Leadership La Porte County’s Youth to Youth (Y2Y), program has funding for youth groups or individual youth in La Porte County to apply for grants to carry out community service projects that will meet local needs. Y2Y is a spin-off of the Leadership La Porte County Youth Program and is a result of a collaboration between Leadership La Porte County, the Youth Service Bureau and the Unity Foundation. The program is now in its 5th year and has funded $2205 to youth-led community projects in the past four years. Grant requests will be reviewed by a youth committee, and the project must be completed by a youth group.
Grant packets are now available online at: www.leadershiplaportecounty.com or by contacting the Leadership office (call 219-325-8223 or email info@leadershiplaportecounty.com). The deadline for the current cycle of grant applications is: March 2, 2015. Grants will be reviewed by the youth committee who will invite finalists to a face-to-face interview with the committee. Grant amounts can range from $50 to $500 per project and must meet a community need. Youth groups meeting the criteria could include school classes, athletic teams, clubs, neighborhood groups, Scouting groups, 4H clubs, church youth groups, and other organized groups. An adult supervisor is required, but the grant application and project must be youth-led. Any La Porte County youth group is welcome to apply.
“This is a unique opportunity for youth to make an impact in carrying out projects that benefit the community and grow servant leadership skills. It also provides Y2Y committee members an opportunity to get directly involved in their communities and learn about philanthropy, grant-making, grant-writing, and volunteerism,” Komasinski added. “It is our hope that students involved in Y2Y will carry this commitment to philanthropy and community service throughout their lives,“ she concluded.
