Members of Youth Philanthropy Council Award $10,000 in Grants to Nonprofits that Serve Highland County Youth at Community Dinner

Now in its second year, the Community Dinner at The Highland Center brought members of the community together to share food and good conversation around the dinner table. Attendance was high among those who give of their time, money, and talents in the community, presenting the perfect platform for the Youth Philanthropy Council (YPC) to announce their grant recipients for this year. 

YPC members Jack Herold and Mary Anne Rogers presented the awards. Rogers explained how the high school students prioritized the applications.

“As we considered how best to allocate the $10,000 provided to us, we were all excited about our sense of power. But, we also felt the weight of responsibility. It was important to us to prove our trustworthiness and to do our best to strengthen the place we all call home. All the members of the council were aware of two things: first, that we live in a county where the vast majority of citizens are over the age of 55, and second that there are very few services and activities available to our smallest population, the youth under the age of 18. Therefore as we opened our grant applications we set two funding priorities. We all agreed that we would prioritize grant applications from organizations that provide services to Highland County senior or youth populations or applications from organizations offering cross generational opportunities.”

The Highland County YPC was created in partnership with The Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge to offer Highland County youth the ability to experience the grant making process. The group calls for and receives grant applications from local nonprofits and then participates in various educational workshops in order to prioritize what they believe are the most pressing needs of Highland County. The group is hosted by The Highland Center with Executive Director Elizabeth Lohr-Myers and Programs Manager Jen Rattigan serving as sponsors.

The $10,000 for this year was awarded to The Wayne Theatre, who’s teaching artists are dedicated to bestowing theater programming to Highland County Youth; The Highland Children’s Center, the only child care facility in Highland County; and Dare to Dream Therapeutic Horsemanship Center, which provides Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies through expert staff, dedicated volunteers, and incredible therapy horses in a safe and caring setting.

“claps”

After the awards were announced, attendees were welcomed to a dinner provided by The Highland Center and catered by Susanna’s Confections and Claire’s Cafe. Representatives from The Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge were in attendance and mingled with a variety of nonprofits from Highland County seeing and hearing about the many needs of the community.