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Buena Vista Library receives its 2023 Chaffee County Youth Alliance (CCYA) Grant award check from representatives from the Buena Vista High School’s 5th Quarter teen council, members of CCYA. Pictured (l to r) are Anna Kate Gaston; Makenna St John; Beth Volpe, BV librarian; Gwen Cervenka; and Katy Cook.

CCYA Announces $10,150 in Awards to Local Youth-Serving Nonprofits

The Chaffee County Youth Alliance (CCYA) announced on Friday that it has awarded a total of $10,150 in grant funds through its sixth annual mini-grant program. The grants will support the work of eight local community nonprofits working with youth across Chaffee County. CCYA is a community-based prevention program promoting Positive Youth Development (PYD).

The 2023 CCYA grant awards ranged from $600 to $2,500 to help fund projects and programs focused on positive youth development in Chaffee County. This year’s PYD grant recipients included:

The funded proposals cover a wide range — but all focused on serving the county’s youth. They ranged from performance art and theater training and productions, to youth interns facilitating peer conflict resolution and story walk installation, to adolescent summer camp activities and youth leadership pathways, and backcountry skills training.

The CCYA has distributed more than $52,600 to local youth-serving community organizations since the launch of its mini-grant program in 2018.

CCYA serves as the local Communities that Care (CTC) coalition. It is a collaborative effort facilitated through Chaffee County Family & Youth Initiatives (FYI) housed within Chaffee County Department of Human Services.

The program called “Positive Youth Development” (PYD) is: “an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth… in a manner that is productive and constructive; recognizes, utilizes, and enhances young people’s strengths; and promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths.”

PYD is a hallmark of CCYA’s mission to create opportunities, remove barriers and allocate resources to cultivate positive relationships and promote youth and family wellbeing across Chaffee County.

CTC is an evidence-based prevention approach aimed at helping communities prevent youth risk problem behaviors before they develop, including use of alcohol, tobacco and other substances. These efforts are funded through the Colorado Department of Public Health, with the state marijuana tax cash fund. Learn more about CCYA and FYI at www.chaffeecountyfyi.org/copy-of-community-based-prevention.