CHEROKEE, NC, May 21, 2008 – Cherokee Preservation Foundation announced today it has awarded a $142,000 grant to the Cherokee Youth Council so CYC can continue to develop culturally based youth leadership programs for its members.
CYC provides opportunities for middle and high school students to contribute their perspectives on current EBCI community issues, encourage environmental stewardship, build leadership skills and demonstrate selfless leadership. Activities to date include participation in important Native American conferences, management of a regional recycling education program, adoption of a section of U.S. Highway 19 by the Cherokee High School as part of the Adopt-a-Highway litter clean-up program, and sponsorship of a youth basketball tournament and a Halloween haunted house.
The new grant will enable CYC to send a contingent to the 2008 United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) conference, participate in a Cherokee youth organization convening facilitated by the Gila River Youth Council, create a summer 2008 Cherokee arts and crafts program, organize the second annual Reservation Sensation Basketball Tournament, and create a culturally-themed Halloween haunted house featuring Cherokee legends.
The CYC meets every other Tuesday at the Cherokee Teen Center from 6:00-8:30 p.m. For more information, call Karina Bottchenbaugh at 554-6938.
About Cherokee Preservation Foundation
Cherokee Preservation Foundation (www.cpfdn.org) was established on November 14, 2000, as part of the Second Amendment to the Tribal-State Compact between the EBCI and the State of North Carolina. It is an independent nonprofit foundation funded by the EBCI from gaming revenues generated by the Tribe. CPFdn is not part of or associated with any for-profit gaming entity. Since CPFdn’s inception in 2000, it has made 447 grants totaling more than $37 million to EBCI and regional projects and programs that address cultural preservation, economic development and job creation, and environmental renewal and protection. Every dollar of CPFdn support has been matched by $1.38 in secured grants or other funding or in-kind resources, making CPFdn’s total contribution to the region more than $89 million.
