Lewis Jones, formerly of Elgin, Ill., has joined the Cardinal Center as director of development.

"I like helping people and serving people," the Fort Wayne native said. His immediate plans are to work with more individual contributors to Cardinal Center programs and match them to the organization's needs.

It's a lot like the work he performed as development director at St. Edward High School and director of public relations at the Larkin Center in Illinois.

"Cardinal Center is one of the best kept secrets in the county," Jones said. "Everyone knows we work with developmentally disabled adults, but they don't realize we also operate the Kosciusko Area Bus Service, Head Start, WIC, First Steps and Healthy Families. People want a choice of programs to contribute to and they like to know their money goes where they want it to go. That way they become a part of our agency, too."

Jones, 36, is a Certified Fund-Raising Executive and a Certified Fund-Raising Manager educated at Indiana University's Fund-Raising School. He has a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Yale University and earned a master's degree from Indiana University's School of Journalism.

According to community relations manager Sheena Whittaker, the Cardinal Center served 2,700 individuals last year

"The center receives a lot of government funding," Jones said, "but that's diminishing or the paperwork is becoming more and more complex. That's why we want to focus on private funding." [[In-content Ad]]