KCF Youth Advisory Council Announces Grants to Benefit Local Youth

Hancock, Michigan – The Youth Advisory Council (YAC) of Keweenaw Community Foundation (KCF) announced that $11,650 has been awarded from the Kellogg Youth Endowment Fund to seven local organizations. These grants will support projects that benefit youth in grades 6-12 in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties.

The grant recipients are:

• Calumet High School for “The Windy City Whirl Wind Art Tour” to provide each student with a ticket to one of the finest art museums in the world.
• Keweenaw Little League to replace worn bleacher seats and steps, install safety fence cap on outfield fence at Legion Field.
• Copper Country ISD to host a Health and Wellness conference for local high school students to attend.
• Calumet Theatre Co. to provide funding for the summer Vaudeville Series that will provide a theatrical experience for Calumet High School Drama Club students and Washington Middle School students.
• City of Hancock to provide bike repair stations for bicyclists to improve safety and accessibility for all ages and abilities.

Projects will take place before November 2018.

The projects chosen each addressed areas of need highlighted by the Youth Need Survey. Conducted in the fall of 2014, the survey collected responses from students in grades 7-12 at local area schools. It found that depression, drug abuse, and harassment represented the greatest challenges to local youth. The survey also asked teens which youth programs would be beneficial to youth in the community. The majority of teens were interested in after-school programs. The full survey results are posted on the KCF website: http://keweenawcommunityfoundation.org/who-we-are/youth-advisory-council/.

The Keweenaw Community Foundation’s YAC was developed and supported by the Michigan Community Foundations’ Youth Project to spread youth philanthropy in the state, an initiative that was launched by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the community foundation members of Council of Michigan Foundations. Today, there are over 1,500 young people serving on 86 youth grant-making committees statewide. Endowment fund assets exceed $62 million and collectively give $1.5 million in grants per year. KCF’s YAC alone has granted over $179,430.73 in funds since its inception.

For more information on giving or grant opportunities, please visit the KCF website (www.keweenawgives.org) or email mail@k-c-f.org. To be placed on KCF’s request for proposals list, please email your contact information to mail@k-c-f.org. You will be notified when grants become available.

Through philanthropic services, strategic investments and community leadership, Keweenaw Community Foundation helps people support the causes they care about, now and for generations to come. For more information on Keweenaw Community Foundation and how to give, visit its website at www.keweenawgives.org.