$5,000 Matching Challenge to Double Gifts to LEAD Holiday Giving Fund

     WATERTOWN — The LEAD Council of the Northern New York Community Foundation is working to help bring joy to vulnerable children and families in need this holiday season.

     The advisory committee of young professionals is kicking off its annual LEAD Holiday Giving initiative to support the tri-county region. To begin, the Council’s LEAD Holiday Giving Fund at the Community Foundation will provide a $5,000 matching challenge. Each gift to the LEAD Holiday Giving Fund will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $5,000.

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Up to $1,000 in Funding Available through the Daniel J. Briggs Fund for Integrity of the Community Foundation

     WATERTOWN — School districts pursuing grant funding to support character education, bullying prevention, and social media safety programs are encouraged to apply by Friday, Dec. 2, to the Daniel J. Briggs Fund for Integrity of the Northern New York Community Foundation. Up to $1,000 in funding is available this year.

     The charitable fund was established at the Community Foundation in 2015 to provide resources for key educational programs that raise awareness of bullying in local schools and communities. The fund also supports professional development initiatives to educate school administrators, teachers, faculty, and staff about bullying and ways to identify and prevent it. Projects and initiatives that promote leadership development, student responsibility, respect, and trust for the community are key focus areas as well. 

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Appreciation, Recognition Dinner Honors Students, Founding Donors

     CANTON — Ten St. Lawrence County members of the class of 2023 were recently named as recipients of the Northern New York Community Foundation Evergreen STEM Scholarship. 

     Students are awarded the scholarship due to their interest and intent to study in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field while in college. Students apply during their junior year of high school and are selected in the summer. Recipients will receive a one-year $3,000 scholarship toward their freshman year of college next fall.

     The Evergreen STEM scholarship is made possible thanks to the generosity of former Gouverneur resident and Massena native Charles Owens and his late wife, Higouhi “Hi” Owens. The scholarship is a permanent fund of the Community Foundation and provides $30,000 annually for high school students who live in St. Lawrence County. Since its inception, 70 students have been awarded Evergreen STEM scholarships totaling $210,000 in educational support.

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Grant Will Help Wholesome Living Replace Costumes, Shoes Lost in Fire

     BOONVILLE — An education and wellness program that serves residents of the village and surrounding communities will replace dance shoes and costumes for one of its most important programs thanks to support from the Kenneth V. and Jeannette Remp Sawyer Community Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation.

     A $3,000 grant will enable Wholesome Living to purchase new inventory for its dance and related programs that benefit children. Following the Main Street fire in the Village of Boonville in 2020, the organization lost a significant number of shoes and costumes uses for the program. 

     Wholesome Living has provided education and wellness activities to participants of all ages for nearly 10 years. One of its most important programs is offering noncompetitive dance to children and students in Boonville and surrounding communities.

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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.

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