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Twelve Youth Advisory
Committees (YAC's) were nominated for recognition as “Great
Grants/Initiatives” at the Michigan Community Foundations’ Youth Project (MCFYP)
Summer Youth Leadership Conference, held at the University of Michigan, June 22-24, 2007. Five grants were
recognized by the MCFYP Committee as “Great Grants/Initiatives” – an award
co-sponsored by the Pistons-Palace Foundation. The MCFYP Committee
commended all of the grants as outstanding examples of the impact
youth grantmakers can have in their communities.
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
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