Philanthropy Magnified Impact Report
June 2016
Young Visionaries on West Hill
Having grown up and attended school in the West Hill Neighborhood, Francesca Merrick has long recognized the importance and benefits of building community here. After working collaboratively to identify needs, she inspired the  Lehman Alternative Community School (LACS) to open their school building to welcome residents for dinner, for movie nights, a holiday party and a teen dance.
West Hill Picnics on the Horizon
A grant from the Helen T. Howland Foundation, administered by Community Foundation, is continuing Merrick's vision by creating and revitalizing spaces on the Lehman Alternative Community School's (LACS) property for children and families of the West Hill community to use alongside LACS students. This will include the creation of a patio and picnicking area, and eventually the creation of a play space.
4-H Urban Outreach
Musical Collaborations
Other grants in our Spring Grant Cycle are also supporting the West Hill Neighborhood including celebrating children to sing their own stories. This grant supports collaborations with African musician, Samite (director for Musicians for World Harmony). Samite will be working with 4-H Urban Outreach participants to write stories and songs to inspire them toward greater self-awareness and confidence in self-expression.  They will perform for their parents and other residents of West Village Apartments, West Hill, Ithaca College and Cornell University student mentors, and the LACS community.
Samite
 Support for West Hill Collaborations
"Music is a healing force in the lives of all people, including young people...Our goal is to help people successfully integrate in and be accepted in their communities in positive ways, and the presentation will hopefully help aid in engaging the broader community from West Village and West Hill.
Samite
Director of Musicians for World Harmony
 
 "This opportunity will provide genuinely meaningful experiences, for Samite's programming allows us to hear each other's stories, which is a key element of community engagement. LACS is striving to open up our school to the West Hill community and this project will further that goal."
Jon Raimon
LACS Teacher
Erin Aljoe Schlather Dedicated Memorial Fund
Magnifying Philanthropy
Community Foundation's Spring Grant Cycle was inspired by the vision of Helen T. Howland, whose interests were youth, aging, animal welfare, and environmental preservation. Applications in this grant cycle inspire fund advisors at Community Foundation to invest in our community. Grants were supported by Helen T. Howland Foundation funds held at M&T Bank as well as the Erin Aljoe Schlather Dedicated Memorial Fund. Community Foundation has been magnifying philanthropy with this grant cycle for over a decade.
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