SANDPOINT — The Sandpoint Youth Center has received a $30,000 Community Strategies grant from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation. The funds will support the daily expenses of the youth center until September 2018 and allow staff and board members to focus on other fundraising efforts with the ultimate goal of purchasing the building that currently serves as home for the SYC.

Additional funding for this year comes from a $10,000 gift from STCU and $34,758 in donations from individual supporters. The Sandpoint Youth Center, 104 N. Division, provides an average of 3,000 meals to Bonner County youth each year, through a teen culinary program at the center. Participants also benefit from adult mentorship, extracurricular activities and a safe, welcoming place to be after school.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Inland Northwest Community Foundation for stepping into this work with us,” said Claire Honsinger, executive director of the Sandpoint Youth Center. “With their help we are able to really look forward and take strategic action towards a The center is a 501(c)3 non-sectarian organization with a mission to provide a positive and enriching after-school environment where Sandpoint seventh through twelfth-graders can socialize safely and participate in activities designed to develop leadership qualities, interpersonal skills, and community awareness.

Leadership consists of eight board members, four staff, and several volunteers, with an average of 27 youth in attendance Monday-Thursday. The center is supported financially through private donations and grants from local and regional funders, and it actively partners with organizations and individuals in the Sandpoint community for after-school programming.

The Community Strategies Grant Program is comprised of approximately 90 funds established by donors. These funds give INWCF the flexibility to make funding decisions that accommodate changing needs and capitalize on timely and compelling opportunities in the region. Grant amounts typically are between $5,000 and $30,000 and support grants in a wide range of program areas.

Founded in 1974, INWCF serves 10 Eastern Washington counties and 10 North Idaho counties to foster vibrant and sustainable communities in the Inland Northwest. The community foundation currently manages more than 500 funds and $113 million in assets and has awarded nearly $65 million in grants and scholarships since its inception..?

For more information about the Sandpoint Youth Center, contact Dig Chrismer, Sandpoint Youth Center board member ad public relations chair at 208-263-9555, ext. 2208; or via email at dchrismer@schweitzer.com.