The Hamilton College Town-Gown Fund Committee recently awarded seven grants totaling $24,000 to educational, cultural and public safety organizations in the Town of Kirkland.
Organizations receiving grants include:
• $6,000 to the Clinton Central School District to assist with the renovations of the Boynton Pool;
• $6,000 to the Kirkland Police Department to establish an "Evening Police Academy" to provide in-service training for local police and campus safety officers;
• $4,000 to the Clinton Central School District Foundation for its campaign to purchase land for playing fields off Norton Avenue;
• $4,000, in the form of a challenge grant, to St. Mary's School for its debt-reduction campaign;
• $2,000 to the Clark Mills Fire District for the purchase of a portable multi-gas monitor;
• $1,000 to the Kirkland Town Library to purchase a portable screen and sound system for programs in the Bristol Room; and
• $1,000 to the Kirkland Art Center to assist with the replacement of the main heating system.
"In reviewing the funding proposals I was struck by the direct impact grants from the Town-Gown Fund will have on the lives of so many people in our community," said Hamilton President Joan Hinde Stewart, who also chairs the committee. "I am still relatively new to the area and this process offered me another opportunity to appreciate the needs and concerns of the town and village. I look forward to strengthening the town-gown partnership that has grown from this process."
The $24,000 awarded this year brings the total disbursed by the Town-Gown Fund to $54,000 since grants were first awarded in 2001. The book value of the fund, which represents the total amount of gifts received to date, is nearly $500,000. Approximately 5 percent of the income earned from the fund is available for grants each year.
"Hamilton is committed to building this endowed fund to $1 million," said Stewart. A second solicitation of companies that do significant business with the college will be announced shortly.
Members of the Town-Gown Fund Committee are invited to participate by the president of the college. In addition to Stewart, current members include: Carole Bellini-Sharp, professor of theatre, Hamilton College; Andy Burns, president, Strategic Investment Advisors, Inc.; John Fehlner, owner, The Cleaners and Clinton Cider Mill; Annette Foley, supervisor, Town of Kirkland; Jeff Little, trustee, Hamilton College; John Nester, former chief, Clinton Fire Department, and local businessman, Nester Bros.; Jeffrey Roudebush, superintendent, Clinton Central School District; and Jack Withiam, trustee, Hamilton College.
Dick Tantillo, Hamilton's vice president for communications and development, and Mike Debraggio, the college's executive director of communications, sit on the committee as ex officio members.
