{"id":6375,"date":"2023-12-29T15:37:42","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T15:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/?p=6122"},"modified":"2023-12-29T15:37:42","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T15:37:42","slug":"giving-challenge-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/giving-challenge-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge Awards $10,000 in Grant Support to 10 Tri-County Nonprofits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly 130 Northern New York Middle School Students in Three Counties Participate in Seventh Annual Challenge<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>WATERTOWN \u2014<\/b> 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.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Now in its seventh year, the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge was open to all tri-county middle school students. This year\u2019s program committee reviewed 128 entries from seventh and eighth graders in nine different school districts who recommended grants to nearly 75 different organizations that serve residents across the three counties.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Schools participating in the 2023-2024 challenge include: Jefferson County \u2014<\/b> Case Middle School-Watertown City Schools, General Brown Central, Indian River Middle School; LaFargeville Central, South Jefferson Central; Lewis County \u2014<\/b> Lowville Academy and Central School and South Lewis Central; St. Lawrence County \u2014<\/b> Canton Central and Morristown Central.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>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 <\/span>a better place through its service to residents.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe feel strongly that one of the best ways we can honor the tradition of giving in our communities is to find ways to help perpetuate it,\u201d said Rande S. Richardson, Community Foundation executive director. \u201cThrough this important program, we are planting seeds that will surely grow in time and help nurture a spirit of civic responsibility and engagement across generations for years to come.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>In the past seven years, 123 students have been selected to present 119 grants totaling $70,000 to nearly 100 different nonprofit organizations that serve tri-county residents. Since the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge began, 842 students representing 25 school districts across the region have applied to the program, recommending grants to nearly 220 different charitable organizations.<\/p>\n

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

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

Jefferson County\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  • $1,000, Safe Schools Endeavor, Elliott LaVere<\/b>, Case Middle School, Watertown<\/li>\n
  • $1,000, Credo Community Center for the Treatment of Addictions Foundation, Max Simser<\/b>, Case Middle School, Watertown<\/li>\n
  • $1,000, Disabled Persons Action Organization Foundation, Chloe Lanham<\/b>, General Brown Central School, Dexter<\/li>\n
  • $1,000, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center Foundation, Ellie Smith<\/b>, Indian River Central, Philadelphia<\/li>\n
  • $1,000, Thousand Islands Emergency Rescue Service, Violet Waterman<\/b>, LaFargeville Central School<\/li>\n
  • $1,000, Watertown Urban Mission, Lauren Burgenstock<\/b>, South Jefferson Central School<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Lewis County<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    • $1,000, Double Play Community Center, Lowville, Donovan Exford<\/b>, Lowville Academy & Central School<\/span><\/li>\n
    • $1,000, Port Leyden Food Pantry, Felicity Szucs<\/b>, South Lewis Central School<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      St. Lawrence County<\/b><\/p>\n

        \n
      • $1,000, Potsdam Humane Society, Hallee Bullock<\/b>, Canton Central School<\/li>\n
      • $1,000, Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, June Demers<\/b>, Morristown Central School<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>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.<\/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":"

        Nearly 130 Northern New York Middle School Students in Three Counties Participate in Seventh Annual Challenge \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 WATERTOWN \u2014 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. \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Now in its …<\/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\/6375","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=6375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6375\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nnycf.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}