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Safe Schools Endeavor Seeks Grant Proposals from Jefferson,
Lewis Schools for 2023-2024 Funding
Published: September 11, 2023
at 08:00 p.m.
By: Press Release from NNY Community Foundation
Safe Schools Endeavor Seeks Grant Proposals from Jefferson,
Lewis Schools for 2023-2024 Funding
Deadline to Submit Proposals for Funding
Consideration is Friday, Nov. 3
 WATERTOWN — The Safe
Schools Endeavor, in partnership with the Northern New York Community Foundation,
is pleased to announce that applications for 2023-2024 funding are now
available. All schools in Jefferson and Lewis counties are eligible and
encouraged to seek grant funding for projects, programs, and initiatives
that seek to improve student and campus culture and strengthen school
safety.
School officials
and representatives should complete applications no later than Friday,
Nov. 3. All applications must be completed through the Community
Foundation’s online Grant Lifecycle Manager, which may be accessed at bit.ly/grant-portal. Grant awards
will be determined in December and applicants will be notified with a
funding decision no later than early January.
Since 2018,
nearly $85,000 in grant funding has been awarded to 16 school districts
across the two counties to support 47 projects. Public and private schools
are welcome to apply.
Grants are made
possible thanks to the generous gifts of many individuals, businesses, and
organizations in Jefferson and Lewis counties who support the Safe Schools
Endeavor and its mission to help keep all children safe while they are at
school.
“Over the last
five years this program has helped keep local students safer and has
strengthened a private public partnership with school districts,” said
Rande S. Richardson, Community Foundation executive director. “We can
always do more to increase the efforts presently being made and we are
hopeful that again this year we will see requests for projects and programs
that build upon what this initiative has already accomplished.”
The Safe Schools
Endeavor will consider applications submitted by students, teachers,
faculty, staff, and parents. Any individual or group with an idea to
improve safety within their Jefferson or Lewis County school should discuss
the concept with their respective school administrator to gather their
support. Proposals that are student-led or involve close collaboration with
students may receive additional weight as funding is considered.
“While we are
grateful to every school who has thought of and implemented projects in
their district, we must pause to sincerely thank every local business,
organization, and individual whose generosity makes this work possible,”
said Erika Flint, Safe Schools Endeavor steering committee chair. “It is
humbling to have the majority of those who supported us in 2018 when the
Safe Schools Endeavor was just a vision to continue to support us every
year, and to also watch our list of new donors grow.”
Proposals can
include student or parent programming, equipment, faculty and staff
training, or anything else that an individual or group within the school
community believes would enhance the overall safety of the school and its
members.
The Safe Schools
Endeavor stresses awareness, empowerment, and action within school
communities, and grant proposals will be evaluated based upon the degree to
which they embody these desired outcomes. A scoring rubric is also
available for review at bit.ly/sserubric. Email Mrs. Flint at eflint@fdrhpo.org, with any
application questions.
Individuals and
groups may request any amount, but typical grants will fall in the range of
$1,000 to $2,500. All projects or programs must begin or occur in the
2023-2024 school year with support from the respective school district.
Funding for programs or projects that have already occurred are not eligible as the Safe Schools Endeavor is not a
source for reimbursement of expenses.
To stay informed
about the Safe Schools Endeavor and its progress in our schools, like it on
Facebook at
Facebook.com/SafeSchoolsEndeavor and follow it in
Instagram at Instagram.com/safeschoolsendeavor.
For the 2022-2023
school year, 12 projects were awarded grant funding totaling nearly
$25,000. Schools and projects receiving support were:
·
Adirondack Central School District, to develop a
therapy dog program for each of its four buildings.
·
Beaver River Central School District, to purchase
radios for emergency communications for a new School Resource Officer.
·
Copenhagen High School, to support purchase and installation of vape sensors in bathrooms.
·
Alexandria Central School District, to help
purchase license plate readers to identify vehicles trespassing on school
grounds.
·
Lowville Academy and Central School, to help the
Student Council purchase bathroom vape detectors.
·
South Jefferson Middle School, to help outfit
six middle school bathrooms with vaping sensors.
·
South Jefferson High School, to help outfit
six high school bathrooms with vaping sensors.
·
Indian River Middle and High schools, to help the
school’s SADD club bring an international speaker to present a talk about
addiction, suicide, reckless behavior, and the impact on mental health
caused by the pandemic to middle and high school students.
·
Augustinian Academy, Carthage, to help improve
building security at entrances and exits, as well as lockdown
window shades and radios.
·
Copenhagen Central School District, to help bring a
speaker to present an anti-bullying program to reinforce positive behavior
for students in pre-k through second grade.
·
General Brown Junior/Senior High School, to help create
a place to care for students’ social and emotional well-being and learn how
to self-regulate during the school day.
·
Indian River CSD, Theresa Primary School, to help staff
create a safe, calming space to improve culture and promote a positive
social/emotional well-being.
About the Safe
Schools Endeavor
In the days that
followed the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
School in Parkland, Fla., that left 14 students and three staff members
dead, and 17 others wounded, a group of North Country residents were called
to act in their own communities in Jefferson and Lewis counties.
While school
safety leads many discussions across the country, the Safe Schools Endeavor
was created to encourage change at a very local level. Its founding members
believe our children are our most precious resource and should never worry for their safety at school.
With generous
support from the Northern New York Community Foundation, a $20,000 matching
grant for all gifts made in support of the initiative was announced and a
focused effort to seek donations soon began. The movement struck a chord
with many Northern New Yorkers who quickly gave to the effort and met the matching
challenge, confirming a guiding philosophy that together “A Few Can Make a
Difference.”
A 17-member
Steering Committee manages the Safe Schools Endeavor. Committee members are
parents, school officials, and student representatives. They include Erika
Flint, executive director, Fort Drum Regional Health Planning
Organization, and Safe Schools Endeavor Steering Committee chairwoman; Jessica
Bowline, president, Indigo Inkwell, Inc.; Andrianna Crawford,
counselor, Lowville Academy and Central School; Brittney Fults,
teacher, Carthage Central; Brigitte Gillette, counselor, Copenhagen
Central; Marjorie LaVere, administrative assistant, Jefferson County
Public Defender’s Office; Todd Lighthall, executive director, Camp Oswegatchie,
and member, Beaver River Central School Board of Education; Morgan Pratt
Neaves, assistant principal, Indian River Central; Rebecca Paté-Johnson, Head Start family advocate, Community
Action Planning Council of Jefferson County; Kylie Simpson,
probation officer, Lewis County Probation Department; Stephen Todd,
superintendent, Jeff-Lewis BOCES. Student representatives: Anmolika
Bolla, Watertown High School Class of 2022; Hailyn Buker, South
Jefferson Class of 2022; Claire Jones, senior, Copenhagen Central; Philip
Marra, Watertown High School Class of 2021; Samantha Stokely,
senior, Copenhagen Central; and Peyton Taylor, senior, Copenhagen
Central.
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.
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