YAC deadline approaches
The Hot Springs Area Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council will accept applications for new members through Wednesday.
Members must be enrolled in a Garland County school in grades 9-12 and must be committed, dedicated and interested in learning how to better the community.
The YAC is a youth-led philanthropic council. Since 2002, members of Arkansas Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Councils have given more than $350,000 to charitable causes benefiting children and youth in Arkansas.
An endowment fund from the Arkansas Community Foundation allow the councils to award grants based on requests relating to youth. The local council met earlier in 2017 to vote and award more than $14,000 to area nonprofits in one afternoon.
Councils meet on the second Monday of the month during the school year to learn about philanthropy through endowments and grants and how to meet needs in their counties. Members volunteer together and learn about the local charitable causes that benefit other youths. They also learn and participate in different training sessions about topics such as diversity, volunteerism, leadership and communications.
Graduating seniors who demonstrate leadership in a council are eligible to apply for a $3,500 college scholarship from the Arkansas Community Foundation, renewable for up to four years.
Students interested in joining should reach out to their school counselors for an application; call Joyce Whitefield, Hot Springs Area Community Foundation executive director, at 501-282-0502 or email hotspringsarea@arcf.org; or email YAC adviser Brad Burleson at brad.burleson@gmail.com.