Nearly 120 Northern New York Middle School Students Across Three Counties Participate in Eighth Annual Challenge
WATERTOWN — The Northern New York Community Foundation is pleased to announce $10,000 in Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge grants to 10 nonprofit organizations that serve Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
Now in its eighth year, the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge was open to all tri-county middle school students. This year’s program committee reviewed 119 entries from seventh and eighth graders in nine different school districts who recommended grants to nearly 65 different organizations that serve residents across the three counties.
Schools participating in the 2024-2025 challenge include: Jefferson County — Case Middle School, Watertown City Schools; General Brown Central School; Homeschooled student; Indian River Middle School; LaFargeville Central School; South Jefferson Middle School; Lewis County — Copenhagen Central School; Lowville Academy & Central School; South Lewis Central School; St. Lawrence County — Canton Central School; Gouverneur Central School; Lisbon Central School; Morristown Central School; Potsdam Central School.
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.
“This program continues to encourage students at an early age to consider what their role may be in the betterment of their community,” said Rande S. Richardson, Community Foundation executive director. “We know that this is helping plant the seeds that will grow over time and perpetuate a tradition of civic engagement and investment.”
In the past eight years, 132 students have been selected to present 139 grants totaling $80,000 to nearly 100 different nonprofit organizations that serve tri-county residents. Since the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge began, 961 students representing 26 school districts across the region have applied to the program, recommending grants to nearly 230 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 wellness, 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. A committee that included Community Foundation staff and a retired junior high school teacher judged and scored the applications with results as follows:
Jefferson County
- $1,000, Jefferson County SPCA, Jolene He, General Brown Central School
- $1,000, Mental Health Association in Jefferson County, Annabelle Fletcher, Indian River Middle School
- $1,000, Watertown Family YMCA, Lola Johnson, Case Middle School, Watertown
- $1,000, Roswell P. Flower Memorial Library, Nicolas Orsini, Case Middle School, Watertown
- $1,000, The Salvation Army Watertown Corps, Blake Sweet, Case Middle School, Watertown
- $1,000, Hospice of Jefferson County, Rohan Bolla, South Jefferson Middle School
Lewis County
- $1,000, Lewis County Agricultural Society, Cally Shaw, Lowville Academy & Central School
St. Lawrence County
- $1,000, Ogdensburg Public Library, Olivia Nowell, Lisbon Central School
- $1,000, Canton Free Library, Li Lin, Canton Central School
- $1,000, Morristown Backpack Program, Brianna Colby, Morristown Central School
The Community Foundation and schools will work with winning students in the coming weeks to coordinate visits to their respective charitable agencies to present grants and learn more about the organizations they chose.
About the Northern New York Community Foundation
Since 1929, the Northern New York Community Foundation has invested in improving and enriching the quality of life for all in communities across Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
Through partnerships with businesses and organizations, charitable foundations, and generous families and individual donors, the Community Foundation awards grants and scholarships from an endowment and collection of funds that benefit the region. Its commitment to donors helps individuals achieve their charitable objectives now and for generations to come by preserving and honoring legacies of community philanthropy while inspiring others.
The Community Foundation is a resource for local charitable organizations, donors, professional advisors and nonprofit organizations. It also works to bring people together at its permanent home in the Northern New York Philanthropy Center to discuss challenges our communities face and find creative solutions that strengthen the region and make it a great place to live, work, and play.