Cherokee Preservation Foundation Grant Will Support Development of a Swain County Youth Council

CHEROKEE, NC, October 21, 2008 – Cherokee Preservation Foundation announced it has made a $20,000 grant to support the creation and development of the Swain County Youth Council (SCYC).  The youth council will be open to Swain County middle and high school students who want to develop their leadership skills and be engaged in service projects addressing environmental stewardship.

Swain County youth learned about the concept of a youth council when they participated in a Southern Growth Policies Board youth forum sponsored by Cherokee Preservation Foundation.  The forum was facilitated by Cherokee Youth Council, a group that gives young enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians the opportunity to make their voices heard on issues that are important to them, serve their community and develop their leadership skills. The Cherokee Youth Council is driving recycling education on the Qualla Boundary and is engaged in other projects to make the Qualla Boundary green.

After Swain County youth expressed an interest in formed a council that would give them a voice and presence in their county, a grassroots effort took shape to establish the SCYC.  It will partner with the Swain County Cooperative Extension Service, Swain County Middle and High Schools, Cherokee Reservation and Graham County 4H Youth Development, Cherokee Youth Council and other community youth organizations. 

For more information about the Swain County Youth Council, interested youth should call Nira Franklin at the Swain County Cooperative Extension Service at 488-3848.

About Cherokee Preservation Foundation

Cherokee Preservation Foundation (www.cpfdn.org) was established on November 14, 2000, as part of the Second Amendment to the Tribal-State Compact between the EBCI and the State of North Carolina. It is an independent nonprofit foundation funded by the EBCI from gaming revenues generated by the Tribe. CPFdn is not part of or associated with any for-profit gaming entity. Since CPFdn’s inception in 2000, it has made 487 grants totaling nearly $40 million to EBCI and regional projects and programs that address cultural preservation, economic development and job creation, and environmental renewal and protection. Every dollar of CPFdn support has been matched by $1.41 in secured grants or other funding or in-kind resources, making CPFdn’s total contribution to the region more than $95 million.

For more information, contact Cherokee Preservation Foundation at 828/497-5550.