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Jared's Story Find out how a "village" of caring people help keep the smile on Jared's face.... MORE |
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Some of Greater Cleveland's most thoughtful community minded high school students committed this year to learning about one of the difficult challenges of philanthropy. They learned the complexities of turning donations into program allocations so that they have a meaningful impact on our community. Although resource distribution sounds easy, these young people found out that it involves making tough choices, requires insightful group leadership and takes a great deal of thought to make the best decisions possible. On June 14, many of the 61 members of the 2005 Mott Youth Fund Distribution Committee met for a final time at United Way of Greater Cleveland's headquarters. At this special meeting they revealed their funding choices and met some of the individuals that will be impacted by their thoughtful decisions. The decisions of the panel were acknowledged and agreed to by the Executive Committee of United Way of Greater Cleveland at their regularly scheduled meeting on June 30th. Of the over 50 grant proposals submitted to the Youth Fund, the young leaders ultimately decided to fund 17 of them. The 17 program-based proposals that were accepted were submitted by the following agencies: Achievement Centers for Children; Bellflower Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse; Cleveland Christian Home; Cleveland Rape Crisis Center; Cleveland Scholarship Programs; Continue Life; Domestic Violence Center; HealthSpace Cleveland; HELP Foundation; Matthew's Lending Library; Mental Health Services for Homeless Persons; Shoes for Kids; St. Malachi; University Settlement; West Side Catholic Center; Youth Challenge; and Youth Opportunities Unlimited. The total amount of funds disbursed came to $49,500, including $5,000 from the Crittenton Foundation. The grants ranged in size from $1,000 to $5,000, with all of the programs and agencies located in Greater Cleveland. This means that Cleveland's youngest philanthropists are helping Greater Clevelanders with their most urgent health and human service needs.  Presenters at United Way included Vicki McCarthy, the Director of Matthew's Lending Library and a client, Sara Stiemle and her mother Dana. Sara, who is restricted to a wheelchair, thanked the panel for funding Matthew's, which provides adaptive therapy equipment and capability switch operated toys to children and young adults with special needs. The Community Education Coordinator for the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Elana Lester also thanked the Youth Panel for the assistance their decision to support the center will bring.
Among the other presenters on this special day included Joyce Gusman, a United Way volunteer who advised the Youth Panel and helped guide the high school students through the process. Also thanking the students for their commitment to caring for others were Mike Benz, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Cleveland, Bill Plato, Executive Vice President, and Rebekah Dorman, the Program Director for Community Investment. Many of the Youth Fund members had served two years and will be going to college in the fall. They will take with them the knowledge and experience of community involvement and will better understand … and be able to teach others … about the importance of philanthropy and helping others. Other members of the Youth Fund in their first year of participation will return next year to help provide leadership for the incoming class of Youth Fund members. 2006 will mark the Fund's 15th anniversary. The Mott Youth Fund awards ceremony was underwritten by HumanArc Inc. The Mott Youth Fund is a collaboration between United Way of Greater Cleveland and The Cleveland Foundation; The Elizabeth and Ellery Sedgwick Fund of the Cleveland Foundation; The Florence Crittenton Services Fund of the Cleveland Foundation; Maurice Saltzman Youth Panel of the Jewish Community Federation; Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation; The Raymond John Wean Foundation; Treu-Mart Fund of The Cleveland Foundation and HumanArc. For more information about participating in or contributing to the Mott Youth Fund Distribution Committee, please contact Rebekah Dorman at United Way of Greater Cleveland 216-436-2218 or rdorman@uws.org | |