Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation

10/08/2026

🧦 It's officially SOCKTOBER! 🧦
Warming the feet and hearts of those in need 💛

All month long, the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation is collecting NEW warm socks for individuals and families in need, with help from our wonderful partners:

Cattaraugus County Bank – Dunkirk
Lake Shore Savings Bank – Dunkirk, Fredonia & Westfield

Just look for the SOCKTOBER Sock Collection Site box!

Here's how you can help:
1. Drop off new socks at any collection site - including our office!
2. Host your own sock drive at your school, sports team, workplace, social club, or congregation
3. Share this post and spread the word using

Every pair stays right here in our community. Socks will be shared through Chautauqua County Rural Ministry, the Chautauqua Homeless Coalition, Dunkirk-Fredonia Meals on Wheels, local food pantries, the Jamestown YWCA, Northern Chautauqua Boys & Girls Club, and more.

Questions or want to host a drive?
Contact Eileen at [email protected] or 716-366-4892.

10/08/2026

10/02/2026

In 2022, our Community Grants Program invested $2,000 in Valerie Walawender’s vision for a documentary. Today, that vision is Tradition, Trauma & Tenderness, created with the CREATE Project, and Valerie shared that it would not have been possible without NCCF’s support.

Valerie kept the film rooted close to home. Many of its families, partners, and storytellers are from our community, and its final scene was filmed at Dunkirk’s Memorial Park, where community members joined Seneca tradition-bearers in a circle dance.

When we spoke with Valerie this week, three words kept coming up: collaboration, partnership, and community. She describes the film as personal, a film about all of us, made to create moments of empathy.

That’s the impact of community grantmaking. Our Community Grants Program supports everything from arts and culture to the environment to health and human services, and beyond. We invest in local people, organizations, and ideas to create a more vibrant and prosperous northern Chautauqua County.

Watch Tradition, Trauma & Tenderness on WNED-TV 17.1:

Monday, Oct. 5 at 10 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 9 at 4:30 p.m.

Learn more about Valerie:

create-project.com

valeriewalawender.com

facesinthecrowd.org

09/18/2026

Here is the list of our wonderful basket sponsors! Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of our event that benefits NCCF’s Service Learning Grants!

09/18/2026

Come have breakfast with us tomorrow, 8–10 a.m., at Applebee’s on Vineyard Drive.

Breakfast tickets are $10, basket raffle tickets are $10 for 25, and Premium Prize tickets are $5 for two.

Along with a tasty pancake breakfast, you can enter to win one of 34 baskets—plus two amazing grand prizes at Peek’n Peak and Splash Lagoon.

There’s something for everyone, and it’s a perfect morning to gather with friends and neighbors.

We can’t wait to see you!

09/18/2026

💙💛✨️Come see us at the Westfield Grape and W**e Festival and learn about all the incredible work we do! ✨️💛💙

09/15/2026

Mark your calendar for this Saturday! We look forward to having breakfast with you 😁. We also have over 27 baskets in our Basket Raffle, including two Premier Baskets. Come try your luck!

09/03/2026

For many years, Rick Ketcham has stood behind NCCF’s mission and the people who make it happen. Hear why our work matters to him in his “My NCCF Story” on YouTube. https://youtu.be/7fkulw0T-6I?si=sbtg_cm5uTSzv25M

09/03/2026

NCCF is proud to support the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County (MHA) this Friday will be their Art in Recovery Exhibit from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM at the MHA North County Center inside Grace Lutheran Church (601 Eagle St., Dunkirk)

MHA is a peer recovery center offering support groups and individual coaching for people looking to improve their lives, deepen wellness, thrive in recovery, or support those on a recovery path. Peers use their personal stories to help people find recovery in their own lives in their own way.

To learn more about the MHA, call (716) 661-9044 or visit MHAChautauqua.org or Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County.

https://www.observertoday.com/news/local-region/2026/09/art-in-recovery-exhibit-in-dunkirk-friday/

Friday, Sept. 4, is the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County’s 2026 Dunkirk Art in Recovery Exhibit, 5-7:30 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, 601 Eagle Street. The show will feature a variety of works created by participants in the weekly Art in Recovery group facilitated by Wing, an MHA vo...