The Hamilton College Town-Gown Fund Committee recently awarded eight grants totaling $30,015 to educational, cultural and public safety organizations in the Town of Kirkland.
Organizations receiving grants include:
- $5,000 to the Clinton Central School District to assist with the renovations of the Boynton Pool;
- $5,000 to the Kirkland Police Department to continue Friday and Saturday night foot patrols in the Village of Clinton;
- $5,000 to the Clinton A Better Chance endowment campaign;
- $4,500 to St. Mary's School to replace the acoustical tiles in three classrooms and to purchase classroom furniture;
- $4,315 to the Clinton Fire Department to purchase two automatic external defibrillators and one training defibrillator;
- $3,000 to the Clinton Central School District Foundation to support its three-year playing fields campaign;
- $2,000 to the Kirkland Town Library for its Emergent Literacy Initiative; and
- $1,200 to the Kirkland Art Center to refinish the hardwood dance floor.
"Hamilton is proud to join with community leaders in making these grants each year," said college president Joan Hinde Stewart. "Doing so strengthens the community and the college's relationship with it."
The $30,000 awarded this year brings the total disbursed by the Town-Gown Fund to $84,000 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 $600,000. Approximately 5 percent of the income earned from the fund is available for grants each year.
Hamilton is committed to building the endowed fund to $1 million, according to Stewart. She said the Town-Gown Fund is listed as a priority in the capital campaign that 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.
