Funding Youth Initiatives
Increasing Opportunities for Youth
“There is a pressing need in our community to increase opportunities for youth to engage in fun and constructive activities. That is what Funding Youth Initiatives is all about; that is why we exist.”
– Bernadette Yeoman-Ouellette
Above image: Horizons High School student helps setup a new computer.
Joel Asiala, Horizons High School Principal, shared the following:
“At Horizons High School we are excited to have some new technology for our students to learn and work with. These opportunities were made available because of the Keweenaw Community Foundation and its very generous [Funding Youth Initiatives] grant of $2400. With this grant, we have been able to continue to build upon our existing technology with the addition of a powerful computer, a 3D design mouse, and a second monitor so our students can have more learning experiences and real-world learning opportunities available to them. These new pieces of technology perfectly complement our existing technology. Our students will use this computer to create projects for our 3D printers, our 36” poster printer, and our laser engraver. As a part of the learning process, we used our search for this new technology to teach students how to shop for a computer that is the best choice for using with our different pieces of technology. Our Maker Space has evolved a great deal in the few years since it started and it is because of the support we receive that we are able to do this. The staff and students of Horizons High School greatly appreciate the opportunity to provide great resources and quality learning experiences to our students.”
In 2022 Funding Youth Initiatives granted $2,000 to the Houghton FC to help build new community soccer fields, and $2,000 towards the Dan Scmitt Gift of Music and Outdoor Education Fund.
A grant of $1,300 from FYI helped fund the Gift of Music’s work with Horizon’s Alternative high school students. The program offers music instruction to a student population that has no music instruction in the school curriculum. The students are offered instruction in guitar and music composition. The number of students participating in the program varies from session to session, with as many as 10 students taking part. Students were asked to complete surveys prior to beginning the program, including what they hoped to gain from participating. In addition to technical music skills, students also identified patience, self-confidence, self-worth, and a healthy alternative to drug/alcohol use as added benefits.
Funding Youth Initiatives helped fund the Houghton Skatepark project in 2016. The Houghton Skatepark project formed in mid-late 2015 to construct a public concrete skatepark in Houghton, Michigan. They are volunteers working in coordination with the city, local businesses, and organizations in the interest of providing a professionally built, free-to-use, and universally appreciated asset to the community for decades to come.
Funding Youth Initiatives helped fund P.J. Olsson’s Rock Camp in 2015. Rock Camp is an intensive two-week music program that provides young musicians with real world and life changing experiences. Forty young musicians have an amazing opportunity to work closely with real life professional musicians, audio engineers and technical crew. The Rock Camp kids typically ages 11 – 19, learn and grow through talent discovery, musical development, creative collaboration, relentless rehearsals, production design, aggressive promotion and live performance. The Rock Camp concludes with an epic rock concert that thrills and delights an audience of nearly 1,000 fans.
Grants from FYI helped fund art classes conducted by the Calumet Art Center’s Ed Gray at the B.R.I.D.G.E. Alternative High School in Hancock.
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