Teen Leadership Academy had a busy week
At the Tipp City Center on Friday, June 6th, incoming senior high school students from Tipp City, with their family members and friends, gathered to hear each teen describe his or her week as a member of the Teen Leadership Academy: where they visited, who they met, and what they learned. The teens were selected for the Tipp City Teen Leadership Academy with the purpose of “Connecting teens to community.” The Academy is sponsored by Abbott Nutrition, the Tipp Foundation, Park National Bank, and Regal Rexnord.
The teens spent the first week of June visiting local businesses, government agencies, and charities to learn how they operate, who the charities served, and how. The Academy is supported by the Tipp Chamber of Commerce, with Executive Director Meredith McKee planning the teens’ agenda, guiding them through the week.
On Friday, each student, along with his or her charity representative, received the charity’s awarded grant. Richard Bender, President of the Tipp Foundation, explained that the Foundation provides the grant money every year to help fund the selected charities, giving the teens experience at negotiating for their charity. Bender said this year the Foundation received twenty grant requests from charities for a total of $10,000, all worthy of funding, but typically limits the total to $5,000 with a maximum of $500 per charity. Bender explained that the teens had a valuable learning experience at the end of the week when they were challenged to split up the $5,000 among the 12 selected charities, having to decide which charities had the biggest needs, which were most worthy of the funding, and how much grant money each should receive.
The ten teens present on Friday were Lauren Anderson, Grace Herzog, Makenzi Cooper, Leilani Green, Nathan Kollmeyer, Samantha Stoff, Bradyn Lowrey, Lindsey Osenko, Tessa Riehle, Cameron Smith, and Preston Harding. Cameron Smith was unable to attend the grant awards.
The awarded grants are:
CASA/GAL of Miami Country, Inc. - Advocate Resource Closet - $350
Child Care Choices, Inc. - Ready for Kindergarten! – Early Learning Kits - $500
Downtown Tipp City Partnership- Tipp City Christmas Parade & Tree Lighting Celebration - $250
Health Partners Free Clinic – Gift Card Project - $300
Little Kindness – Chemotherapy Care Bags - $450
Miami County Dental Clinic – Traveling Smiles - $500
Needy Baskets of Southern Miami County – Needy Basket Holiday Program - $500
Seeds of Hope OH – Back to School Bash - $500
The New Path, Inc. – Durable Medical Equipment - $350
The New Path, Inc. – Meals on Wheels - $500
Tipp City Area Arts Council – Wild & Whimsy Art Camp - $300
Tipp City Enrichment Program – Summer Camp Snack Budget - $500
