TRAVERSE CITY -- Area high school students recently had a hand in awarding the largest ever, single grant from the Community Foundation Youth Services Endowment.
The $30,000 grant award is designated for the campaign for the new Grand Traverse Bay YMCA, a capital project that is working to bring a new YMCA facility to the region.
"I felt that supporting the YMCA proposal was important because of the tremendous amount of youth it could potentially impact," said Hannah Rodriguez, a Youth GrantMaker from Benzie County.
The grant award will allow for the Reception Desk and Concession Area to be named for the 2007-2008 Youth GrantMakers.
As part of the Community Foundation Youth GrantMaker program, students act as the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) to the Youth Services Endowment -- a fund that benefits a variety of youth services and programs across the region.
In December of last year, these same students were part of awarding $100,000 to youth services and programs in the region. Each county Youth Advisory Council (YAC) recommended grants from the Youth Endowment Fund totaling $20,000 to benefit the youth community in their county.
Grant requests were for a variety of programs ranging from pregnancy counseling to teen parenting to tuition assistance for a dyslexia program.
Additionally, area youth recently participated in "Speak Out" sessions across the region.
"One of the common themes that came out of these sessions was an unmet need for recreation -- an alternative to boredom and the bad habits that can grab hold of kids," said Jeanne Snow, Community Foundation Executive Director.
During these Speak Out sessions, area youth also endorsed the ongoing support of human service organizations that provide youth services related to teen health and well-being; counseling and support programs for drug, alcohol, pregnancy, emotional, and social challenges; and jobs and transportation.
The Community Foundation is now accepting names of area high schoolers interested in participating in the 2008-2009 Youth GrantMaker Program. Students can e-mail youthgrantmaker@gtrcf.org with their name and high school if they are interested in next year's program. For more information on the Youth GrantMaker program, visit www.4good4ever.org or call (231) 935-4066.
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