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Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge Awards
$20,000 in Grant Support Between 20 Tri-County Nonprofits
Published: April 24, 2026 at
09:00 a.m.
By: Press Release
from NNY Community Foundation
Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge Awards
$20,000 in Grant Support to 20 Tri-County Nonprofits
Nearly 80 Students Across Three Counties Participate
in Ninth Annual Challenge
WATERTOWN — The Northern New
York Community Foundation is pleased to announce $20,000 in Community
Spirit Youth Giving Challenge grants to 20 nonprofit organizations that
serve Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
Now in its ninth
year, the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge was open to all
tri-county seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade students. This year’s program
committee reviewed 79 entries from seventh and eighth graders in 20
different school districts who recommended grants to nearly 70 different
organizations that serve residents across the three counties.
Based on the
quality of entries received this year, the Community Foundation has doubled
the number of winners, which also doubles the impact that grant awards will
have across the tri-county region.
Schools
participating in the 2026 challenge include: Jefferson County — Belleville
Henderson; Carthage; General Brown; Homeschooled student; Immaculate Heart
Central; Indian River; Sackets Harbor; South Jeff; and Watertown City
School District. Lewis County — Beaver River and Lowville Academy
& Central School. St. Lawrence County — Canton; Gouverneur; Holy
Name of Jesus Academy, Massena; Little River Community School;
Madrid-Waddington; Massena; Morristown; Ogdensburg; and Potsdam Central
School.
The initiative
was launched in 2017 to introduce middle school students to concepts of
philanthropy and community needs. The challenge seeks to engage youths as
they explore the meaning of community and are empowered to recommend grants
to support their concepts that strengthen the quality of life in the
region. Students write an essay that articulates their definition of
community and explains what makes it a great place to live, work and play.
Participants are then asked to name a charitable organization that makes
their community a better place through its service to residents.
“This program
continues to provide students with a unique and real opportunity to think
about the ways they want to see their community supported and consider how
they can be part of making a difference,” said Rande S. Richardson,
Community Foundation executive director. “We are hopeful this will help
inspire a lifetime of service and giving back and build a heightened
awareness of the wide range of community needs.”
In the past nine
years, 153 students have been selected to present 149 grants totaling
$100,000 to nearly 115 different nonprofit organizations that serve
tri-county residents. Since the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge
began, 1,040 students representing 28 school districts across the region
have applied to the program, recommending grants to nearly 240 different
charitable organizations.
Charitable organizations students selected for funding this year
range from those that provide support for essential human needs, youth
development, military veterans, first responders, and the elderly, to those
that strengthen and enrich our communities through the arts, education, health
and wellness, and recreation.
Gifts to the
Friends of the Foundation Annual Community Betterment Fund, as well as
corporate support from Community Bank and a major gift from an anonymous
individual donor, help to underwrite program grants. A committee that
included Community Foundation staff and a retired teacher judged and scored
the applications with results as follows:
Jefferson County
§ $1,000, Antwerp
Food Pantry, Bailey Filkins, Indian River Middle School
§ $1,000,
Belleville Volunteer Fire Department, Megan Bernat, Belleville
Henderson CSD
§ $1,000, Boy
Scouts of America Longhouse Council, Jason Shah, Immaculate Heart
Central
§ $1,000,
Compassionate Care Foundation, Clarissa Nevala, Thousand Islands
Middle School
§ $1,000, Friends
of Thompson Park, Niah-Kraig Thomas, Case Middle School
§ $1,000, General
Brown Care Closet, Catlin Leigha, General Brown High School
§ $1,000, Guitars
for Vets, Brendan Daugherty, Case Middle School
§ $1,000, Henderson
Harbor Water Sports Programs, Michael Butler, Homeschooled
§ $1,000, Mannsville Free Library, Breckan Pelton, South
Jefferson High School
§ $1,000, Rohde
Center, Rachel Pacella, South Jefferson Middle School
§ $1,000, South
Jeff Backpack Program, Lucas Valley, Belleville Henderson CSD
§ $1,000, Stage
Notes, James McDonough, Thousand Islands High School
§ $1,000, The Arc
Jefferson-St. Lawrence, Jackson Houppert-Logsdon, Case Middle School
Lewis County
§ $1,000, Double
Play Community Center, Aaron Reynolds, Lowville Academy & CSD
§ $1,000, Friends
of Lewis County Hospice, Ellie Herzig, Beaver River High School
St. Lawrence
County
§ $1,000, GardenShare, Maya O’Connor, Little River
Community School, Potsdam
§ $1,000,
Morristown Fire Department, Hudson Belile, Morristown Central School
§ $1,000,
Morristown Public Library, Mariah Wright, Morristown Central School
§ $1,000, North
Country Children’s Museum, Natalie Vaverchack, Potsdam Middle School
§ $1,000,
Waddington Family Resource Center, Brynne Sharlow, Madrid-Waddington
CSD
The Community
Foundation and schools will work with winning students in the coming weeks
to coordinate visits to their respective charitable agencies to present
grants and learn more about the organizations they chose.
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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