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Rock Charitable Fund Supports Five St. Lawrence County Projects

January 26, 2021 By admin

Nearly $90,000 in Grants Awarded in First Competitive Round

     WATERTOWN — The Rock Charitable Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation recently awarded nearly $90,000 to five nonprofit organizations in St. Lawrence County to preserve and maintain churches and cemeteries in the region.

     The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Mary, Canton, received a $35,000 grant to support the first phase in its campaign to restore and protect its historic structure and property. Funding will support repairs to the bell tower, statue, trim, and foundation.

     St. John’s Episcopal Church, Massena, received a $23,775 grant to restore exterior brickwork and repair windows and landscaping. Deteriorating brick in areas on the east side of the church will be replaced along with other repairs.

     Gouverneur First United Methodist Church received a $17,475 grant to restore two stained-glass windows included in a multi-year restoration. The building is veneered with native Gouverneur marble and the trimmings of Potsdam sandstone.

     Lisbon Cemetery Association received an $8,315 grant to support restoration and replacement of more than 100 damaged stones. Monuments will be cleaned, restored, and preserved.

     Purmort Cemetery Corp., Depeyster, received a $650 in support to remove a dying maple tree. Its removal will prevent damage that would be caused should the tree be left to fall on its own.

Second Lieutenant Marjorie J. Rock, U.S. Army Nurse Corps, 1942. Ms. Rock retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1970 and made St. Lawrence County her home.

     The Rock Charitable Fund was established at the Community Foundation in 2019 through a bequest from St. Lawrence County resident and retired Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Army Marjorie J. Rock, who passed in February 2017 at the age of 96. Because of her foresight and thoughtful generosity, Ms. Rock’s desire to support St. Lawrence County will be perpetuated for generations to come.

     “The response to the first round of competitive grants was impressive. It is clear that Marjorie’s legacy is addressing areas of great need in St. Lawrence County,” said Rande Richardson, Community Foundation executive director. “Historic preservation and cemetery grants are not always easy to find, but this fund can help get a project off the ground or see it to completion. In future years we hope to also assist veterans as one of Marjorie’s three focus areas. We are grateful for the opportunity to help improve and strengthen the region in these meaningful and enduring ways forever.”

     The Community Foundation administers this permanent charitable legacy fund in collaboration with a six-member St. Lawrence County-based board of advisors that reviews applications and makes funding recommendations. Advisors include Ruth McWilliams, South Colton; Sarah Maneely, Canton; Fred Hanss, Hannawa Falls; Keith Zimmerman, Canton; and Erik Backus, Potsdam.

     Applications for 2021 grant funding from the Rock Charitable Fund will be accepted this fall with up to $100,000 available. Grant support is available to qualified organizations whose missions and efforts align with the fund’s charitable purposes, which are: for the maintenance and preservation of churches and cemeteries in St. Lawrence County; for the preservation and maintenance of places of legitimate historical significance in the county; and to benefit and/or assist veterans of the United States military who reside in St. Lawrence County for their medical and/or recreational needs. Grants in support of veterans will only be awarded to qualified organizations and cannot be made directly to individuals.

     Contact Kraig Everard, Community Foundation director of stewardship and programs, kraig@nnycf.org, or 315-782-7110, to obtain a grant application or learn more about this funding opportunity.

About Marjorie J. Rock

    Ms. Rock grew up in St. Lawrence County and graduated from Heuvelton High School in 1937. In 1941, she graduated from the three-year nursing program at Flower Fifth Avenue School in New York City. The following year, she joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, serving in North Africa and Italy during World War II. After the war, she attended Teachers College at Columbia University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1948 and a Master of Arts in 1950.

     She spent six years teaching in nursing programs, first as an instructor for Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and later at New York City’s Lennox Hill Hospital. She returned to active Army service in 1954 to assist with medical courses for enlisted personnel and helped to establish a medical education system, particularly in the United States, Japan and Germany. She served as a supervisor, chief nurse, instructor and director of an advance medical technician school. Her last overseas duty was in Vietnam.

     In 1970, she retired from the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant Colonel and returned to St. Lawrence County, joining her mother in Ogdensburg to help with her care. She earned many honors during her Army service, including the Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal. Her only sibling, a brother, was killed in 1944 while piloting a P-47 Thunderbolt plane over Normandy. For the rest of her life, Ms. Rock made St. Lawrence County her home while traveling with friends, caring for others, and assisting her church and other
organizations, including the Army Nurse Corps Association and other veterans’ groups. She maintained a keen interest in documenting local history and furthering the education of others in the county.

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.

Filed Under: Recent News

Northern New York Community Foundation

131 Washington Street
Watertown, NY 13601

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

info@nnycf.org

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Northern New York Community Foundation

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

Watch your mailboxes for our 2023 Friends Supporters issue of “Thoughtful Giving” this weekend!

We feature all donors who made gifts to the Friends of the Foundation 2022 Annual Community Betterment Fund and pay tribute to many special people who our community recently lost.

Annual donors like YOU help make possible so much of our work that strengthens Northern New York for everyone.

View a digital “sneak peek” of the issue at: issuu.com/nnycf/docs/tg_donorappreciation_spring_2023

#ThoughtfulGiving #ThoughtfulLegacies #NNYCF

Watch your mailboxes for our 2023 Friends Supporters issue of “Thoughtful Giving” this weekend!

We feature all donors who made gifts to the Friends of the Foundation 2022 Annual Community Betterment Fund and pay tribute to many special people who our community recently lost.

Annual donors like YOU help make possible so much of our work that strengthens Northern New York for everyone.

View a digital “sneak peek” of the issue at: issuu.com/nnycf/docs/tg_donorappreciation_spring_2023

#ThoughtfulGiving #ThoughtfulLegacies #NNYCF
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ATTENTION TRI-COUNTY NONPROFITS:

Our partners at the Watertown Sunrise Rotary Foundation, a component fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation, welcome eligible nonprofit organizations in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties to apply for its annual Taste of the Town grant. Up to $5,000 in funding is available.

The Watertown Sunrise Rotary Club established a charitable foundation at the Community Foundation to help steward its philanthropic efforts and more effectively serve the region.

Nonprofit organizations should apply for this funding opportunity by Friday, March 31, through the Community Foundation’s online grant portal at nnycf.org/grants

Complete details: www.nnycf.org/taste-of-town-2023

#NNYCF #SunriseRotary #Partners #TasteOfTheTown
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Watertown’s Taste of the Town Set for April 22; Sunrise Rotary Club Foundation Seeks Grant Applications

www.nnycf.org

Watertown’s Taste of the Town Set for April 22; Sunrise Rotary Club Foundation Seeks Grant Applications February 21, 2023 By admin Opportunity for $5,000 in Funding Open to All Tri-County Nonprofit ...
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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
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