High school students from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois’ In Youth We Trust Council selected Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity’s East High School Build as the recipient of a $5000 grant. Students and leaders from In Youth We Trust joined leaders from Habitat (including Executive Director Keri Asevedo and Board President Peter Schmeling) on the construction site to present the check. 

In Youth We Trust is a youth philanthropy program of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois. The program aims to teach high school age students skills like grantmaking, volunteerism, and leadership skills. These students are also involved in administering the In Youth We Trust Grant Program, which means they decide how to distribute funds to community organizations.

Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity is honored and humbled to receive a portion of this grant. Habitat builds strength, stability, and self-reliance through increasing access to safe and affordable housing in the Rockford community. Habitat’s partnership with Rockford Public Schools allows high school students to have hands-on learning experiences to gain skills in construction trades—students enrolled in construction courses at East High School, for example, are in the process of building a Habitat house from the ground up. The home is on track to be completed later this spring or early summer and will be purchased by a local family through Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership opportunity. 

The funds from In Youth We Trust helped to cover the costs for the roof of the East High School Build. This is such an incredible picture of how young people are making a difference in our community. The grant distributed by the dedicated high school students involved with In Youth We Trust, as well as the hard work of the East High School students who are constructing the Habitat for Humanity home, will both create lasting change in Rockford.