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Safe Schools Endeavor Awards More Than $11,000 to
Improve Campus Safety in Jefferson, Lewis Counties
Published: January 16, 2026
at 10:00 a.m.
By: Press Release
from NNY Community Foundation
Safe Schools Endeavor Awards More Than $11,000 to
Improve Campus Safety in Jefferson, Lewis Counties
Eight Projects Receive Funding to Strengthen Student
Culture, Building Security
 WATERTOWN — The Safe
Schools Endeavor, in partnership with the Northern New York
Community Foundation, has awarded $11,232 in grant support to fund
eight projects in eight Jefferson and Lewis County school districts for the
2025-2026 school year.
The Safe Schools
Endeavor Steering Committee reviewed 10 applications for funding to support
programs that empower students, parents, and faculty to maintain the safest
schools possible in Jefferson and Lewis counties. This is the seventh year
the fund has awarded grant support. Since its inception, the Safe Schools
Endeavor has awarded $140,348 to support 79 school projects in Jefferson
and Lewis counties.
“Each year, I
reflect on all the work of the Safe Schools Endeavor, and I am reminded of
how it’s only possible because our community is full of such generous
businesses, groups, and individuals, with many of our donors giving
annually since we began our mission in 2018,” said Erika Flint,
steering committee chairwoman. “We sincerely appreciate our school partners
who are deeply committed to the safety of our youth, which is evident in
all they do each day and in these meaningful projects that embody our
mission.”
The Community
Foundation Board of Directors unanimously approved the following Safe
Schools Endeavor grants:
§ Copenhagen
Central School District, $2,150 to add two cameras to its existing
monitoring system to provide more complete security coverage. This addition
will support a safer, more accountable environment for students.
§ Lyme Central
School District, $1,961 to install an LED display board at the
school’s Welcome Center to minimize confusion during safety drills and
emergencies. This new tool will enhance safety, support emergency response,
and strengthen a culture of awareness and preparedness throughout the
school community.
§ Augustinian
Academy, $1,680 to help secure a new playground area with a chain linked
fence and gate. The playground is protected on three sides by the school
building, but the fourth side presently opens to the street for bus and
parent pickup.
§ Beaver River
Central School District, $1,600 to install three additional outdoor speakers
to provide audio coverage around the K-12 building, supplementing the
school’s existing exterior and interior speakers.
§ Belleville
Henderson Central School District, $1,000 to purchase an Automated
External Defibrillator (AED) to enhance student, staff, and community
safety by ensuring rapid access to AEDs in the school and athletic fields.
The school plans to train at least 80 percent of staff and volunteers in CPR/AED
use to increase community awareness of AED availability.
§ Sackets Harbor
Central School District, $1,000 to purchase an Automated External
Defibrillator (AED) for use at its athletic fields. The school district
recently partnered with the American Red Cross to develop a comprehensive
Cardiac Emergency Response Plan.
§ South Jefferson
Central School District, $1,000 to purchase an Automated External
Defibrillator (AED) for use at Mannsville
Elementary’s athletic fields and outside the building where students and
community members utilize the playground and athletic fields.
§ Jefferson-Lewis-Hamilton-Herkimer-Oneida
BOCES, $840 to help develop an Emergency Evacuation Backpack Program,
which will equip the Bohlen Technical Center with four fully stocked
emergency backpacks and two emergency stop signs
for staff to safely help students cross the street during evacuations.
Backpacks will be strategically placed in accessible locations throughout
the building, and staff will be trained on their locations and use,
ensuring a rapid and coordinated response during emergencies.
Grants are made
possible thanks to the generous gifts of many individuals and businesses 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.
The Safe Schools
Endeavor stresses awareness, empowerment, and action within school
communities. All grant proposals are evaluated based upon the degree to
which they embody these desired outcomes. To stay informed about the Safe
Schools Endeavor and its progress in Jefferson and Lewis
county schools, like it on Facebook at Facebook.com/SafeSchoolsEndeavor and follow it on Instagram at Instagram.com/safeschoolsendeavor.
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 15-member,
all-volunteer Steering Committee leads the Safe Schools Endeavor. Committee
members are parents, school officials, nonprofit executives, and retirees.
They include: Erika Flint, executive director, Fort Drum Regional
Health Planning Organization, and Safe Schools Endeavor Steering Committee
chairwoman; Jessica Bowline, president, Indigo Inkwell; Sarah
Colligan, chief human resources officer, Community Action Planning
Council of Jefferson County; Andrianna Crawford, counselor, Lowville
Academy and Central School; Brittney Fults, teacher, Carthage
Central; Brigitte Gillette, counselor, Copenhagen Central; Maddox
Hartle, General Brown Central School student, Marjorie LaVere,
administrative assistant, Jefferson County Public Defender’s Office; Todd
Lighthall, executive director, Camp Oswegatchie; Angela Matthews,
LCSW, behavioral health consultant, Guthrie Ambulatory Health Clinic, Fort
Drum; Rebecca Paté-Johnson, Head Start family advocate, Community
Action Planning Council of Jefferson County; Officer Shane Ryan,
Watertown City Schools school resource officer, Watertown City Police
Department; Kylie Simpson, probation officer, Lewis County Probation
Department; Skyler Tuttle, school safety officer, Lowville Academy
and Central School; and Talitha Workman, preschool teacher and
advancement director, Augustinian Academy.
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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