Current News

Cattaraugus Gives, the Cattaraugus region's day of giving, led by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, will return this year on Dec. 3 to continue its growth in raising funds and awareness for nonprofits and charitable causes in the region.

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation's Nonprofit Networking Day will provide four different breakout sessions focused on purposeful strategies for immediate action, hosted by some of the area's top nonprofit and business professionals.

The Golf "Fore" Heroes Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation recently made possible an $8,046 grant to Wounded Warrior Project, bringing the annual golf tournament committee's efforts to a total of over $35,000 since 2015.

Five Ten Broeck Academy/Franklinville Central School District students received Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation-managed scholarships this year, including awards from two new scholarship funds.

Five Portville Central School graduates recently received scholarships managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, including three scholarships being awarded for the first time in 2019.

Ten Portville Central School graduates recently received scholarships from the Portville College Scholarships Fund, managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, together receiving $3,900.

Three recent Ellicottville Central School graduates received scholarships from funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, together receiving $2,500.

Starting September 1, the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation will hold a 25-day trivia contest on its Facebook page, with the daily winners receiving a $100 grant for a nonprofit in Cattaraugus County or CRCF Fund of the winner's choice.

Six Allegany-Limestone Central School students recently received scholarships managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, totaling $20,000.

Six Olean High School graduates recently received scholarships from funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, together receiving $5,700.

Six Olean High School graduates recently received scholarships from funds established in memory of former area residents and managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Applications for 2019 grants from the Mental Wellness in Cattaraugus County Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation will be due October 1.

Seven Olean High School graduates are among those who recently received scholarships managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

David O. Egner, CEO and president of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, will deliver the keynote address at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation's ninth annual Nonprofit Networking Day on Oct. 11.

Five recent Hinsdale Central School and Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School graduates recently received scholarship awards from scholarship funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Four area graduates recently received scholarship awards for local student athletes from scholarship funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Four area graduates and current college students recently received scholarships managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation that support students pursuing degrees in the education/teaching and law enforcement field.

Four area graduates and current college students recently received scholarships managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation to support them in their pursuit of a nursing education.

Four area high school graduates each recently received the $10,000 John J. Murphy Family Scholarship managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Six recent area graduates recently received the Gregory D. Spring Perseverance Scholarship, an annual scholarship managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Four aspiring business students recently received the Chautauqua Cattaraugus Board of Realtors Scholarship at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

At its 12th annual Friends of the Foundation Luncheon the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation had the opportunity to celebrate its 25th anniversary while honoring two individuals seminal to the Foundation's growth over its 25-year existence and to the community as a whole, Drs. Ahmad and Naheed Hilal, as well as the 92 students who received scholarships in 2019.

Four recent area graduates recently received the Burt Scholarship, an annual scholarship managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Six area graduates recently received the Daniel McCarthy Scholarship, managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, to support their goals of pursuing careers in business.

Five area graduates received the Jonathan Teuscher Scholarship, a four-year scholarship managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, together receiving $12,500 over the four years of the award.

Five Otto-Eldred High School (PA) graduates recently received the Bob and Barbara McCord Scholarship, together totaling $5,000, from the Bob and Barbara McCord Scholarship Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Four recent area graduates received scholarships managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, $2,400 in total, to pursue degrees in health care- and education-related fields.

A number of area nonprofit organizations recently received support from endowment funds at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, together totaling over $15,000.

Two recent Otto-Eldred High School (PA) graduates recently received awards from scholarship funds that benefit OEHS graduates managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

The Bartlett Pro-Am tournament is known for bringing some of the area's best golfers together in competition, but the tournament now has a second important mission - supporting area students pursuing an education in business.

The playground at the YMCA's Olean Early Learning and Child Care Center will receive a facelift this summer, thanks in part to a $2,000 grant from the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation's Community Fund. The Olean Early Learning and Child Care Center's original building, which provides care for over 100 families each year, was built in 1991, and the playground equipment at the facility is, according to YMCA officials, in need of replacement.

Drs. Ahmad and Naheed Hilal have left an indelible mark on the Olean community with their contributions to medicine, education, philanthropy and community service. In recognition of the wide impact they both have had on the community, the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation will honor Drs. Ahmad and Naheed Hilal as the 2019 Friends of the Foundation.

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation recently hired Susan Fiske as full-time accounting and finance manager. Fiske holds a diverse background in nonprofit and foundation accounting. She has both served as an accountant for foundations and audited foundations as a Certified Public Accountant.

Chris Perks grew up skateboarding in a town that did not have a dedicated skate park. "We were always looking for places to skate," Perks recalled. "We usually ended up skating in parking lots or in the street; of course that created some friction between us and the local businesses and law enforcement. As often as we could, we would drive out of town - usually to Jamestown, but sometimes as far away as Rochester or Pittsburgh or Ohio - to skate indoor/outdoor parks."

Karen Zale was given the opportunity to tell an important story through "The Write Stuff" program at Franklinville's Blount Library. That story was about her father, a World War II vet who survived the torture of being a prisoner of war and, later, the torture of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. That story became The Will To Survive 433, which Zale self-published.

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation recently named Jackie Nelson full-time database manager and donor services manager.

When the Redding family of Hinsdale decided to establish a fund to support third grade classrooms in Hinsdale and Olean as well as the Hinsdale Volunteer Fire Department, they did so quietly. But that did not stop word from spreading as far as California - to a third-grade teacher from Hinsdale who retired to the Bay area.

For a good part of the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation's 25-year history, the unrestricted Community Fund has played an instrumental part in the organization's mission to Grow Good in the community. The fund has made possible grants to projects supporting everything from downtown economic revitalization, healthy eating initiatives, community gardens, area disaster relief, keeping area seniors active and more.

The Reisner family has a long philanthropic history, and the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation owes a good bit of its history to the Reisners' dedication to supporting the community through that philanthropy. Three major endowments at CRCF bear the Reisner family name, the Doris Reisner Endowment Fund, Lewis and Doris Reisner Fund and Walter and Ruth Reisner Fund - together consisting of some $600,000.

The Cattaraugus County Department of the Aging brought the joy of pets to members of the Linwood Social Adult Day Program at Intandem on "National Puppy Day" in the form of therapy dogs, Maddy and Sunny, and a number of robotic dogs and cats becoming infamous for their own therapeutic benefits.