The following grants were awarded through the YAC’s regular grant process.
Applications are due on March 15 and October 15 each year.
$500 to the Glowing Embers Girl Scout Council in support of the “Girls Are Great” program. This program allowed girls from 14-18 to experience a day of self esteem programs, and enhanced the development of adult/youth relationships.
$887 to the Hastings Junior Chamber of Commerce for a program founded by the Light for Life Foundation to create awareness of teen suicide and its prevention. This program included mailing letters to all parents of high school students, distributing cards to all teens and providing information during study halls on how to use the card if you were in a crisis situation. On the first day of distribution, a young man turned his card in to a counselor, seeking help.
$1,300 to Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce Teen Committee to provide funding for a teen concert during the Summerfest celebration. This was a fund-raiser for Love, Inc. (a local food bank) and SAFE Place (a shelter for victims of domestic violence.)
$225 to Welcome Corners 4-H Club to purchase a Characters Count program which teaches respect, responsibility, fairness, trustworthiness, caring, and decision making skills.
$5,245 to Barry County Commission on Aging Kinship Care to provide seed money for the creation of a teen support group of young people being raised by relatives other than their biological parents.
$5,000 to Barry County YMCA to provide financial support for the Summer Playground Program expansion into Delton and Freeport. The purpose of the playground program is to provide fun and educational activities for 5 weeks. Daily attendance was estimated at 30 children per playground per day. Locations for the summer of 1999 were Freeport, Delton, Middleville, Lake Odessa and two sites in Hastings.
$20,100 to Hastings Area Schools for Dispute Resolution Services of Gryphon Place in Kalamazoo to develop strategies to reduce disputes and violence and to handle disputes with a creative problem solving approach. This was achieved by training students in elementary, middle and high schools to serve as mediators.
$6,555 to the Thornapple Arts Council to develop an Apprentice Theater Program, in which a group of Barry County youth learned the steps necessary to bring a play to its successful presentation to the public.
$600 to Barry County Commission on Aging/ Barry Intermediate School District to fund a collaborative project that provided youth with an opportunity to perform community service for elderly Barry County residents by painting the exterior of their homes.
$2,500 to the MSU Extension of Barry County for creating a Kids Café for children who qualify for low or reduced school-based food programs. This will be a series of crafts, nutrition, community service, science experiences and gardening activities.
$8,000 to the Family Independence Agency for the Fostering Excellence of Barry County program. This program made funds and supplies available to the children who live in Foster homes that other children normally have available to them. Some of these supplies include glasses, class pictures, music lessons, and camp fees.
$675 to Cub Scout Pack 3050 to plant trees at the Yankee Springs State Park.
$4,500 to the Hastings Area Schools Turn Around Center for Dispute Resolution Services of Gryphon Place in Kalamazoo to develop strategies to reduce disputes and violence and to handle disputes with a creative problem solving approach. This was achieved by training students in peer mediation.
$1,343 to local Cub Scout Packs to fund supplies to educate local cub scouts about bats and robins at the Long Lake Outdoor Education Center in Yankee Springs during their day camp program.
$8,740 to the Delton Kellogg Middle School for the Fifth Grade Student Council to partially support camp fees for Delton Middle School 5th graders.
$10,000 to YAC, Thornapple Arts Council and the Volunteer Center of Barry County to fund a holiday card project that all Barry County youth are able to enter. The winning entries will be made into holiday cards and sold to benefit the Arts Council and Volunteer Center’s endowment funds at the Community Foundation.
$2,000 to Maple Valley High School to provide peer tutoring scholarships for the National Honor Society to help reduce drop out rates, truancy and to help raise grades.
$500 to Lakewood Middle School STAND (Students Taking a New Direction) to help kids take direction against drugs, alcohol and smoking etc. through skits, speeches, and recruiting members.
$1,200 to Delton Middle School STAND (Students Taking a New Direction) to help the students serve as positive leaders committed to healthy drug-free living. The group will focus on education through presentations at the middle and elementary school levels.
$500 to Freeport District Library to encourage more teen reading during summer vacation through a reading program designed for them. It would provide something positive to do, enhance reading skills and foster the enjoyment of reading as a lifetime hobby.
$2,800 to Delton Kellogg Schools to bring a therapist to Delton that has had extensive experience working with adolescents who have eating disorders. Hastings High School and Gull Lake High School have been contacted and are interested in transporting youth to sessions in Delton.
$6,000 to Freeport Skate Park to provide a designated area in Freeport for local bikers, roller bladers and skateboarders. This initiative is being led by Pastor Bob at the United Brethren Church.
$1,008 to Circle Pines Center to start a summer service program. The program will enrich the lives of Circle Pines youth and introduce and encourage volunteerism as a positive alternative for youth year round. A group of youth will collaborate with the Food Bank of SW Michigan to distribute fresh produce and dairy through their Fresh Food Initiative in Hastings.
$8,000 to Family Independence Agency to provide basic child rearing equipment needed to overcome obstacles to adoption through the Forever Family Fund of Barry County.
$1,269.95 to the Thornapple Arts Council to fund a video camera, tripod, TV, TV cart, and VCR for the Young Artists group. This will enable them to tape their showcases, auditions and plays to critique them.
$4,710.00 to Delton Kellogg Middle School to fund a peer mediation program.
$952.00 to Circle Pines Center to continue their summer service program. The program will enrich the lives of Circle Pines youth and introduce and encourage volunteerism as a positive alternative for youth year round. They will volunteer at Thornapple Manor and play t-ball and eat lunch with the residents.
$6,000 to YAC, Thornapple Arts Council and the Volunteer Center of Barry County to fund a holiday card project that all Barry County youth are able to enter. The winning entries will be made into holiday cards and sold to benefit the Arts Council and Volunteer Center’s endowment funds at the Community Foundation.
$3,000 to Barry County Horse Judging Team to support the projects of any youth who are interested in advancing their knowledge of horses and wanting to work with horses through the Barry County 4-H.
$800 to Page and McFall Elementary Schools to spread patriotism by buying a flag to better the local park, buy small flags and sing at Carveth Village and send care packages to the troops overseas.
$100 to Big Brothers Big Sisters to sponsor a lane for the Bowl For Kids’ Sake.
$2,236.64 to Grace Wesleyan Church Clubhouse Ministry to buy a bus and art supplies to run their mentoring program for children from the city of Hastings.
$2,624.89 to Delton Kellogg Schools to help pay for playground equipment for children with disabilities.
$660 to Maple Valley Boy Scouts to match money that they raise to go on a tour of a WWII submarine, and stay overnight on the sub.
$10,000 to Barry County Family Independence Agency to pay for activities and opportunities to foster children and their families that might not be affordable to them.
$900 to Barry County 4-H Middleville Clovers Garden Group to pay for tools that can be kept on site.
$3,265 to Putnam District Library in Nashville to pay for the Leadership class at Maple Valley High School and the library’s Junior Volunteers to offer activities at the library for kids on the days there are school conferences, and holidays.
$6,000 to YAC, Thornapple Arts Council and the Volunteer Center of Barry County to fund a holiday card project that all Barry County youth are able to enter. The winning entries will be made into holiday cards and sold to benefit the Arts Council and Volunteer Center’s endowment funds at the Community Foundation.
$100 to Big Brothers Big Sisters, A Community of Caring to sponsor a lane for the Bowl for Kids’ Sake.
$800 to Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) to pay for a speaker to come and do a program against destructive decisions at a school assembly.
$3,000 to the YMCA for the Teen Council and Teen Center to pay for the staff to run the Teen Center and for programs and projects to be determined by the Teen Council.
$2,000 to the Thornapple Arts Council to fund a jazz band festival and have the bands work with the professionals from the Paul Keller Orchestra.
$2,000 to the Maple Valley Junior/Senior High School to fund the Alumni Organization’s building and maintaining a baseball/softball facility and purchasing a batting cage.
$100 to Big Brothers Big Sisters, A Community of Caring to sponsor a lane for the Bowl for Kids’ Sake.
$250 to MainStreet Savings Bank Charity Golf Outing to sponsor the goodie bags.
$750 to Michigan Association for Deaf, Hearing and Speech Services to fund two Barry County deaf or hard of hearing kids to attend Camp Chris Williams.
$4,498.06 to the Kinship Care Program to fund enrichment activitiesand programs for children in the Kinship Care Program.
$250 to the Freedom Riders 4-H Club to fund a team competition at the Barry County Fair.
$453.88 to Boy Scout Troop 175 to fund orienteering kits.
$4,498.06 to Barry County Family Independence Agency (Kids Education And Needs Network) to pay for activities and opportunities to foster children and their families that might not be affordable to them.
$3,000 to Southeastern Elementary School to pay for their climbing wall to be finished, so the students can use it during gym class and recess if it is raining or to cold to go outside.
$3,250.78 to Catholic Family Services to pay for the ARK Ambassador program to involve students in service learning.
$300 to Lakewood STAND to pay for the STAND students to go to a leadership retreat at the YMCA of Barry County.
$300 to Southeastern Elementary and MSU Extension to fund the Jump into Food and Fitness program.
$300 to Star School and MSU Extension to fund the Jump into Food and Fitness program.
$300 to Lee Elementary to fund books for their special education classroom.
$400 to Hastings High School to pay for a full page color ad for YAC in the yearbook.
$2000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters to pay for a corporate sponsorship for the Bowl for Kids Sake.
$3,000 to the Community Music School in Hastings the purpose of this grant is to provide financial aid to the students who want to take music lessons and can’t afford them.
$1,000 to Hastings Athletic Boosters Club to purchase an automatic rebound machine called “The Gun.” It is housed at the high school and available to all high school and middle school boys and girls basketball players.
$1,000 to MSU 4-H Youth Program to pay for the Teen Leadership Committee to organize a Wetland Adventure for 3 days this summer for youth interested in exploring Michigan Wetland ecosystem.
$3,209.22 to Family Mentoring Network to pay for materials to help mentor families so that they can stay together and have a healthy family unit. Money will be used for counseling for children, YMCA family activities, school activities, personal care and health services.
$2,000 to Putnam District Library for the library in Nashville to pay for their children’s summer program called “Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds.”
$1,000 to Freedom Riders 4-H Club to fill comfort kits with personal care items to give to children who have experienced disasters. The project will serve 75-100 Barry County children.
$1,440 to Northeastern and Southeastern Elementary Schools to purchase heart rate monitors to go along with their fitness unit. These will be used in the schools for years to come.
$2,500 Barry Community Foundation to fund a philanthropic project called the Giving Box for all of the schools that participate through the Barry Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council and the Christian Schools in Barry County.
$300 Delton Kellogg Alternative High To fund a project for the alternative education students to work with the “Little Seedling” toddler program.
$2,500 Star Elementary School to pay for Star School to purchase and install a rock wall in their gym for their physical education program.
$400 Barnyard Buddies 4-H Club to buy materials is to make fleece blankets as a group and donate them to the Delton District Library, they will give them away in their adopt a family program. They were able to make 15-25 blankets.
$300 Page Elementary to make individual student scrapbooks to help with their writing and organizing skills.
$2,800 Kellogg Child Care Center (Maple Valley Alternative Ed.) The teen moms (14-19 year olds) would like to start a clothing exchange for the babies in the program as they outgrow their clothes to help themselves and future teen moms. They also purchased appropriate school clothes for themselves with the help of the Mothers’ Helpers adults.
$590 Michigan Works! Youth Program, BISD to reach out to the economically disadvantaged students that do not attend the classes in High School that teach career preparation/ career goals. They will be working with Michigan Works! To compile resumes and portfolios and set career goals.
$400 Maple Valley Model United Nation Organization. The Maple Valley United Nation Organization received a matching grant to pay for their group to attend a Model UN conference in Battle Creek.
$2000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters to pay for a corporate sponsorship for the 2006 Bowl for Kids Sake.
$878.03 to Leadership Barry County to create a fun outdoor environment for children who are staying at Green Gables Haven Domestic Violence Shelter.
$3,490 to the Music Center of SC MI to fund the costs associated with the Kids Choir and Spotlight aspects of this program.
$520 to Barry County 4-H Teen Leadership Club to put on a Young Clover’s Day to introduce families to what 4-H has to offer.
$370 to Barry County 4-H K-9 Klub to put on a dog show that will include showmanship, obedience, agility and educational material. They want to encourage youth to become active with their dogs.
$3,000 to Putnam District Library to present a free children’s summer reading program called “Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales.”
$1,000 to MainStreet Savings Bank Charity Golf Outing to be a sponsor and publicize YAC.
$1,000 to the Hastings Elks Charity Golf Outing to be a sponsor and publicize YAC.
$1,000 to the American Cancer Society for Relay for Life.
$1,776.97 to the Barry Community Foundation’s Birthday Party to sponsor the Identa-kid cards.
$385 to the Delton District Library to purchase Dance Dance Revoltion so that they can have DDR events to bring youth into the library.
$3,000 to Delton Kellogg High School SADD to fund the Save a Life Tour through Cramer International Corporation for Delton Kellogg High School and Hastings High School Seniors.
$300 to Page & McFall Elementary School’s to conduct a project to buy phone cards and send them to the troops in Iraq.
$1,000 to the Barry Community Foundation’s YAC to fund a Teddy Bear Tea party that the group would like to put on with the Elks.
$2,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters to pay for a corporate sponsorship for the Bowl for Kids Sake.
$4,800 Barry County Christian School to purchase supplies to create a quality baseball program and field.
$4,000 Hastings Long Ago to revise and reprint the Hastings long ago books that will be used in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms.
$100 Lakewood Middle School STAND to implement a drug free attitude by educating students about the hazards of drugs.
$2,000 Leadership Barry County to complete construction and furnish the lower level of Barnabas’ shelter for homeless boys as the class of 2007’s community service project.
$725 Conceptual Physics Department/ TK High school to teach students about energy generation, conservation, and healthy living through exercise.
$500 4-H Garden Club to help new Habitat for Humanity homeowners plant their first garden and flowers.
$4,984 Delton Kellogg Elementary School to pay for a portion of playground equipment that has been ordered to replace the old dangerous equipment.
$1,456 Delton Kellogg Elementary School to pay for books to use to teach about the Kellogg Manor home and the Kellogg family. This will benefit 3rd graders when they learn about local history.
$450 Page Elementary to purchase books for higher level readers so that they have more challenging books to read for their growth and knowledge in literacy.
$3,725 Science Olympiad at Hastings High School to fund the bus trip, registrations, t-shirts, etc. so that Hastings High School can have a science Olympiad team.
$325 Delton Kellogg National Honor Society to cover the cost of a free Senior Citizen only performance of the Spring play at Delton Kellogg High School, including hors’devours at intermission.
$10,000 Thornapple Kellogg Schools, McFall Elementary to fund playground equipment that will replace old unsafe equipment that has already been removed.
$1,400 Hastings High School SADD to sponsor and host the TATU training county wide.
$2,500 St. Rose of Lima Catholic School to cover the cost of science kits to update their science curriculum.
$850.00 Lakewood Public Schools STAND to fund the rooms, food, t-shirts and transportation so that the Lakewood STAND can volunteer at the Special Olympics at Central Michigan University.
$3,714.00 Delton Kellogg Elementary School to pay for backpacks with food and fun homework for students who receive free and reduced lunches and/or have not met the minimum requirements on the MEAP test.
$1,500 Thornapple Kellogg Middle School to purchase robots so that they can run another class of “Mindstormers.” This grant will be matched by Drs. Kim Norris and Michael Nosanov.
$1,450 Big Brothers Big Sisters to bring Bigs and Littles in Barry County together to increase their skills, build trust and have a fun day together.
$2,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters to pay for a corporate sponsorship for the Bowl for Kids Sake.
$4,400 Hastings Science Olympiad- The purpose of this grant is to help cover of Science Olympiad competitions, including busing, materials, rooms, etc.
$3,000 YMCA of Barry County- The purpose of this grant is to pay for 18 baskets and t-markers for the YMCA/ City of Hastings/ and Boy Scouts to work together to build a disc golf course in Barry County at Zhigaawin trails off of Hammond Road (by the YMCA.)
$5,000 Barry County Commission on Aging- The purpose of the project is to help grandparents who are raising their grandchildren to afford extracurricular activities, such as soccer, dance, camps, 4-H, etc.
$680 Hastings High School Youth and Government-The purpose of this grant is to defray the cost of Youth in Government so that it is more affordable to the students. (The cost is currently $340.00 per person. With funding the cost could be approximately $120.00 per person.)
$5,000 Extreme Community Needs Fund – To help families who are in unusual need because of the economy.
$2,000 Substance Abuse of Barry County – To help pay for a community wide youth leadership event.
$300 Adopt a Classroom Christmas Project.
$1,400 YMCA of Barry County- The purpose of this grant is to start a playground program run by the YMCA of Barry County for the residents of Delton. This program is free to the families that attend so that everyone has an opportunity to participate. This is a matching grant.
$478.31 Barry County Youth Conservation Council- The purpose of the project is for a 4-H club to compile and present a research paper with proposed solutions on an environmental topic to county officials and residents. Supplies need to be purchased for research and 6 youth need to attend a conservation class.
$742.89 St. Rose of Lima Catholic School- The purpose of this grant is to purchase playground supplies such as mulch, balls, and other recess equipment for the 100 students that attend St. Rose of Lima Catholic School.
$1059.40 Putnam District Library’s Teen Advisory Group (TAG) - The purpose of this grant is to create a teen technology area at Putnam Library where area teens can come and hang out and use the internet.
$339.40 Lakewood Middle School- The purpose of this grant is to pay for the bus for the Lakewood STAND students to volunteer at the Special Olympics.
$250 Lakewood Middle School- The purpose of this grant is to pay for the girls mentoring organization to attend the YMCA so that they can develop leadership skills and use the high ropes course.
$2,500 Star School Student Technology Committee- The purpose of this project is to purchase one SMART board for Star School, this will encourage creative learning.
$900 Lakewood High School –The purpose of the grant is to cover the cost for Lakewood to have a Special Olympics Team. It would pay for the busing and the lunch for the event and also team uniforms that would be returned to the school and used for years to come.
$5,000 Lee Elementary in the Thornapple Kellogg District - The purpose of the grant is to purchase a play structure for Lee Elementary School.
$3,710 Hastings Science Olympiad - The purpose of the grant is to help the Hastings High School Science Olympiad teams pay for busing, registration fees, team shirts and some building materials so that they can have a successful year.
$1,500 Gun Lake Community Church Youth Group- The purpose of the grant is to fund a Friday night program for area students recreational purposes.
$2,000 Big Brothers Big Sisters – The purpose of this grant is to be a corporate sponsor of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake in March. We are the only youth organization that supports this event at this level.
The Youth Advisory Council provides three annual scholarships to the Barry County Leadership Program. These scholarships are for youth, with priority given to Youth Advisory Council members.