Local High School Seniors Presented $10,000 Youth Service Award to GraceWorks, an Area Nonprofit Serving Youth

 CACF Youth Service Award
Since 1994 the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (CACF) has been encouraging the next generation of philanthropists through its Youth Service Award (YSA).  Each year the Foundation presents its Citizenship Award to one senior from each local high school who has demonstrated active participation in community service, leadership, and academic excellence.  The students are then invited to participate in the Youth Service Award Committee and spend the school year learning about philanthropy and grantmaking, conducting site visits, and evaluating grant proposals.  The YSA Committee chose GraceWorks as the 2012 recipient of the $10,000 Youth Service Award grant. 
 
About the 2012 Grant Recipient
GraceWorks is a small non-profit started in 2001 to provide a hands-on afterschool program for twenty children four days a week from two Albemarle County elementary schools. The children who participate in GraceWorks are identified by Family Support Workers or Guidance Counselors as children who would benefit from this program. The GraceWorks program is held on a farm complete with vegetable gardens, ponds, trails sheep, donkeys and horses. The children are provided transportation from school to “The Barn” where they finish their homework, participate in environmental, educational, and fine art activities, and eat a healthy dinner before returning home. The YSA grant will allow GraceWorks to further strengthen this afterschool program.  A slide show presentation of the Committee volunteering at GraceWorks was shown as part of the program. The slideshow can be viewed below.
 
Delegate David Toscano spoke to the group about public service.  He thanked them for their work to benefit the community by participating in this program through CACF and personally presented each youth member an award of recognition.
 
2012 CACF Youth Service Award Committee
 
Durga Dahal            Albemarle High School
Graham Rolph         Charlottesville High School
Mary Shifflett             Covenant School
Chase   Cannon      Miller School
Jasmine Hawkins   Monticello High School
Alex Bragg                 Renaissance School
Trent Holden             St. Anne's Belfield
Wesley Merrick          Tandem Friends School
Joshua Mandell        Western Albemarle High School
Joe H. Gieck              YSA Committee Chair and CACF Board Member
Sue Sheffield             YSA Committee Adult Member

Scroll down to view photos from the YSA Service Project. YSA Service Project Slideshow