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The Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation (NCCF) is proud to announce the recipients of its 2026-27 Service Learning Grants. A total of $8,970 was awarded to eleven student-led projects at six school districts across the community. The grants support classroom initiatives that combine academic learning with meaningful community service, giving students the opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world impact. Executive Director Diane Hannum stated, "We continue to be inspired by the creativity and dedication our teachers and students bring to making our community stronger."
They include:
-- Brocton Central School - Senior Class Day Service Project. Seniors will landscape the courtyard, maintain school gardens and memorials, and help preserve the Rails to Trails path ahead of graduation.
-- Cassadaga Central School - Spring into Learning. Business Math, Foods, and Studio Art students will partner with middle school special education classes on an Earth Day event featuring pot painting, planting, and student-designed T-shirts.
-- Chautauqua Lake Central School - Growing Fresh Produce and Hydroponic Gardens. A new hydroponics and sustainable-living course will grow produce for donation to a local food pantry.
-- Dunkirk City School - Reader’s Theater. Sixth-grade students will perform "The Phantom Tollbooth" for younger students, senior citizens, and other community audiences.
-- Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES - Community Policing. Criminal Justice students will complete a year of community outreach events, from Special Olympics support to appreciation projects for veterans, nursing home residents, and law enforcement.
-- Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES - Earth Day: Expanding Native Plant Stewardship.
Conservation students will propagate and distribute native plants and host an Earth Day event with greenhouse tours and workshops for the school community.
-- Fredonia High School - Culture Fair. Students will build cultural displays and lead younger students on a hands-on "world tour" through 27 countries.
Fredonia High School - Culture Day. Ninth-grade students will host a cultural showcase event for elementary students.
-- Fredonia High School - Mental Health Wellness Kits. Psychology students will research and assemble wellness kits for counselors to share with students facing difficult situations.
-- Fredonia High School - Hillbilly High-Tech Harvest. AP Statistics and Agriculture students will use micro:bit sensor kits to collect and analyze real-world data in the school garden.
-- Silver Creek Central School - Native American Education Program. Students will design an Indigenous courtyard reflecting Haudenosaunee values of land stewardship and conservation.
Since 2014, NCCF has awarded a total of $68,200 in Service Learning Grants, helping students across our community turn classroom learning into hands-on community impact.
The Service Learning Grant program is funded in part by NCCF’s annual Applebee’s Pancake Breakfast, which will take place on Sept. 19. Proceeds from the event directly support future rounds of Service Learning Grants, helping the Foundation continue to expand opportunities for students and schools throughout northern Chautauqua County. Tickets for the breakfast are $10 and include pancakes, bacon, and a beverage. To purchase tickets for the breakfast or contribute items for the raffle, please contact NCCF at 716-366-4892 or email Ida Lord at ilord@nccfoundation.org.
Since its incorporation in 1986, the NCCF has invested nearly $25 million in northern Chautauqua County through strategic grantmaking, targeted scholarships, and leadership and community collaborations. The NCCF is a tax-exempt charitable organization inherently committed to enhancing the northern Chautauqua community and encouraging local philanthropy. As a nationally accredited community foundation, the NCCF has proven compliance with the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations, demonstrating integrity, equity, accountability, transparency, and effectiveness in meeting the needs of its community. For more information on the NCCF, visit www.nccfoundation.org or call 716-366-4892.