Welcome to Connections!

Summer is a season of transitions. For the NMPCT this includes congratulating the 19 Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholars who graduated this past May and welcoming 42 new scholars to cohort 6 at the annual luncheons that the Trustees hosted earlier this month in Indianapolis and Phoenix. I invite you to learn more about the plans of this year's group of Nina Scholars graduates (Nina Scholars).

We are pleased to announce two Nina Scholar program enhancements that will begin this fall. NMPCT and the support foundations of Arizona State University and Indiana University are collaborating with the Trust to initiate the Passport Program, which will make it possible for up to three eligible Nina Scholars studying at Maricopa Community Colleges and three at Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana to transfer to the respective universities to earn bachelor's degrees. Additionally, the Nina Scholars cohort at IUPUI will expand from five to seven students this fall.

This issue's feature article illuminates the Trust's grantmaking activity to prevent blindness and provide services to the visually impaired at all stages of life. Mrs. Pulliam became sensitized to the challenges of the sight impaired when she experienced the gradual loss of her sight over several months. As a journalist, business executive, and keen observer of life during her frequent foreign travels, the mysterious gradual loss of her sight was especially challenging. It took many doctors and careful observance to determine finally that an allergy to printer's ink was causing her problem. Fortunately, she gradually regained her sight by staying away from the printing rooms of The Indianapolis Star and News and The Arizona Republic and The Phoenix Gazette, as well as having her daily papers spread out to dry before she read them. She never forgot this period of her life and became a dedicated volunteer and generous donor to local and national organizations committed to preventing blindness or assisting the sight impaired. The Trust is honored to continue her legacy of support.

This month, the Trust distributed $ in grants to xx organizations in Indiana and Arizona and welcomed xx new organizations to the Trust's family of grantees. We also delighted in the opening of the Trust-sponsored exhibit at the Indiana State Museum, Pets in America, which is featuring several weekend family and community events through August 3 in collaboration with local animal welfare organizations. Mrs. Pulliam had a deep love and bond with animals and was concerned about their welfare, so it is very fitting for the Trust to be involved with this exhibit, which is bringing new meaning to the dog days of summer in Indianapolis.

We welcome your comments and questions. Please contact us at Connections.