The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County’s Youth Philanthropy Interns culminated their seven-week summer internship by awarding $50,000 in grants to local nonprofits.
The Youth Philanthropy Internship Program engaged 11 interns ages 16 to 19 from seven different schools across Westmoreland County. Over the course of the summer, the interns worked in two teams to research community issues, identify service priorities and design a grantmaking processes.
The first youth intern team of Naomi Blackburn (Greensburg), Julia Dengler (Mt. Pleasant), Zachary Hegedus (Jeannette), Abigail Moore (Seward) and Noah Richason (Greensburg) focused their grantmaking on supporting vulnerable children and youth in Westmoreland County and awarded:
- $10,000 to CASA of Westmoreland to increase advocacy and supply backpacks and school materials to children who have been subjected to abuse or neglect.
- $8,000 to Westmoreland Children First to launch the “Beds for Kids” program, which will provide emergency beds and bedding to children countywide.
- $7,000 to Seton Hill Child Services to fund project expenses for the Early Head Start program, which provides education and support services to children ages birth to three who fall below the 100% poverty guideline.
The second youth intern team –Aaron Dominick (Hannastown), Grace Fowler (Leechburg), Katie Handy (Jeannette), Cecilia Markley (Export), Drew Neiderhiser (Latrobe) and Bryce Williams (Mt. Pleasant) –directed their grant-making dollars towards boosting community pride through a focus on small townships and boroughs. Their goal was to support small business and recreation, helping to retain young people and attract new residents to Westmoreland’s smaller communities and awarded:
- $10,000 to the Westmoreland County Land Bank to transform blighted structures into a community green space along the main street in Sutersville Borough.
- $10,000 to the Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County to assist with a youth-led strategic planning assessment to help build connections between organizations within Vandergrift and Scottdale.
- $5,000 to the Delmont Public Library to support a roof replacement for their log cabin community event space.
The Youth Philanthropy Internship Program and grant making process is funded by The Heinz Endowments and administered by The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County. To learn more about the program, visit http://www.cfwestmoreland.org/community-leadership/youth-philanthropy-internship.
