(from left to right) Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis scholarship alumni Laura Alcala, dental hygenist; Crissy Phillips, IPS 3rd grade teacher; Jim East; Don Klemen, senior design engineer, Allison Transmission; and Charles White, attorney, Indiana Civil

When his father left him at three with his invalid mother in a roach-and-rat-infested, one-room apartment in the Irish Hill area, near Fountain Square, the Boys’ Club on English Avenue (now one of five Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis) was the only place Jim East could find adult mentors who gave him the confidence he needed to succeed.

"One woman kept encouraging me," Jim explained. "She kept saying: ’You have to graduate from high school’ even though she knew I was working half-days to support myself and my mother."

That woman, Mrs. Hueber, volunteered at the Boys’ Club each week and became like a second mother to him. Once Jim graduated from high school, Mrs. Hueber didn’t stop there.

"’You should go to college’ she’d say, but I didn’t know what that meant," said Jim. Mrs. Hueber and her husband gave Jim the tuition to attend Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) where he received a bachelor’s degree in English and Latin in 1953 after three-and-one-half years.

Jim didn’t stop there, either. He received his master’s and doctorate degrees from Stanford University, got married, had four children, and moved back to Indianapolis to become dean of IUPUI’s School of Liberal Arts and later dean of its weekend college and off-campus programs.
Jim continued his involvement with the Boys’ Clubs of Indianapolis and in 1968, the organization approached him about helping older youth. Jim suggested scholarships, knowing what an impact his college opportunity had offered him. Since then, Jim has helped establish 18 endowed scholarships with $860,000 in total assets that have awarded 300 scholarships to alumni of Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis. More than 100 of these students have received one or more degrees. Two additional funds were established by past scholarship recipients.

Jim speaks of these students as if they were his own children. He flips through the 25-page Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis’ scholarship program booklet to scratch the surface of stories behind each past recipient. There are military officers, lawyers, engineers, federal officials, dentists, teachers, sales executives, and even a former NFL football player.

"The main benefit of the scholarship program for me was the fact that I had someone like Jim East help me understand what to expect from college. He was also there to provide support and encouragement, to aim higher than I might have otherwise," said Russell Cox, one of Jim’s first scholarship recipients, and now an attorney with Cox and Sargeant, P.C. in Indianapolis.

Until 1999, Jim was very worried about what would happen to the program if he should die. "I was in charge of everything - asset investments, applications, student interviews, award letters - you name it. I expressed my concern with Gene Tempel, executive director at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy. He suggested I contact Central Indiana Community Foundation."

Jim was skeptical at first, but he quickly realized that CICF’s scholarship office had the knowledge and system to eliminate much of his work and worries. Plus, he could pool his funds with CICF’s other funds to generate more investment income than he could on his own.

"You would not believe the relief I felt, knowing that the program will continue after I’m gone," he said. "CICF has been a God-send. It’s been a wonderful gift to work in partnership to accomplish great things."

For Jim East, it’s more than just scholarships. It’s about accepting the helping hand so you can help someone else. "I make a point to explain that philosophy to all my students. It’s about making a difference in these folks who go on to make a difference in the lives of others."

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