Deadline for Community Foundation’s YEP grant application is Feb. 1

The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley’s Youth Engagement in Philanthropy Program (YEP) is now welcoming grant applications from Fox Valley youth service agencies. The deadline to apply is Feb. 1. To apply, visit cffrv.org/yep-grantmaking-program/.

In this program, the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley has recruited an annual cohort of more than two dozen high school students from across the Fox Valley to volunteer their time and talent for its Youth Engagement in Philanthropy (YEP) program.

Each year, these civic-minded students work together to raise $25,000 via a “Youth Helping Youth” fundraising campaign. Over the winter, they learn to solicit and review grant applications. Then, at the end of the school year, YEP announces and awards those funds as grants, typically ranging from $500 to $5,000, to a cross-section of local Fox Valley nonprofit agencies, each working in unique ways to provide critical support to fellow area youth in need.

“We’ve seen our annual YEP cohorts come together, raise significant amounts of money, identify local agencies providing crucial services to fellow youth, then redistribute those same funds to benefit youth causes across the Fox Valley,” said Jen Borgognoni, Director of Grantmaking, Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley. “In other words, the YEP program is how the Community Foundation is inspiring area youth to become the ‘Future Philanthropists of the Fox River Valley.’”

“We’re thrilled that we met our fundraising goal for 2022-23, thanks in part to a generous $12,500 matching grant from the Dunham Foundation,” said YEP Chair Katelin Hong, a junior at Oswego East High School, and a resident of Oswego. “Now we’re soliciting local non-profits to submit grant applications. Starting in February, we’ll begin reviewing those and making decisions on how to best allocate $25,000 among local agencies addressing causes of most concern to this year’s cohort: the environment, food insecurity and mental health.”

In addition to learning about grant-making, the YEP students self-coordinate a variety of hands-on volunteer service projects during the school year. Most recently, the group partnered with Operation Gift-A-Vet with the Be A Hero To A Hero, based in St. Charles, to fill Christmas stockings for Fox Valley veterans in hospitals, nursing homes and home-bound. The YEP students also decorated Christmas cookies given to residents of Hesed House and Lazarus House, and peeled thousands of crayons that will be melted and made into shapes that are easier for children with disabilities to manipulate.

The 29 YEP students, representing 12 different Fox Valley high schools, include: Bethany Anderson, Oswego, junior, Homeschool, from Aurora; Caroline Escobedo, freshman, West Aurora High School, from Aurora; Gabriel Escobedo, senior, West Aurora High School, from Aurora; Gianna German, junior, Rosary High School, from Oswego; Abigail (Abby) Goddard, sophomore, West Aurora High School, from North Aurora; Logan Hong, freshman, Oswego East High School, from Oswego; Katelin Hong, junior, Oswego East High School, from Oswego; Danny Jankowski, senior, Marmion Academy, from Oswego; Alyssa Joseph, senior, St. Charles North High School, from South Elgin; Regan Konen, sophomore, Marmion Academy, from Sugar Grove; Nalani Lopez, junior, Oswego East High School, from Oswego; twins Maxine and Reagan Mikkelson, seniors, Newark Community High School, from Newark; Alena Mohsinuddin, senior, Oswego East High School, from Aurora; Isabelle Muniz, sophomore, Oswego East High School, from Oswego; Jenny Osei-Kofi, junior, Oswego East High School, from Aurora; Lauren Paschoud, senior, Rosary High School, from Geneva; Aaron Perrault, junior, Batavia High School, from Batavia; Megan (Meg) Puntney, junior, Oswego East High School, from Aurora; Natalie Raabe, junior, Oswego High School, from Oswego; Alexandria (Alex) Sambucetti, sophomore, West Aurora High School, from Aurora; Tatum Smith, junior, St. Charles East High School, from St. Charles; Chloe Turucz, junior, Oswego East High School, from Plainfield; Ryan Vagnoni, junior, Aurora Central Catholic High School, from Aurora; Vennela Reddy Vakati, junior, Oswego East High School, from Aurora; Khoa (Jessie) Vu, senior, Oswego East High School, from Oswego; Erika Weidner, senior, Oswego East High School, from Plainfield; Shemaiah Wesby, junior, Oswego East High School, from Oswego; and, Kaeli Wolford, sophomore, Oswego East High School, from Aurora.

The application to become a YEP member for the next school year will become available on Feb. 1. Visit cffrv.org to apply.

Anyone interested in supporting youth philanthropy in the Fox Valley are encouraged to learn more about the program and to donate to next year’s YEP grantmaking fund at cffrv.org/yep.