Shineman Foundation’s grants include conservation aid

Awards funding to Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust

OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Richard S. Shineman Foundation announced that 12 not-for-profit organizations earned grant awards totaling $248,000 at its November board meeting.

It was the last of three 2021 grant rounds in this “unprecedented year of the continued coronavirus pandemic,” the foundation said in a Nov. 22 news release. The funded projects represent a diverse cross-section of community organizations in health and human services, education, civic benefit, and conservation.

The Shineman Foundation grants included an award to Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust to build its conservation capacity in northern Oswego County and other counties in the northern part of New York state. Watertown–based Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust says its mission is to protect the wildlands, working forests, and farms of the Tug Hill region and surrounding areas, and to promote appreciation of the region’s natural and cultural heritage — for present and future generations. That includes Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, and Oneida counties.

The Shineman Foundation’s largest grant award, $52,500, went to Victory Transformation, to fund the completion of preliminary renovations for its Men’s Shelter/Center at 24 E. Oneida St. in Oswego. Another commitment of $50,000 was made to the Desens House at 264 W. Second St. in Oswego to create a resource center that will serve as a comprehensive community link between women in recovery and the resources the community provides, the foundation stated.

Other health and human services awards went to ARISE Child and Family Services to purchase a storage container for the ramps in its ramp program; David’s Refuge for provision of respite/caregiver support to Oswego County parents and guardians of children with special needs; and Fulton’s Blessings in a Backpack for its weekend backpack program for 250 K-6 children in the Fulton City School District. 

The Shineman Foundation awarded five education grants to organizations expanding their outreach within Oswego County. It provided to funding to the Museum of Science and Technology for its digital theatre/planetarium upgrade and its “Oswego County Discovery Sessions” science program, which will bring a virtual or in-person 45-minute classroom-based science demonstration to all 78 sixth-grade classes in 16 school buildings in Oswego County; the Oswego Bookmobile to provide the remaining funds needed to purchase a new bookmobile for use in the summer of 2022; and to Fulton City Schools for the expansion of a community-involved endeavor allowing for families to participate in sap collection and the creation of a finished maple-syrup product. Foundation grants also went to the Boy Scout Longhouse Council to enable it to update its outdated technology and serve more youths across the county; and the St. Lawrence Valley Educational TV Council for the creation of seven Oswego County segments on WPBS Weekly shows. 

A civic benefit/revitalization grant was also given to Girl Scout Troop 10871 in Central Square to fund phase two of its inclusive playground in 2022. 

The Shineman Foundation says its mission is to be a catalyst for change and to enhance the quality of life in Oswego County. The foundation says it engages in charitable activities to stimulate economic vitality, encourage strong social bonds that strengthen the community, and to build the capacity of its not-for-profit partners.