{"id":5459,"date":"2023-03-16T21:20:55","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T21:20:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/?p=5459"},"modified":"2023-03-16T21:22:27","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T21:22:27","slug":"canstruction-kickoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/canstruction-kickoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Foundation\u2019s LEAD Council Kicks Off \u2018Canstruction\u2019 Competition, Invites Schools to Join"},"content":{"rendered":"

Project Takes Aim at Food Insecurity by Helping to Restock Region\u2019s Food Pantries, Backpack Programs<\/i><\/h3>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>WATERTOWN \u2014<\/b> The LEAD Council of the Northern New York Community Foundation invites local students at tri-county schools and organized student groups in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties to participate in a creative and impactful project to help reduce food insecurity across the North Country.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCanstruction for Northern New York\u201d is a group activity to encourage students to team up and construct a fun, themed structure made of donated canned food and other nonperishable food items or hygiene products to support a local food pantry or backpack program of their choice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Joining the competition is easy through an online registration at bit.ly\/CanstructionRegistration<\/b><\/a>. Teams must register to participate by Monday, March 27<\/b>, and select the local food pantry or backpack program that will receive team donations.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to seeing what our local students will do to participate in this endeavor and help meet the needs of local food pantries and backpack programs,\u201d said Kerry Kennett<\/b>, LEAD Council member and South Jefferson Central School math teacher.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Participating students will have a chance to support essential needs for local residents while learning values of community philanthropy and building school spirit around a project that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Overall, the project aims to raise awareness about hunger and food insecurity in our communities. The initiative will empower students to collaborate and inspire their school and community to join in the effort.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Examples of canstruction projects may be found on the project web page at bit.ly\/CanstructionNNY<\/b><\/a>. Canstruction teams will compete for one of three chances to present a $500 grant to a nonprofit they care about most. A winning team will be named in the following three categories: \u201cTop Collection Award\u201d (most items donated\/collected), \u201cBest Design Award,\u201d and \u201cPeople\u2019s Choice Award\u201d (selected by an online vote).<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Each winning team will award a $500 grant to their chosen federally classified 501(c)3 nonprofit <\/span>organization serving residents of Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties. Contact Max DelSignore<\/b>, Community Foundation assistant director, at max@nnycf.org<\/b><\/a> for additional guidelines on nonprofit selection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>All canstruction projects must be submitted by Friday, April 21<\/b>. Complete project rules, including a sample planning calendar with key project deadlines, is available on the project web page at bit.ly\/CanstructionNNY<\/b><\/a>. The Community Foundation will provide a follow-up form to each registrant explaining the process for project submissions.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Members of the Northern New York Community Foundation LEAD Council gather at the Northern New York Philanthropy Center to plan for the \u201cCanstruction\u201d project and organize initial pantry items. Pictured, from left, LEAD Council Chair Andrew Boulter and his son, Jack, Watertown; LEAD members Erin Simser, Watertown, Bridget Fetterly, Deferiet, and Allison Roselle, Clayton; LEAD Vice Chair Anna Platz, Carthage; and LEAD members Marc Piche, Carthage, and Jessica Piatt Walczyk, Watertown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About the LEAD Council<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>The LEAD Council was chartered in 2014 as advisory committee of the Northern New York Community Foundation empowered to identify and address strategic needs in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties. The Council is comprised of 18 young professionals who live and work in the tri-county area with an interest in enhancing the quality of life for all in the North Country. LEAD is an acronym that reflects four important guiding principles of the Community Foundation\u2019s work: Leadership, Engagement, Access, and Direction.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>The Council works to gain a deeper understanding of community needs, issues, and the nonprofit sector to augment the Community Foundation\u2019s mission and work. Since its inception, the LEAD Council has developed several creative initiatives to benefit the community and region. Strategic efforts include its \u201cLEADing the Way\u201d volunteer program, enhancements to child care and early childhood development<\/span><\/p>\n

programs, hyper-local support for anti-poverty initiatives, community giving challenges, and building philanthropic values in the region\u2019s schools through student-led projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

About the Northern New York Community Foundation<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>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.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>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.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Project Takes Aim at Food Insecurity by Helping to Restock Region\u2019s Food Pantries, Backpack Programs \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 WATERTOWN \u2014 The LEAD Council of the Northern New York Community Foundation invites local students at tri-county schools and organized student groups in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties to participate in a creative and impactful project to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["type-post","category-recent-news","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5459"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5462,"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5459\/revisions\/5462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}