WATERTOWN — The Northern New York Community Foundation has awarded a combined $10,000 in Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge grants to 10 nonprofit organizations that serve Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.
The foundation said in a statement Thursday that the challenge, now in its sixth year, was open to all tri-county middle school students. This year’s program committee reviewed 124 entries from seventh and eighth graders in 11 different school districts who recommended grants to 93 different organizations that serve residents across the three counties.
The initiative was launched in 2017 to introduce middle school students to concepts of philanthropy and community needs. The challenge seeks to engage youths as they explore the meaning of community and are empowered to recommend grants to support their concepts that strengthen the quality of life in the region.
Students write an essay that articulates their definition of community and explains what makes it a great place to live, work and play. Participants are then asked to name a charitable organization that makes their community a better place through its service to residents.
“It is an important part of the Foundation’s mission and values to ensure a sense of community responsibility is passed thoughtfully to future generations,” Rande S. Richardson, Community Foundation executive director, said in the statement. “For many of these students, it may be their first experience with exploring the way civic engagement and contribution can be a meaningful part of a fulfilling life. We know the impact of this program is not just for today, but for tomorrow.”
Schools participating in the 2022-23 challenge include Carthage Central, Case Middle School-Watertown City Schools, South Jefferson Central and Thousand Islands Middle School in Jefferson County; Beaver River Central and Lowville Academy and Central School in Lewis County; and Brasher Falls Central, Canton Central, Massena Central, Morristown Central and Potsdam Central in St. Lawrence County.
A committee that included Community Foundation staff and a retired junior high school teacher judged and scored the applications, which will include $1,000 grants to each organization, with results as follows:
Jefferson County: Watertown Urban Mission, Aidan O’Shaughnessy, Case Middle School, Watertown; Salvation Army Watertown Corps, Carson Brown, Case Middle School; Movement Sports, Owen Marcolini, Case Middle School; Hospice of Jefferson County, Devyn Pleskach, South Jefferson Central, Adams; and Cape Vincent Community Food Pantry, Isabella McKillip, Thousand Islands Middle School, Clayton.
Lewis County: Lewis County General Hospital Foundation, Michael Whitcher, Lowville Academy & Central School; and Lowville Free Library, Allanah McBroom, Lowville Academy & Central School.
St. Lawrence County: Police Activities League of Massena, Alyssa Therrien, Massena Central School; St. Joseph’s Foundation, Ogdensburg, Kinley Lalonde, Morristown Central School; and Society of the United Helpers, Ogdensburg, Peayton Stark, Morristown Central School.
In the past six years, 113 students have been selected to present 109 grants totaling $60,000 to 86 different nonprofit organizations that serve tri-county residents. Since the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge began, 714 students representing 23 school districts across the region have applied to the program, recommending grants to 214 different charitable organizations.
Charitable organizations students selected for funding this year range from those that provide support for essential human needs, youth development and the elderly, to those that strengthen and enrich our communities through education, health and recreation.
Gifts to the Friends of the Foundation Annual Community Betterment Fund, as well as corporate support from Community Bank and a major gift from an anonymous individual donor, help to underwrite program grants.
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