One of The Community Trust goals is to instill in our youth the awareness of our community needs and the desire to be active in our community by means of volunteering and philanthropy. The Youth Philanthropy program does just that.
Two seniors, one male and one female, from high schools within the Community Trust’s service area serve for one year on The Youth Philanthropy Committee of The Community Trust. The students are nominated to this program by faculty and staff of their respective school based on their demonstration of excellence in academics, leadership, and community service. They are responsible for granting $10,000 or more to a deserving local charitable organization that services the needs of youth in our area. In 2011, two separate grants at $10,000 and $5,000 each were available.
The committee is supervised by Community Trust Board members and meets periodically throughout the school year. The students review grant applications, rate the applications, perform site visits of the top 8 applicants and prepare presentations on these applications for the committee as a whole. From this process, a final vote is taken to determine which agency will receive the grant.
In the spring, a formal presentation of the grant check is made to the winning agency at a closing awards ceremony.
This program is a win-win situation for our youth and our community; our youth obtain an awareness of their community and its needs, and a local charitable agency receives necessary money to continue their programs!
If you are a non-profit agency that serves the needs of youth in the Greater Lynchburg area, please see theYouth Philanthropy Grant section to learn more about this competitive grant offered by The Community Trust.
The 2011 Youth Philanthropy Grant Committee In Action!
The students met for an introductory meeting where they elected a Chairperson to run the meetings and they began the process of reviewing the submitted applications.
Groups were formed so that the students could perform site visits once the top 8 applicants were rated and tallied.
After the site visits, each group gave a presentation about the non-profit organization visited.
The students then discussed and made a case as to why a particular organization should receive the grant. The votes were tallied and the winners were......
Jubilee Family Development Center
And
Camp-Kum-Ba-Yah
The Jubilee Family Development Center's mission is to assist at-risk children and their families become more self-sufficient and reach higher levels of personal achievement through the use of after-school and outreach programs for both boys and girls. With the $10,000 grant received through this program, Jubilee's Building Young Men and Advocates of Peace (for young women) Mentoring Programs will continue through the spring and summer of 2011 and expand to reach greater numbers of youth in the community. These programs improve self-esteem, improve academic performace, encourage students to pursue higher education and increase social awareness so they may make more responsible decisions.
Camp-Kum-Ba-Yah offers a memorable experience for children through the use of outdoor education, personal discovery and development, spiritual growth and the cultivation of friendships. Their mission is carried out through summer day camps that welcome children regardless of race, culture, religious affiliation, disability or economic situation. The $5,000 grant will go towards scholarships so that lower income and urban area children can attend the summer day camps.
A special thanks to the advisors of the Youth Philanthropy Committee who helped guide the students through this process!
