Local supervisor designates grant to SCCCE

Ron Serven of Junius has been selected as a winner in America’s Farmers Grow Communities program, which gives farmers the opportunity to win $2,500 for their favorite local nonprofit organizations. The donations are available through the Monsanto Fund. Serven, who also serves as Junius Town Supervisor, has designated the Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension’s (SCCCE) 4-H program to receive the award in Seneca County. Serven and a Monsanto representative will present the check to members of the Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension Association at 7:50 pm on Tuesday, March 27th in the Seneca County Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room prior to the start of the regular BOS meeting.In more than 1,200 eligible counties, farmers can win $2,500 for their favorite community non-profit. The Monsanto Fund expects to invest more than $3 million in local communities. America’s Farmers Grow Communities is part of a broad commitment by the Monsanto Fund to highlight the important contributions farmers make every day to our society by helping them grow their local communities. To date, more than 60,000 farmers participated in the program, which is designed to benefit nonprofit groups such as ag youth, schools and other civic organizations. For more information and to see a full list of winners, visit www.growcommunities.com.“Ron has been a life-time supporter of 4-H and Cooperative Extension.” stated Ave Bauder Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Seneca County. “We thank him for thinking of us and the youth of Seneca County in applying for this grant and designating us as the recipient. These funds make possible new and expanded opportunities for our youth. “ Tentative plans for the grant funds include scholarships for two youth to attend the Career Exploration Conference held yearly at Cornell University; equipment for the county-wide 4-H Robotics/Science Club; and support for a proposed youth leadership/civic engagement program. This program will recruit and train 25 Seneca County 8th -11th graders in the skills needed to plan and carry out civic engagement/service projects of their own choosing. This is the second time that the Seneca County 4-H program has benefitted from America’s Farmers Grow Communities. Last year Lisa Freier of Seneca Falls was selected and designated the award to SCCCE. Those funds were used for the purchase of robots, Career Exploration scholarships, and the county 4-H Horse Program.For nearly 100 years, Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension has served the people of the County, putting to practical use the scholarship and research of Cornell University and the national land grant system in the areas of agriculture and food systems sustainability; families, nutrition, health and safety (human ecology); youth development (4-H); environmental and natural resource enhancement; and community and economic vitality. The office is located at 308 Main Street Shop Centre in Waterloo. For more information on this and other programs, please call the office at 315-539-9251 or e-mail [email protected].