The Great Grants/Initiatives finalists were as follows:

Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation Youth Action Committee—Mt. Pleasant, MI

Great Grant: $5,000 grant to Mt. Pleasant High School

Purpose of grant:  The grant was used to fund Challenge Day in the high school’s Teen Summit 2007, “Your Life, Your Future, Your Choice”

Project:  More than 1,500 student, faculty, and staff participated in Challenge Day’s “Your’re Not Alone” presentation. The presentation lets people step forward to announce to their peers that they are not alone in life struggles. But Challenge Day was only a small part of the Teen Summit. More than 40 youth came together to plan the Summit which focused on teen victimization.  For more information, please contact YAC Advisor Dyke Heinze at 989-774-1211.

St. Clair County Youth Advisory Committee—St. Clair, MI

Great Grant: $5,000 YAC CARE (Community Awareness Reflected in Education) Award

Purpose of grant:  The grant funds an award to an educator who incorporates community awareness, involvement, charity, volunteerism, and philanthropic objectives

Project:  This annual award is given to an educator who promotes philanthropy and volunteerism in the classroom. Over 50 schools are invited to apply for this award. This award encourages teachers to promote philanthropic objectives in hopes that the students will embrace the idea and give back on their own. For more information, please contact YAC Advisor Tara Russel at 810-984-4761.

Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation Youth Advisory Committee—Petoskey, MI

Great Grant:  $1,155 grant to Lakeview Academy

Purpose of Grant:  The grant was used to fund Lakeview Academy’s “Connecting” arts project

Project:  Lakeview Academy, a school for adjudicated youth ranging in age from 12-18, whose goal is to make it possible for teenagers to graduate high school and become contributing members of society. The grant allowed students to decorate life sized silhouettes of themselves, using symbols, light, and sound to portray their life. The art was placed in an exhibit, giving the youth a feeling of worth in the community. For more information, please contact YAC Advisor David Jones at 231-348-5820.

Gladwin County Youth Advisory Committee—Midland, MI

Great Grant: $3,700 grant to MidMichigan Hospice and Hospice of Helping Hands

Purpose of grant:  The money helped fund “Camp Warm Hearts”

Project:  The program is a three day long grief camp designed to help children who have lost loved ones. The camp teaches coping skills and provided the participants with the opportunity to share their story with their peers. This program helped close to 50 youth ages 5-15. For more information, please contact Joyce Swartzmiller at 989-839-2266.

West Chester Liberty Township Youth in Philanthropy Council—West Chester, OH

Great Grant:  $3,500 donation to Lakota Local Schools

Purpose of Grant:  The money funded the ‘Rachel’s Challenge” program  

Project: The area schools joined together to bring "Rachel's Challenge" to their system. The program is named after one of the victims of the Columbine shootings, Rachel. Rachel was an exemplary student who displayed tolerance and respect, and this program teaches those values. After the program, a school organization called “Rachel’s Friends” is created which greets transfer students and promotes Rachel’s ideals throughout the year.  For more information, please contact Martin Schneider at 513-874-5450.

Dekko Youth Pod Youth Answering the Call of the Community—South Central Iowa

Great Grant:  $2,000 grant to Fresh Youth Initiatives

Purpose of grant:  The grant funded 25 inner-city youth from New York City to come visit the Iowa youth for a week and see the difference between rural and urban life

Project:  Fresh Youth Initiatives, a community service organization in NYC, picks the youth by whoever has logged the most service hours. The youth then travel to Iowa and stay with host families, are given tours of local businesses, find out what it is like to live near or on a farm, and more experiences that rural life has to offer. For more information, please contact Suzanne Johnston at 641-782-4294.

Dekko Youth Pod Clarke County Organization of Philanthropical Services—Clarke County, IA

Great Grant: $400 proactive mini-grant to Clarke Elementary 4th graders

Purpose of grant:  The grant was given to the 4th graders and they were to pick a community service project of their choice

Project: The 4th graders decided that they wanted to fix an old dilapidated park and railroad underpass. The 4th graders, the youth pod members, and over 100 additional people cleaned up the park and made it more appealing for community families.  For more information, please contact Cathy Blair cathpca@iowatelecom.net

Greater Dayton Youth Advisory Committee—Dayton, OH

Great Grant:  $500 grant to Kids Voting Dayton Region

Purpose of grant:  The grant funded “Youth at the Booth”

Project:  This program is a project to encourage young people to get out and vote. The program familiarizes a group of young people with voting machines, so there will be a variance in the age of the volunteers working the voting booths. The program is ready for the upcoming fall election and the program will be instituted in 37 school districts. For more information, please contact Robbin Kane at kane.10@wright.edu

The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area Youth Advisory Council—Holland, MI

Great Grant: $3,000 grant to the Holland Area Arts Council

Purpose of grant:  The grant funded a program to help the disabled community participate in an arts project

Project: An artist in the area created some mechanical devices that would allow disabled people to express themselves in an artistic manner. Although the program was intended for the disabled community, many able-bodied persons attended also; most notably the youth council. Everyone was able to create large artistic pieces together, which are now on sale. The proceeds of the sale are going to charity. For more information, please contact Kerry Wiersma at 616-396-6590.

Community Foundation of Greater Flint Clio Area Youth Advisory Committee-Clio, MI

Great Grant:  $1,500 grant to Students Against Destructive Decisions

Purpose of grant:  The grant funded the “Save a Life Tour” demonstration

Project: The “Tour” is a program designed to deter drunk driving and alcohol abuse. The program consists of a speaker, whose family member was a victim of drunk driving, and a 360 degree drunk driving simulator. The entire school of over 1,000 people was able to participate in the “Tour”.  For more information, please contact YAC Advisor Lynn Larkin at 810-767-8270.

Community Foundation of Delta County Youth Advisory Committee-Escanaba, MI

Great Grant:  $1,500 grant to Gladstone School and Public Library

Purpose of grant:  The grant funded a booth at a community wide Earth Day fair

Project: The program helped to bring about awareness on global warming to the 7th grade class. Some of the goals of the project were to build citizenship and political awareness, learn the scientific principles involved in global warming, and more. Some of the students were so impacted by the presentation that they went on to research the subject more.  For more information, please contact YAC Advisor Alice Butch at tabutch@sbcglobal.net

Hillsdale County Community Foundation’s Y.O.U.T.H. (Youth Opportunities Unlimited Throughout Hillsdale)-Hillsdale, MI

Great Grant:  $1,000 grant and community service hours to Domestic Harmony

Purpose of grant:  The money and service allowed the youth to rebuild several of the rooms in the domestic violence shelter.

Project: The youth committee spent the day with the adult board fixing the dilapidated rooms in the shelter. They painted rooms, built shelves, put up new curtains, and made the place more friendly. Both boards were extremely pleased with the project, as were the families living there. For more information, please contact YAC Advisor Amber Yoder at 517-439-5101.

Past great grants available: 2001   2005    2006