Friday night, community members from Carman and the surrounding area shared a meal in celebration of the Carman Area Foundation (CAF).

The annual fundraising dinner gives the CAF a chance to give grants back into the community and receive donations to continue building their fund. This year, those grants saw an extra $3,500 from the Carman Collegiate Youth in Philanthropy group.

"The Carman Youth in Philanthropy group are involved in giving back to the community through fundraising events such as the family movie night in the theatre and other events," says Aivery Peckover, one of eight students from the Collegiate.

"The family movie nights were well-attended, so thank you to the community for their support with our fundraising efforts . . . We again this year collected non-perishable donations or toys for the Christmas Cheer Board, and we are hosting barbeques this year," she adds.

Donna Pritchard is the school advisor for the group and says they renewed their partnership with the CAF in December, 2018.

"We're very very happy that we've continued on three more years with the youth in philanthropy group working together with the Carman Area Foundation."

She says, the partnership between the school's philanthropy group and the CAF is important for those directly involved, and the organizations and community members impacted by the grants. It also provides "a sense of accomplishment, pride, and belonging for the students."

CAF board chair Barry Gosnell has been around to see this partnership grow successfully for a number of years, and says he's always excited to see the students continue their good work after leaving high school.

"We're just really happy about this program," he says.

In total, $79,313 in grants were given back for the 2019 year bringing total grant funding to date to $721,193.

Aivery Peckover and Donna Pritchard.