New Partnership Provides Permanent Resource to Extend Work Across Tri-County Region

     WATERTOWN — A new Community Foundation partnership with the Center for Community Studies at Jefferson Community College will ensure its vital work and mission will continue for years to come.

     The Center, in collaboration with the JCC Foundation, recently established an endowment fund at the Community Foundation that will provide a permanent resource to strengthen its efforts across the tri-county region. The Community Foundation awarded an initial grant of $75,000 to support the endowment.

     For more than 20 years, the Center has been a valuable resource that conducts community studies in each county, surveying residents of Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.

[Read more…]

Support Helps Acquire Tools to Straighten, Repair Several Tombstones in Constableville’s Oldest Cemetery

     CONSTABLEVILLE — Restoration of several centuries-old gravestones in Constableville Rural Cemetery will move forward thanks to support from the Kenneth V. and Jeannette Remp Sawyer Community Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation.

     A $4,000 grant will enable cemetery trustees to purchase a tombstone jack to accomplish this meaningful restoration work.

     With the first burial in 1801, Constableville Rural Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in the village. There are approximately 1,500 interments and 400 gravestones across two and a half acres. It has become a priority to fix several gravestones on site that are tipped slightly or entirely. 

[Read more…]

Grant Awards Totaling Nearly $6,000 will Help Strengthen Quality of Life for Residents Across the Region

     FINE — The Clifton-Fine Community Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation will support four community projects with nearly $6,000 in grant funding for initiatives and programs that benefit residents of six southeast St. Lawrence County communities.

    The Clifton-Fine Community Fund was established at the Community Foundation in 2013 as a geographic-specific fund to support projects and programs that positively impact the quality of life in the southeast St. Lawrence County region, specifically in the towns and hamlets of Fine, Oswegatchie, Star Lake, Newton Falls, Wanakena and Cranberry Lake. The fund aims to enhance the quality of life for all who live in the region while maximizing the opportunity for residents to give where they live.

[Read more…]

Support Will Enable Mid-Winter Music Revue at Adirondack Elementary School

     BOONVILLE — The Adirondack Community Chorus will perform an original music revue at Adirondack Elementary School this winter thanks to grant support from the Kenneth V. and Jeannette Remp Sawyer Community Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation.

    Professional theater writer and performer Michael Ferris is scheduled to lead the chorus for a performance at the school in February. 

    Talented performers of many ages will prepare for approximately six weeks to produce this unique event. A $3,900 grant from the Kenneth V. and Jeannette Remp Sawyer Community Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation will help with costs associated with the production. 

[Read more…]

Donors Work to Expand Opportunities for Educational Aid Through New Awards, Initiatives

     WATERTOWN — The Northern New York Community Foundation, in partnership with private donors, 33 public school districts and two private schools, has awarded scholarships to 485 students from Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties that will help them pursue post-secondary educational goals.

     Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of donors who continue to make gifts that support Community Foundation scholarships, opportunities for students this year have grown through the establishment of new awards and partnerships. Awards to 485 students in the three counties total more than $1 million. 

     In the past year, donors created 26 new scholarships at the Community Foundation. Another nine scholarships were transferred to the Foundation from donors and partnering school districts to administer on their behalf.

[Read more…]