MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards is also throwing his support behind the Chautauqua County 4-H Program. In a recent media release, Edwards stated that he attended the Chautauqua County Ag Day at the Winton Farms in Jamestown last week and talked with 4-H Director Emily Kidd.
During the conversation, Edwards learned that 4-H had recently established an endowment fund at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation and that the members of our 4-H program had committed to raising $2 million for the fund by 2017. The income that would be generated from the fund at the Community Foundation will be able to provide our 4-H program with the necessary funds that, when added to their annual fundraising efforts, will allow them to become self-sustaining. This endowment would then end the need for 4-H to petition for County taxpayer dollars to operate this excellent program.
Based on this new approach, Edwards said he will work to find bridge funding for the 4-H program in the 2013 County budget, which will enable the organization to focus its efforts on raising the money for the endowment. The news comes on the heels of a media release last month where both Republican Legislator Larry Barmore and Democrat Legislator Lori Cornell both came out saying they would work to find funding for the program in 2013 after it saw all of its support from the county removed in the 2012 Budget.
To find out how you can help the 4-H Program, please contact Emily Kidd at (716) 664-9502 or by email at eck47@cornell.edu.
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