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The Carroll County Community Foundation's (CCCF) Youth Advisory Council (YAC) was well represented by ten of its thirty-two members at a statewide YAC conference at Camp Tanako near Hot Springs, AR, on March 6-7. Participants included Brandon Andrews, Vanessa Etchison, Kaleigh Evans, Alleshia Fritz, Emily Laden, and Colton McCance from Green Forest High School, Adam Richter and Page Summers from Berryville High School, and Luke Bradley and Thomas Thomas from Clear Spring High School. Tina Cone, Alan Hunnicutt, and Diann Fancher served as adult advisors.
The Carroll County YAC members participated in team building activities and attended workshops where they learned more about grantmaking, endowment building, community service, and membership criteria. They shared ideas and experiences with teenagers from around the state. Their common goal is to learn what they, personally and as a group, can do to help their communities.
The overnight “YAC It Up!” conference was sponsored by the Hot Springs Area Community Foundation's Youth Advisory Council and the Arkansas Community Foundation. A grant from the Kellogg Foundation and donations from CCCF board members covered the cost of attendance. Members of the Hot Springs Area YAC, with assistance from their adult advisors, planned and coordinated this remarkable event.
The Carroll County YAC is composed of 32 students from all of the county's high schools and home schools. They meet after school hours to learn about philanthropy and participate in community service activities. In addition, they have built their own permanent endowment fund with donations from local individuals plus matching grants from Wayne and Janet Clark and the Kellogg Foundation. Earnings from the permanent endowment fund are used to benefit youth in Carroll County through an annual grantmaking process. Since the first YAC grant cycle in 2003, Carroll County YAC has awarded over $31,000 to more than 45 different projects that benefit the youth in our local communities.
Currently, the YAC will soon be reviewing the grant proposals recently received from area non-profit organizations and determining the grant awards for this year. In addition to the endowment earnings, the YAC has received a generous donation from Wayne and Janet Clark creating a total of $7500.00 that the YAC will be able to grant out to fund youth projects in Carroll County.
Other YAC projects include producing a video for the Arkansas Community Foundation about our organization, on-going community service activities, and a letter-writing campaign to continue growing the permanent endowment fund.
To donate to the permanent YAC Endowment Fund (future needs) or the YAC Grantmaking Fund (more immediate needs), please send contributions to Carroll County Community Foundation YAC, 149 Huntsville Road, Eureka Springs, AR, 72632 . Not only will your donation directly benefit our youth by funding various projects, but also it will help to teach our caring teenagers how to serve their community and to become future philanthropists.
Youth Advisory Council members who were unable to attend the conference are Alejandra Briseno, Erwin Cruz, Aubree Fry, Drew Fry, Angel Portillo, Eric Richter, Jenna Sanders, Miracle Loriak, Adam Noble, Ashleigh Pharis, and Chelsea Taff from Berryville High School; Sierra Burks, Erin Goodyear, Alta Johnson, and Kate Murphy from Eureka Springs High; Tiana Anderson, Olivia Foster, Hayden Poff, Jordan Roberts, and Carlos Romo from Green Forest High; and Clare Doss and Emalie Spann who are home schooled.
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