Several non-profit organizations in St. Lawrence County were among 20 St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Lewis County entities to share in $10,000 of the Northern New York Community Foundation’s Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge grants.

Now in its fifth year, the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge is open to all tri-county middle school students. This year’s program committee reviewed 193 entries from seventh and eighth graders who recommended grants to 93 different organizations that serve residents across the three counties.

St. Lawrence County schools participating in the challenge included Canton Central School, Edwards-Knox Central School, Massena Central School, and Morristown Central School.

The initiative was launched in 2017 to introduce middle school students to concepts of philanthropy and community needs. The challenge seeks to engage youths as they explore the meaning of community and are empowered to recommend grants to support their concepts that strengthen the quality of life in the region. Students write an essay that articulates their definition of community and explains what makes it a great place to live, work and play. Participants are then asked to name a charitable organization that makes their community a better place through its service to residents.

“Efforts to instill community engagement in our youth not only build upon the past, but provide hope for the future,” said Rande Richardson, Community Foundation executive director. “We are pleased to see participation from students across all three counties, and the grants will have widespread and varied impact, both geographically and the types of organizations receiving support.”

In the past five years, 103 students have been selected to present 99 grants totaling $50,000 to 82 different non profit organizations that serve tri-county residents. Since the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge began, 590 students representing 23 school districts across the region have applied to the program, recommending grants to 210 different charitable organizations.

Charitable organizations students selected for funding range from those that provide support for essential human needs, fire protection, and animal welfare to those that strengthen and enrich our communities through education, arts and culture, health and wellness, and recreation.

Gifts to the Friends of the Foundation Annual Community Betterment Fund, as well as corporate support from Community Bank and a major gift from an anonymous individual donor, help to underwrite program grants. A committee that included Community Foundation staff and a retired junior high school teacher judged and scored the applications with results as follows:

St. Lawrence County

$500, Society of the United Helpers, Ogdensburg, Scarlett Ritchie, Morristown Central School

$500, Canton Free Library, Natasha Rossiter, Canton Central School

$500, Potsdam Humane Society, Mrs. Grace Schenker’s Classroom, Canton Central School

$500, Massena Meals on Wheels, Luke Bogart, Massena Central School

$500, Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley, Potsdam, Kyla Donahue, Massena Central School

$500, Massena Public Library, Reese Faucher, Massena Central School

$500, Morristown Gateway Museum, Sawyer Belile, Morristown Central School

$500, Police Activities League of Massena, Serenidy Rust, Massena Central School

$500, St. Lawrence Health Foundation, Potsdam, Taya Coller, Edwards-Knox Central School

$500, Gouverneur Breast Cancer Fund, Isabel Paro, Edwards-Knox Central School