STORIES OF IMPACT

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Since 2013, the Indiana State Fair Foundation has raised more than $1 million to support 4-H youth competing at the Indiana State Fair through Celebration of Champions.

In 2016, Jordan Leininger talked about her experience participating in Celebration of Champions during the Foundation’s annual Harvest Dinner fundraiser.

AGRICULTURE EDUCATION

The Indiana State Fair was created more than 160 years ago to support and promote Indiana agriculture. Beginning more than a decade ago, the Indiana State Fair Commission expanded its reach beyond the State Fair by launching fieldtrip opportunities for school-aged children. Today, more than 10,000 students participate in on-site and virtual fieldtrip programs each school year

Our latest program offering, There’s A Pig In My Classroom, was created in partnership with the LEAP Foundation and the Pig Adventure at Fair Oaks Farms to teach kids in grades three through six about hog production in Indiana.

In the Fall of 2020, the first semester the program was offered, more than 4,000 students from 96 schools in 36 Indiana counties registered to participate. A school from Michigan was able to participate as well, marking the first time a school outside of Indiana participated in one our fieldtrips.

CAMPUS PRESERVATION

The Indiana State Fair Foundation was created in 2011, and its first endeavor was a $10 million Capital Campaign to support the renovation of the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. This ambitious campaign was completed in 2016 thanks to the support of hundreds of donors.

The driving force behind the Coliseum Capital Campaign was Andre B. Lacy. Mr. Lacy served as the Chairman of the Indiana State Fair Commission and was the lead donor to the campaign. In 2014, Mr. Lacy spoke about the renovation and his connection to the Coliseum.