Teen Trust delivers over $11,000 in grants to Black Hawk County nonprofits

CFNEIA

April 19, 2017

Members of Teen Trust, a program of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, spent a Tuesday morning not in their high school classrooms, but in the community for some hands-on education in giving back. The 26-member board consisting of Black Hawk County high school students awarded grants totaling $11,233 to six area nonprofits.

Nonprofits receiving a grant for their community program include:

• Allen Memorial Hospital – Young Parents Together program
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa – One-to-One Mentoring in Black Hawk County
• Boys and Girls Club of the Cedar Valley – Arts Academy
• Cedar Valley Friends of the Family – Safe Shelter and Housing Stability
• The Job Foundation – Financial Stewardship Mentoring Program
• Northeast Iowa Food Bank– Backpack Program

Directed by a local college student, CFNEIA’s Teen Trust empowers and challenges high school students to address, identify and seek solutions to community needs while building a sense of social responsibility. The grant funds are allocated to Black Hawk County 501(c)3 nonprofit agencies to support programs and projects that address community needs and are within criteria that the students determine as priorities. Using a grant application system, site visits and training seminars, the trustees work as a team to decide which organizations to assist through financial aid or volunteerism. This unique philanthropic program, now in its 24th year, illustrates how teenagers can be vital community contributors now, as well as valuable leaders in the future.

“I am extremely grateful to have had the privilege to work alongside this talented group of young adults,” said Karly Izer, a junior at the University of Northern Iowa and Teen Trust student director. “I have learned so much from all of them. Teen Trust is an amazing experience that benefits everyone involved from the students to the nonprofits to the community.”