News from the Noteworthy from Community Foundation of Otsego County

Presentations Feature Seven High Schools

“Student Voices, Student Choices” will be held on November 20 from 6-9 p.m. at the Slade Theater, fourth floor of Yager Hall, at Hartwick College. Everyone is welcome to watch these amazing high-school students as they present ideas on making Otsego County a better place for all.

Encouraging philanthropy throughout Otsego County is a major goal for the Community Foundation of Otsego County. What better way to spark that interest than by engaging our youth? In 2022, CFOC kicked off its Student Voices, Student Choices program. This special program for high-school students sharpens their focus on local needs and issues, and encourages them to become leaders in their communities.

The idea of Student Voices, Student Choices emerged from conversations at CFOC about the prospect of young people becoming deeply involved in the work of the foundation.

“Teenagers will see ways to help make Otsego County a more welcoming, inclusive, healthy, and opportunity-rich place to live and grow up,” said Tim Lord, CFOC board member and co-founder/co-director of Dream Yard, an arts and social justice high school in the Bronx.

The first Student Voices, Student Choices in 2022 was a resounding success and, in year two, it’s back and bigger and better!

This year, the number of schools participating has grown from four to seven. All of last year’s teams will return—Cherry Valley-Springfield, Edmeston, Gilbertsville-Mount Upton (which took first place and $5,000.00 for the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York’s Backpack Program that provides food to many schools in Otsego County), and Richfield Springs—while we welcome Unatego, Morris, and Milford.

These student teams will make presentations to a large audience and a distinguished panel of five (Darren Reisberg, president, Hartwick College; Cynthia Andela, president of Andela Products; Gary Kuch, director, Clark Foundation Scholarship Program; Gretchen Sorin, director and Distinguished Professor, Cooperstown Graduate Program, and author/director of, “Driving While Black: African-American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights”; and Cheryl Robinson, president and chief executive officer of New York Central Mutual).

After a successful first year, the foundation looked for ways to improve the process, and getting the students together for an intensive (and fun) session on how to hone their skills to create a better presentation became our goal. In preparation for this year’s Student Voices, Student Choices, all of the student teams came together for a special day-long event at Hartwick College. High-school students, from freshmen to seniors, were given college-level instruction on how to innovate, research and problem-solve as they embarked on their Student Voices, Student Choices projects.

In collaboration with Hartwick College, nearly 50 Otsego County high-school students and their advisors were brought to campus. Mike Walsh, director of the Griffiths Center for Collaboration and Innovation, led a full day’s worth of team-building exercises and spoke about empathy as the key starting point to creating ideas that work most effectively for all designs, but especially for projects focused on serving the needs of our fellow residents.

It was an exciting day, and everyone involved felt the shared energy of being together to help Otsego County move forward.

The beauty of Student Voices, Student Choices is that every team is a winner, and, simply by their participation, will make an impact on their respective communities. In 2023, the first-place school will win $5,000.00 for their cause, second place will earn $4,000.00, third place gets $3,000.00 and the other schools $1,000.00 each. The outpouring of support from the community after the first Student Voices, Student Choices made this possible. New York Central Mutual, our lead sponsor this year, is also joined by others.

The Community Foundation was thrilled with the first year of Student Voices, Student Choices, and the feedback we received was phenomenal.

“Thank you very much for allowing our school to participate in an amazing evening,” said one student advisor when the night was over in 2022. Said another, “The students felt activated and empowered!”

“It’s been so exciting to see the Student Voices, Student Choices program develop,” added Lord. “I’m excited for this year’s program!”

For more information on the Community Foundation of Otsego County, visit cfotsego.org.