YAC at our Community Foundation

YAC at our Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is a group of teens that make grants for local youth programs.

Help us say a big CONGRATULATIONS to some of our YAC graduating seniors! 🎓️💛We are so proud of their accomplishments and...
05/28/2026

Help us say a big CONGRATULATIONS to some of our YAC graduating seniors! 🎓️💛
We are so proud of their accomplishments and know wherever they go, they will carry on their commitment to community service.

Rachel Jackson, St. John's High School, will be heading to the University of Michigan for International Studies.

Callan Maxwell, Waverly High School in Lansing, is heading to Brown University to study Computer Science and Public Policy.

Eden Peele, St. John's High School, is committed to Howard University to study Architecture and play lacrosse.

Nolan Koenigsknecht, St. John's High School, will be attending Mid Michigan College to study Exercise Science.

YAC was featured in the Council of Michigan Foundations' Annual Report! 📢📰 The article focuses on the new Labyrinth in S...
05/20/2026

YAC was featured in the Council of Michigan Foundations' Annual Report! 📢📰

The article focuses on the new Labyrinth in St. John's as an example of how YAC's Youth Needs Assessment guides grant decisions. The last two assessments showed mental health as a top issue for young people across the region — and the Labyrinth is just one way YAC is helping address that.

We love seeing YAC's hard work celebrated across the state. Read the full article here: https://annualreport.michiganfoundations.org/community-features/youth-leaders-champion-new-community-space-to-support-mental-health/

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month! We appreciate our YAC members who volunteer their time to understand the needs of...
04/29/2026

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month!

We appreciate our YAC members who volunteer their time to understand the needs of local youth and make grants to organizations that address these needs. Our YAC students are actively engaged in their schools and communities — their efforts are truly making a difference, and we see it. 🫶

We were able to fully fund 16 projects for local nonprofits serving young people across the Capital Region! YAC students...
04/15/2026

We were able to fully fund 16 projects for local nonprofits serving young people across the Capital Region!

YAC students came together to discuss the projects, share scores for each proposal, and make decisions as a group at YAC Grantmaking Day this past weekend.

This is philanthropy in action, and we are so excited to tell these nonprofits about the funding support coming their way!

03/27/2026

Are you spending your spring break in Lansing? Enjoy a sunny day along the Lansing riverfront at one of the parks the Community Foundation has created: Rotary Park, Play Michigan!, and our newest addition, Fish Ladder Music Park!

We'd love to see your adventures — comment with your photos from the riverfront!

We hope you enjoyed our videos last week! Today we're wrapping up our phone ban discussion with a few final thoughts fro...
03/25/2026

We hope you enjoyed our videos last week! Today we're wrapping up our phone ban discussion with a few final thoughts from YAC members who created these shareable graphics.
Share if these resonate with you! 🤳

03/21/2026

Grab your popcorn, our last YAC video on cell phone usage in schools is here! 🍿

YAC members had fun expressing their opinions in these videos, and we hope you learned something from watching them! We're committed to exploring issues that affect local teens, and directing grant funds to organizations that provide support for these needs.

03/19/2026

Did you know YAC members are also filmmakers? 🎬️ Here's another perspective on cell phone usage in schools, created by our students.

03/18/2026

Part of YAC's work is to bring awareness to issues that affect local teens. During our recent meeting, members discussed cell phone usage in schools and recent legislation that passed in the state of Michigan.

Students then created videos demonstrating their views. Don't just read what they had to say on the topic -- watch! 📽️

Each YAC meeting looks different. In February and March, members completed grantmaking training, hosted guest speakers f...
03/11/2026

Each YAC meeting looks different. In February and March, members completed grantmaking training, hosted guest speakers from Junior Achievement of Mid-Michigan and created videos about new legislation on cell phones in schools (more to come on that, soon! 👀). They also rocked some new Lansing swag from Gillespie Group.

What's next for YAC? Spring break, grantmaking day, senior features, and more! Follow along!

Address

330 Marshall Street, Ste 300
Lansing, MI
48912

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