Community Foundation for Livingston County Partners with Leadership Livingston to Promote Civic Leadership

Howell, MI, November 19, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The Community Foundation for Livingston County has partnered with Leadership Livingston to promote civic leadership throughout the county.

Leadership Livingston is a program that was initiated by Cleary University and the Brighton and Howell Chambers of Commerce in 1992 to cultivate and support community leadership. It was modeled after similar leadership development programs operating successfully across the country. It brings together individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences who have demonstrated a talent for and a commitment to leadership.

The Community Foundation for Livingston County is offering $20,000 in challenge grants to boost awareness of Leadership Livingston’s activities and support worthwhile nonprofit projects in Livingston County. Leadership Livingston’s adult and youth leadership teams each received $10,000 for a project that will benefit residents of the county.

The teams were asked to consider a variety of potential projects and to select and “pitch” their top choices to the Community Foundation Advisory Committee. The winning projects were selected by the Community Foundation at a joint meeting at Cleary University on October 23.

The youth group project winner, Lacy’s Love Dog Biscuits, is a project of Pathway School in Howell, a school for special needs children from across the county. One hundred students have created a dog biscuit business, making, selling and distributing dog biscuits to help them gain business skills and employment experience. The students will use their $10,000 Community Foundation funding to develop a marketing program and a website platform to expand distribution and boost mail order sales.

The adult group will map the presence of automated external defibrillator (AED) units across the county and place these lifesaving devices where they are needed most. The project will utilize cutting edge mapping technology, and will work in partnership with police departments and EMS units across the county. It will also raise awareness in the community about Sudden Cardiac Arrest and how to respond to it.

The AED mapping project is tapping the public for help in the mapping process, encouraging people to form teams to download a mobile app that will facilitate locating and reporting the devices. Groups and individuals can register at hearthunt.org.

“Our partnership with Leadership Livingston allows the Community Foundation to capitalize on and support outstanding work that is going on in our county and help take it to the next level,” said Doris Ostrander, Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Community Foundation for Livingston County. “Both our organizations are here to improve life in our community through volunteer and charitable activities and we very much complement one another.”

For more information about how you can support the Community Foundation for Livingston County, contact Lindsey Rossow-Rood at lrossow@cfsem.org or 313-961-6675.

The Community Foundation for Livingston County, founded in 1991, has awarded more than $600,000 in grants to support and improve the public well being and quality of life in the areas of human services, the arts, civic affairs, education, health and the environment in Livingston County. The Foundation also has established 16 funds to recognize individuals and businesses in Livingston County, growing the Foundation endowment and related fund to $1 million.

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is a full-service philanthropic organization leading the way to positive change in our region. As a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations, the Community Foundation supports a wide variety of activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development and civic affairs. Since its inception, the Community Foundation has distributed more than $657 million through more than 49,000 grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair and Livingston counties. For more information, please visit cfsem.org.