News

Thank you for visiting our News page, where you can stay up to date with current news and events happening at Blue Jacket.

Greater Fort Wayne Announces Nonprofit of the Year 2023

Greater Fort Wayne (GFW) Inc. recently announced that Asher Agency was selected as its 2023 Small Business of the Year and Blue Jacket, Inc. was named the 2023 Nonprofit Organization of the Year. They were honored at GFW Inc. annual meeting dinner June 8 along with the winners of three additional awards, who were announced in May.

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Blue Jacket, Inc. Acquires Renew Upscale Resale to Expand Mission, Provide Same Great Thrift Experience

Blue Jacket will blend their experience in providing high-quality retail services (e.g. Blue Jacket Clothing Co. and Tall Rabbit Café + Community) and their mission of providing in-house employment opportunities for graduates of the Blue Jacket Academy.

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Tall Rabbit Café Opens to Provide Jobs, Great Coffee, and Meeting Space

The Tall Rabbit Cafe + Community is Blue Jacket, Inc.'s fifth social enterprise designed to transitionally hire its clientele desiring a chance to prove their worth and this time, in a very public way to the Fort Wayne community.

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Fantasy of Lights Delivered in 2022 and Gives Back

Blue Jacket gave the community a great event, with entrance of 3,217 patrons, an awesome experience with free cocoa and vendors in Santa's Christmas Market and a total of 23,437 vehicles (an equivalent of 82,030 total patrons).

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Chief Blue Jacket Sculpture Revealed by Nonprofit to Pay Tribute and Ignite a Calhoun Street Comeback

Chief Blue Jacket Sculpture attended by descendants and hundreds of supporters.

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Fantasy of Lights has huge highlights, overcomes obstacles in 2021 season

FORT WAYNE — Blue Jacket’s Fantasy of Lights had its final car come through for 2021 on New Year’s Eve, finishing the second most successful attendance year in the event’s 27-year history. Over 27,300 cars drove through the month-and-a-half long event, nearly eclipsing last year’s record attendance and beating the previous record in 2018 by over 4,000 cars.

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Foellinger Foundation Presents 2021 David A. Bobilya Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Award to Donnell Miller

Foellinger Foundation presented the 2021 David A. Bobilya Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Award to Donnell Miller, Board President of Blue Jacket, at a ceremony held on October 28.

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New agreement gives Blue Jacket graduates path to college degree through Trine University

FORT WAYNE — Fort Wayne-based Blue Jacket helps those facing barriers to employment find work through their 2-week Career Academy, focusing on the soft skills and important elements of the process that are necessary to not only get a job but maintain a career. Through a new agreement, the organization will provide clients and employees a chance to begin their path toward a Trine University degree, giving them even greater opportunities in the job market.

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Now, you can support Blue Jacket financially - at no cost to you!

Blue Jacket would like to announce we have signed on to be a part of a pair of donation programs to allow our supporters a way to give financially to the organization, free of charge.

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Fantasy of Lights sets all-time attendance record, highlights benevolence and holiday spirit

FORT WAYNE — Blue Jacket Inc. had an inclination that their annual Fantasy of Lights event would be a popular one this year, knowing it provided a Covid-resistant return to normalcy to people who have been longing for anything to take their minds off of a difficult year. Visitors came in droves, many multiple times, to the tune of 31,523 vehicles, breaking the previous record of 23,300 vehicles set in 2018. Blue Jacket estimates this to be about 158,000 people who visited. And while record event attendance is exciting for the non-profit who specializes in providing employment training to those with barriers, it was the benevolence and goodwill from patrons that they encountered for the entirety of the event that really made the end of 2020 special for them.

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Blue Jacket offers custom cleaning and disinfection services to local non-profits FREE OF CHARGE

Blue Jacket is offering disinfecting and sanitation cleaning services — Free of charge — to 501c3 nonprofits in the Greater Fort Wayne area, thanks to the first "Rapid Innovation Grant" announced by The Foellinger Foundation, released Wednesday, March 25.

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Blue Jacket announcement on coronavirus (COVID-19)

As the situation around the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, Blue Jacket continues to focus on the well-being of our clients and staff. We know this is an unsettling time for everyone and our hearts go out to anyone who may be affected by the coronavirus. In that spirit, here are some of the actions we are taking in alignment with recommendations from public health authorities (including the World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control):

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