste
of humanity because she had to,” Elliott wrote. “She ran her classroom like a Top Sergeant, yet she was
both kind and loving to everyone.”
That kind and loving spirit is the spark that created the Orell Farley Foundation. The Foundation is
accepting applications for grants May 15 through July 31, 2020 to charitable, education, religious or
scientific purposes within Jasper County that currently have 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue
Service. Grant applications are available by emailing psbnewton@psbnewton.com.
