​Youth Who Give Back: A Community Celebration of Service

by Phil Hanson, President and CEO, Truman Heartland Community Foundation
 
Like for many of you, it’s graduation season at the Truman Heartland Community Foundation. On May 15th we had our annual graduation picnic for our Youth Advisory Council (YAC).

This year, we had 70 high school students from 10 high schools who were actively engaged in our school of philanthropy.  Of the active students, 28 are graduating seniors, and we had the opportunity to hear from 9 of them who were able to attend the picnic and share their thoughts on the program.

It’s always heartwarming to listen to them share their experiences and hear about their heart for service and joy in giving back to the community. The seniors shared their words of advice to those continuing in the program. We also heard from several continuing students who expressed their appreciation to the seniors for their support, friendship, and leadership.

The slogan for our YAC program, emblazoned on their official t-shirt, is “Empowering students to change their community through philanthropy.” It’s wonderful to see students from 10 high schools in our region coming together to serve the community. Typically, when students from various schools come together, the focus is on competition rather than community building.

As I shared with the students in my brief welcoming remarks, they truly enable our Community Foundation to do our work better and have a greater impact on the community. One service they provide is reviewing grant applications from our competitive grants process and doing site visits.

Last summer, they reviewed 16 applications and made site visits and then shared their analysis with our grants committee. The adults on our grants committee consistently provide positive feedback about the students and the information they bring to the discussions. Our YAC students will be busy again this summer reviewing grants and making site visits. So, there is no summer break for our school of philanthropy.

The students also have the opportunity to make grants from their endowment fund, which they have built up over the years. Their endowment fund now has more than $117,000, including the $4,300 they added to it this year as the result of their Strike in the Night fundraiser held at Lunar Bowl.

Last year, they made grants of $1,363 each to Lee’s Summit Meals on Wheels, Marian Hope, and Sleep in Heavenly Peace, totaling $4,089.

In April, 40 students participated in their annual Fill Those Trucks food drive to support the Community Services League, Raytown Emergency Assistance Program, and Lee’s Summit Social Services. We appreciate the support of Hy-Vee in allowing our students to be at 4 area locations to help these 3 organizations stock their shelves for the summer season, which traditionally has a higher need for food assistance since school is not in session.

​We are very proud of our YAC graduates and know that the lessons they learned about philanthropy and service will go with them as they find their place and make their mark on the world. 
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