White Family Foundation makes an impact for Shirley community

White Petroleum grew and became GasAmerica. But now that the company’s 88 stores have been sold to Speedway, GasAmerica’s fourth-generation business owners are giving back to the community that helped their great-grandfather back in 1916.

Siblings Stephanie White-Longworth and Keith White established the White Family Foundation in July to give to various community groups in the town that straddles the Hancock-Henry line. In addition, GasAmerica has donated hundreds of its computers to local schools, and a scholarship fund will also soon be established for local graduates hoping to further their education.

Altogether, the contributions total roughly $600,000. Local residents say the funds are a much-needed boost to the community that has seen businesses closing and residents moving away in recent years. The effort also is one of the most significant philanthropic endeavors in recent history in the county.

White-Longworth said their decision to support causes in the eastern part of Hancock County was simple: It has been their family’s home for generations.

“That’s where our company started; our first station was there (in Shirley); our office was there,” White-Longworth said. “And it’s a small community that can use the support.”

From computers for students to new benches in the town’s park to a training facility for police dogs, the donations are already at work and will likely continue for years to come.

The Eastern Hancock School Board accepted a donation valued at $172,217 this month, with 250 computers, nearly 200 monitors and new hard drives. GasAmerica also contributed 150 computers to the school corporation in Knightstown. The computers had been used in GasAmerica stores, but EH officials say they are high-quality and only slightly used.

The White Family Foundation has also promised grants to community organizations in Shirley. There’s roughly $200,000 in the fund now, and plans are under way to keep the fund going.

The first round of grants has already been approved. The Shirley Historical Society will get $4,000 toward fixing the deteriorating floor of the historic depot. The Hancock Henry Community Youth Center will receive $2,000 plus three computers for a digital photography project.

A new K-9 training facility is planned for Shirley Park, and the city’s police department will get $3,500 to cover the entire cost of the facility. The town’s parks department will also get $4,000 for upgrades, including new benches and soundproofing for the shelter house.

A community-based “visionary committee” has been set up to not only advise on how the money should be distributed in the future, but to also raise money to keep it going.

“I think the main thing is, it’s to build the community up and not let (the fund) dwindle away,” said Andy Ebbert, chief of the Shirley Volunteer Fire Department and a member of the visionary committee.

Jerry Duke, Kyle Austin and Jeannine Gray are also on the committee. White-Longworth said they will work together in deciding how to help other groups.

Duke said the White Family Foundation came just in time for Shirley, a community that has seen stores go out of business in recent years.

“I think everybody needed it,” said Duke, president of the historical society. “It’s still to be seen if we can get everybody to work together, but hopefully we can because we’re doing the whole town good.”

Scholarships from the White family will also be made available to high school graduates. The funds remaining in the GasAmerica public charity will go toward students who are hoping to further their educations. There’s about $200,000 in the fund now, and White-Longworth said once the fund is set up, any local high school graduate could apply for a scholarship.

GasAmerica was established in 1916 by Herbert White. The company was then called White Petroleum, but it was reincorporated as GasAmerica in 1983.

By 2000, the company headquarters in Shirley was becoming too small and had minimal Internet capability. The Whites decided to relocate the business to the west side of Greenfield.

White-Longworth said that looking back, it was a hard decision to leave the community where the company was established. Still, their hearts remained in eastern Hancock County; the siblings both live in Wilkinson, and their children have gone to Eastern Hancock Schools.

“They felt it was important to give back to the community where they began, which is pretty awesome,” said Donna Love, director of the Hancock Henry Community Youth Center.

The youth center was created last year when the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hancock County ended its Shirley program. Since then, the youth center that serves 15-20 children has been holding fundraisers to keep thriving. Love said the donation of computers and photography equipment will bring back a popular activity the center had when it was affiliated with the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Brian Pryor, Shirley’s K-9 police officer, said he’s looking forward to seeing his dream come true for a fenced-in area at the town’s park to train 4-year-old Charon. The German shepherd-European wolf dog mix will not be the only one training at the new center; Pryor said any nearby police departments will be able to bring their dogs for training.

To be named the Richard and Judith White Memorial Police K-9 Training Facility, the park will honor White-Longworth’s parents for their dedication to the community.

“They’re helping this town out a lot,” Pryor said of all of the donations given by the Whites.

Randy Harris, superintendent of Eastern Hancock schools, said he “can’t say enough thank-you’s to GasAmerica” for the donation of computers.

While the high school already has laptop computers for each student, the desktop donation made for more computer labs for testing at all grade levels. The donation also freed up money in the corporation to purchase other technology, such as sound equipment for several classrooms.

Kyle Austin, president of the Shirley Town Council, said ultimately the White Family Foundation could also eventually support improving downtown Shirley’s look and feel. A mural could be painted on a building on Main Street, for example.

He said the benches for the parks would also spruce up the community. With all of the improvements, Austin said the donations will be a breath of fresh air for the town.

The White Family Foundation Fund is set up through the Hancock County Community Foundation. Director Mary Gibble said the foundation is thrilled to work with the White family.

The main difference with the White fund compared to many others, Gibble said, is that it’s a donor-advised fund. The White family will be very hands-on in how the donations are given.

Twice a year, the White family will work with the visionary committee on reviewing grant requests. White-Longworth said organizations in other nearby communities could also apply for grants, but eastern Hancock County communities will be considered a priority.

“We were looking specifically to give back to our community where we got our start,” White-Longworth said.