YAC Raises More Than $50,000 in 2007-2008 School Year

On Sunday, April 13, 2008, Berks County Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) members announced that they have raised $51,325 since November for the foundation’s Youth Fund. This amount exceeds their annual fundraising goal of $50,000.

YAC is a group of 26 Berks County teens who raise money, discuss and evaluate issues facing local youths, and make grants from the foundation’s Youth Fund to address those issues.

In 2002, YAC members began an aggressive campaign to raise $500,000 to endow the Youth Fund by 2010, thereby increasing the dollar amount available for grants each year.  To date, including the $51,325 raised this year, the committee has raised a total of $232,911. YAC members raise the money by visiting local families and personally asking for donations ranging from $100 to $25,000.

"You learn the importance of practice," said Leah Richards, a junior from Oley Valley High School. "Every group that went to ask a family for a donation practiced first, so we wouldn’t be nervous talking about our program and explaining what the donation would be used for."

All of the money that YAC members raise goes to the Youth Fund, which is an endowment that provides approximately $15,000 each year for YAC members to disburse as grants.

This year, the YAC members funded projects designed to help teens make smarter decisions. After reviewing 14 grant applications requesting in excess of $60,000, the committee narrowed the list of potential recipients down to eight. Committee members went on a site visit to each of the eight potential recipients, after which they narrowed the list to the following four projects, which received grants:

  • $2,000 was awarded to Alvernia College for a project that addresses high-school attrition rates and youth delinquency in the Reading School District through a combination of mentoring and education.
  • $8,000 was awarded to Berks Women in Crisis to expand its CAMPPeaceworks project to include an interactive theater component that promotes smart decisions and healthy relationships. CAMPPeaceworks is a summer program that recruits 40 youth in grades 8 – 11 who are interested in working on social justice issues in the community. Campers explore the root causes of violence in society, including sexism, racism and "classism."
  • $3,000 was awarded to Camp Fire to expand its existing suicide prevention program: Teen Suicide, Silence is not Golden.
  • $2,000 was awarded to Junior Achievement to run a new program called JA Careers with a Purpose in two pilot schools in Berks County.

Each YAC member must participate in a number of activities during the year, including visiting at least one family to request a donation, participating in a site visit to interview a potential grant recipient, and attending the majority of YAC meetings throughout the school year.

For the 2007-2008 school year, the following students participated in all of the activities necessary to complete the YAC program:

  • Marjorie Berman, Wyomissing High School
  • Molly Burton, Wyomissing High School
  • Gabrielle Churchill, The Hill School
  • Christyn Davidson, Wilson High School
  • Megan Feeg, Oley Valley High School
  • Jacob Fromm, Wyomissing High School
  • Allison Hilovsky, Daniel Boone High School
  • Austin Helm, Wyomissing High School
  • Colleen Kase, Holy Name High School
  • Maura Keith, Holy Name High School
  • Elise Landau, Lancaster Country Day School
  • Laura McCanney, Wilson High School
  • William McCanney, Wilson High School
  • Ryan McClafferty, Conrad Weiser High School
  • Sean Mendez-Catlin, Lancaster Country Day School
  • Maya Najarian, Lancaster Country Day School
  • Catherine Reiter, Holy Name High School
  • Leah Richards, Oley High School
  • David Rodriguez, Central Catholic High School
  • Lindsay Shields, Holy Name High School
  • Patrick Shields, Holy Name High School
  • Angelise Stuhl, Holy Name High School
  • Lauren Wennell, Wyomissing High School
  • Jud Widing, Wilson High School
  • Zachary Williamson, Kutztown High School

General Information about the Youth Advisory Committee
The Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) Program seeks to fund projects directed at addressing the critical issues affecting young people in Berks County.

The grant program is the responsibility of our hardworking group of high school-aged philanthropists, and reflects their collective input and judgment. An annual request for proposal is available each year, along with the pertinent information needed in order to submit a grant application. Applications are due in the Community Foundation office each January.

The members of the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) review grant applications and make final recommendations to the Berks County Community Foundation Board of Directors for its final approval.

To learn more about this unique group of teens and the work they do, read the following reports, which were written by a former YAC member who interned at the foundation in summer 2007:

Youth Advisory Committee: The Members
This report talks about the teen members of the Youth Advisory Committee and how being involved has made a difference in their knowledge, confidence and maturity.

Youth Advisory Committee: Grants That Make a Difference
This report details the impact YAC grants have had in Berks County over the past decade. Includes specific examples of grants that were funded and how they made a difference in the community.

Please e-mail your Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) Grant Program questions to Rick Mappin, Vice President for Grantmaking, or call 610-685-2223.

All photos on this page were taken at 2008's final YAC meeting on April 13, 2008, where the group proudly announced achieving its fundraising goal.