• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Northern New York Community Foundation

Northern New York Community Foundation

  • About
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Contact
    • Employment
    • Philanthropy Center
    • Milestones
    • News & Media
      • Recent News
      • News Archive
      • Publications
      • Northern New York Community Podcast
  • Donors
    • Donate Online
    • Gift Information “At A Glance”
    • Making A Gift
    • Top 10 Things You Can Do To Leave A Legacy
    • NNYCF vs. A Private Foundation
    • FAQs
    • Investment Performance
  • Students
    • Scholarship Overview
    • Applications
    • Scholarships Available
  • Nonprofits
    • Apply for a Grant
    • 2023 Grant Opportunities
    • Partner & Grantee Resources
    • Recent Grant Recipients
  • Programs
    • Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge
    • Youth Philanthropy Council
    • LEAD Council
      • Canstruction for Northern New York

Canstruction for Northern New York

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.

Canstruction for Northern New York 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 your choice! Download a Canstruction flyer to share here.

Below are a few examples of canstruction projects. To enlarge, click on a single image in the gallery and then click the image again.   

Why is this important?

  • Excellent opportunity to support local residents with essential needs
  • Instill philanthropic values in students who want to give back
  • Build school spirit around a difference-making project
  • Compete to win a grant award for another nonprofit you care about most!

How do you sign up?

  • Take two minutes to complete an online registration form here.
  • Teams must sign up by Monday, March 27, to participate.
  • Don’t forget to pick the local food pantry or backpack program receiving your donations!

What are the rules?

  • Official guidelines are provided here.
  • All projects must be submitted by Friday, April 21.
  • Sample calendar for planning also included.

Yes, there are awards!

Three $500 grant awards will be decided in the following categories:

  • Top Collection Award (most items donated/collected)
  • Best Design Award
  • People’s Choice Award (Online vote)

Each winning team will then distribute its $500 grant award to a local nonprofit organization — federally classified 501(c)3 — serving Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties. Contact Max DelSignore, Community Foundation assistant director, at max@nnycf.org for further guidelines on nonprofit selection. Good luck!

Northern New York Community Foundation

131 Washington Street
Watertown, NY 13601

Phone: 315-782-7110
Fax: 315-782-0047

info@nnycf.org

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
Northern New York Community Foundation

Northern New York Community Foundation

3,284

Working with donors to benefit the community through grants and scholarships since 1929.

Meet Taya Coller, an eighth grader at Edwards-Knox Central School District.

For Taya, “Community means teamwork and people helping other people. When people are a part of a community, they look out for each other and work together.”

“In my community neighbors help each other,” Taya wrote in her winning essay. “Our hospital helps people recover from injury or disease.”

As a 2021-2022 Northern New York Community Foundation Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge winner, Taya had a chance to present a grant to the St. Lawrence Health Foundation at Gouverneur Hospital, an organization she chose for its work to help those in the community who need it most. 

“Gouverneur Hospital best embodies my definition of community because it helps make the community a better place by looking out for other people,” Taya wrote. “For example, the hospital vaccinates people to try to help stop the spread of diseases like the flu, and hospital workers work together as one big team.” 

Taya met had a chance to meet Christina Latta, Gouverneur Hospital vice president for nursing, and present a $500 Youth Giving Challenge grant that will help the hospital continue its critical work. The grant is supported by donors to the Friends of the Foundation Annual Community Betterment Fund, a partnership with Community Bank, N.A., and a leadership gift from an anonymous donor. 

Pictured, from left, Diane Easton, Community Bank branch manager; Christina Latta, Gouverneur Hospital; and Taya Coller, Edwards-Knox Central School eighth grader and Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge winner.

Taya is one of dozens of thoughtful youths who looked inside her community to help an organization that works to improve quality of life for its residents. The 2021-2022 Giving Challenge asked students from Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties to explain in an essay what community means to them and to choose a nonprofit that embodies their definition of community. Taya’s essay is one of 20 chosen from 193 submissions.

Look for more photos and stories behind the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge in the coming weeks.

#NNYCF #ThoughtfulGiving #YouthGivingChallenge #CommunitySpirit

Meet Taya Coller, an eighth grader at Edwards-Knox Central School District.

For Taya, “Community means teamwork and people helping other people. When people are a part of a community, they look out for each other and work together.”

“In my community neighbors help each other,” Taya wrote in her winning essay. “Our hospital helps people recover from injury or disease.”

As a 2021-2022 Northern New York Community Foundation Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge winner, Taya had a chance to present a grant to the St. Lawrence Health Foundation at Gouverneur Hospital, an organization she chose for its work to help those in the community who need it most.

“Gouverneur Hospital best embodies my definition of community because it helps make the community a better place by looking out for other people,” Taya wrote. “For example, the hospital vaccinates people to try to help stop the spread of diseases like the flu, and hospital workers work together as one big team.”

Taya met had a chance to meet Christina Latta, Gouverneur Hospital vice president for nursing, and present a $500 Youth Giving Challenge grant that will help the hospital continue its critical work. The grant is supported by donors to the Friends of the Foundation Annual Community Betterment Fund, a partnership with Community Bank, N.A., and a leadership gift from an anonymous donor.

Pictured, from left, Diane Easton, Community Bank branch manager; Christina Latta, Gouverneur Hospital; and Taya Coller, Edwards-Knox Central School eighth grader and Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge winner.

Taya is one of dozens of thoughtful youths who looked inside her community to help an organization that works to improve quality of life for its residents. The 2021-2022 Giving Challenge asked students from Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties to explain in an essay what community means to them and to choose a nonprofit that embodies their definition of community. Taya’s essay is one of 20 chosen from 193 submissions.

Look for more photos and stories behind the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge in the coming weeks.

#NNYCF #ThoughtfulGiving #YouthGivingChallenge #CommunitySpirit
... See MoreSee Less

3 hours ago
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 4
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

View more comments

Meet Aidan O’Shaughnessy, a Watertown City School District seventh grader at Case Middle School Case Middle School.

For Aidan, “A community is a group of diverse people that are brought together by where they live, as well as religion, school, and sports. People in a community care about each other and share common interests.” 

As a 2022-2023 Northern New York Community Foundation Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge winner, Aidan had a chance to present a grant to Watertown Urban Mission, an organization he chose for its work to strengthen the quality of life in the community. 

“The Urban Mission makes Watertown a better place. Some people in our community face big challenges. The winters are long and cold, and some people may not have the resources to stay warm. The people at Urban Mission help find them a warm place to sleep and provide them with housing assistance,” Aidan wrote in his winning essay. “They provide so much to the community that they need as much support as they can get.”

Aidan recently met with Urban Mission Executive Director Cherelyn VanBrocklin and presented a $1,000 Youth Giving Challenge grant that will help the nonprofit continue its vital work and mission. The grant is supported by donors to the Friends of the Foundation Annual Community Betterment Fund, a partnership with Community Bank, N.A., and a leadership gift from an anonymous donor. 

Pictured, from left, Aidan’s mother, Colleen O’Shaughnessy; brothers Sam and William Considine; father, Matthew Considine; Case Middle School student and Youth Giving Challenge winner Aidan O’Shaughnessy; Watertown Urban Mission Executive Director Cherelyn VanBrocklin; and Community Bank representative Cheyanne Blundon.

Aidan is one of dozens of thoughtful youths who looked inside his community to recognize an organization that works to improve quality of life locally. The 2022-2023 Youth Giving Challenge asked students from Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties to explain in an essay what community means to them and to choose a nonprofit that embodies their definition of community. Aidan s essay is one of 10 chosen from 124 submissions that came from 11 different tri-county schools.

Look for more photos and stories behind the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge in the coming weeks.
#NNYCF #ThoughtfulGiving #YouthGivingChallenge #CommunitySpirit

Meet Aidan O’Shaughnessy, a Watertown City School District seventh grader at Case Middle School Case Middle School.

For Aidan, “A community is a group of diverse people that are brought together by where they live, as well as religion, school, and sports. People in a community care about each other and share common interests.”

As a 2022-2023 Northern New York Community Foundation Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge winner, Aidan had a chance to present a grant to Watertown Urban Mission, an organization he chose for its work to strengthen the quality of life in the community.

“The Urban Mission makes Watertown a better place. Some people in our community face big challenges. The winters are long and cold, and some people may not have the resources to stay warm. The people at Urban Mission help find them a warm place to sleep and provide them with housing assistance,” Aidan wrote in his winning essay. “They provide so much to the community that they need as much support as they can get.”

Aidan recently met with Urban Mission Executive Director Cherelyn VanBrocklin and presented a $1,000 Youth Giving Challenge grant that will help the nonprofit continue its vital work and mission. The grant is supported by donors to the Friends of the Foundation Annual Community Betterment Fund, a partnership with Community Bank, N.A., and a leadership gift from an anonymous donor.

Pictured, from left, Aidan’s mother, Colleen O’Shaughnessy; brothers Sam and William Considine; father, Matthew Considine; Case Middle School student and Youth Giving Challenge winner Aidan O’Shaughnessy; Watertown Urban Mission Executive Director Cherelyn VanBrocklin; and Community Bank representative Cheyanne Blundon.

Aidan is one of dozens of thoughtful youths who looked inside his community to recognize an organization that works to improve quality of life locally. The 2022-2023 Youth Giving Challenge asked students from Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties to explain in an essay what community means to them and to choose a nonprofit that embodies their definition of community. Aidan 's essay is one of 10 chosen from 124 submissions that came from 11 different tri-county schools.

Look for more photos and stories behind the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge in the coming weeks.
#NNYCF #ThoughtfulGiving #YouthGivingChallenge #CommunitySpirit
... See MoreSee Less

4 days ago
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 10
  • Shares: 6
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

View more comments

Jeannette Remp Sawyer passed away in 2015, and her husband, Kenneth V. Sawyer in 2008. This year, they will award up to $60,000 to nonprofits working to strengthen the quality of life for residents of the communities they cherished during their lifetimes.

Nonprofit organizations that serve Boonville, Constableville, and Westernville, should apply for 2023 grant support from the Kenneth V. and Jeannette Remp Sawyer Community Fund through the Community Foundation's online Grant Lifecycle Manager portal by Friday, April 21.

Complete details: www.nnycf.org/sawyer-fund-2023-#NNYCFN#thoughtfullegaciesacies
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Kenneth V. and Jeannette Remp Sawyer Community Fund Accepting Grant Proposals for 2023 Support

www.nnycf.org

Kenneth V. and Jeannette Remp Sawyer Community Fund Accepting Grant Proposals for 2023 Support March 22, 2023 By admin Up to $60,000 Available for Nonprofits Serving Three Communities WATERTOWN — No...
5 days ago
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 5
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

View more comments

Load more

Copyright © 2023 · Northern NY Community Foundation · Site Design: Riverside Media, LLC.