YAC Awards $25,000 Grant to RESA
Posted on May 1, 2008
The Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) approved over $59,000 in grants for 2007/2008. The YAC is a grant making committee of the Community Foundation made up of high school students throughout the county that oversees an endowment fund worth over $1.4 million dollars.
On April 20th, the YAC approved a grant for $25,000 to St. Clair County’s RESA that will create a position to assist all county school district high school counselors. This staff person will focus on:
- increasing the number of county high school graduates who continue education after high school
- increasing the number of county graduates who attend elite national colleges and universities
- providing a networking system for school counselors allowing them to share ideas, information and resources within and across the districts
- providing a series of seminars/programs on ACT/SAT testing, and time and stress management
Other projects/programs that YAC has funded for 2007/2008 are:
- $4,000-Earth Keepers, Earth Learning Adventures educational field trips to all district elementary schools
- $3,300-Port Huron Housing Commission to offer enrichment programs designed to focus on health, fitness and social skill for sixty children living in public housing for low income families
- $750-St. Clair County Victims Rights Office to provide television and video games to help eas the stress/anxiety of the children victims in legal process
- $500-St. Andrews Lutheran Church to provide a safety education in the areas of biking, health, guns, car seats and fire for children and teenagers
- $2,800-PH City Recreation Dept to provide a Fitness First Camp for 100 at risk youth
- $2,000-Women’s Initiative Fund Committee of the Community Foundation to support the Back To School program
- $3,000-PH Little League to refurbish field
- $2,000-PH Museum to support the Pirates and Giant Insects exhibits
- $495-PH Hospital to provide helmets for their safety fair
- YAC CARE award- To honor a special teacher who contributes to their community by nurturing charitable giving and community spirit in their students. The recipient of this award will be announced soon!- $5000 has been awarded to one teacher, with a runner up award for $1000 to a second teacher.
- YAC has also set aside $4500 to grant funds to schools who participated in the Water Bottle Drive Community Service Project spearheaded by the YAC. The drive ends on May 2nd. Final grants will be announced at that time.
- $2,729.68-Mini-grants were awarded on April 23rd to elementary school facilitating community service projects within their classrooms
As the YAC’s schedule coincides with the calendar school year, April 20, 2008 was the last meeting for the 2007/2008 YAC year. This year grants totaled $59,074.68. As noted above, the YAC is capable of making a wide impact on the county with their funds.
YAC will resume in September of 2007. Officers for the 2007/2008 year will be:
- Tonia Gooden, to be a senior at Algonac High School as President
- DJ Watta to be a senior at Marine City HS as Vice-President
- JD Dunn to be a Senior at Port Huron Northern as Treasurer
- Members at Large will be Morgan Scallen to be a Senior at St. Clair High, Avery Wine to be a senior at Port Huron Northern and Sara Haynes to be a senior at Port Huron Northern
- The secretary for YAC will be determined by who is hired as the YAC intern for the 2008/2009 school year. This will be announced in May.
Members must attend one grant making meeting each month and one community service project each month to remain in good standing with the organization. In January of 2009, YAC will receive a new grant budget. Members must be in high school with a social conscience and willingness to make changes in our local communities by way of advocacy, volunteerism and community good.
