The Hamilton College Town-Gown Fund celebrated its 10th anniversary by distributing a record $52,020 to eight local organizations.
The fund targets educational, cultural and public safety organizations in the Town of Kirkland. It has now distributed more than $318,000 since five grants totaling $10,000 were first awarded in 2001.
This year, four of the eight grants went to public safety organizations, including $8,600 to the Clinton Fire Department to purchase new turnout gear, $5,670 for the Kirkland Police Department to obtain 10 mobile radios, $4,300 to the Clark Mills Fire Department to buy a “Rescue Randi” for emergency training and new radio equipment for volunteers, and $4,000 to the Central Oneida County Volunteer Ambulance Corps (COCVAC) to support its use of an electronic patient care reporting system.
The largest grant, $15,750, will be used by the Clinton Central School District to replace the outdoor display sign on Chenango Avenue with an electronic message board and to purchase an electronic message board for inside the high school. The Clinton Central School Foundation was awarded $5,500 for its annual campaign, the A Better Chance Program was presented $5,000 to celebrate its upcoming 40th anniversary and to make interior upgrades to the ABC House on Campus Road, and the Clinton Youth Foundation received $3,200 to paint the Boynton Pool.
“My colleagues on the Town-Gown Committee and I take pleasure in making these investments in the Town of Kirkland,” said Hamilton President Joan Hinde Stewart. “It is a joy to support those who educate our children, protect us and care for us when we need assistance, and provide recreational opportunities during the summer months. I am deeply grateful to all who have supported this fund since it was established a decade ago.”
The Hamilton College Town-Gown Fund was created in 2001 by anonymous donors to foster goodwill and better communication between the college, the Town of Kirkland and the Village of Clinton. Since its founding, the endowed fund has received donations totaling nearly $1 million. Each year, income earned from investing the fund is used to make grants to organizations in the Town of Kirkland.
In addition to Stewart, members of the Town-Gown Committee include local businesspeople John Fehlner of the Clinton Cider Mill, Tom Owens of ACCESS Federal Credit Union and Linda McHarris of the Artists Corner; former Mayor of Clinton Gill Goering; Clinton Schools Interim Superintendent Pat Curtin; Hamilton Professor of English Margaret Thickstun; Hamilton alumnus and Hamilton Point Investment Advisors President Andrew Burns; businessman and Town of Kirkland Councilman Mike O’Neill; and Hamilton trustees Amy Owens Goodfriend and Jack Withiam. Goodfriend is a native of Clinton.
Hamilton Vice President for Communications and Development Dick Tantillo and Executive Director of Communications Mike Debraggio sit on the committee as ex officio members.
