OSWEGO — Seven Oswego County not-for-profit organizations received grants from the Richard S. Shineman Foundation in its second grant round of 2019 at its July board meeting, the foundation announced.

The funded projects cover a wide range of focus areas, including health and welfare for children, education, arts and culture, civic benefit, and historical preservation, the Shineman Foundation said in a news release.

The grants will benefit Oswego County in several ways. The largest award — $100,000 — was given to Camp Talooli in Pennellville for its capital campaign to transform its facilities to year-round use, beginning with the new multi-purpose building: Nakomis Lodge. 

The Shineman Foundation made several health and welfare grants, including Integrated Community Planning, which was provided funding to spearhead a child-care expansion pilot program to fill the identified gaps of infant care and provision of care during non-standard hours. Blessings in a Backpack – Fulton Chapter received funding to feed children over the weekends for the upcoming school year.

In the education arena, the Shineman Foundation awarded Fitzhugh Park Elementary School a fourth-year grant to continue the expansion of its “very successful” Leader In Me program, the release stated.

The foundation made a capacity building grant to Oswego Opera Theatre to enhance its website and expand its marketing and social-media platforms. Another capacity building grant was provided to Fulton Youth Soccer for the renovation of its main facility building. 

The Pulaski Historical Society received funding from the Shineman Foundation to renovate and upgrade the Military Room in its Pulaski museum. 

The release didn’t break out the amount of funding for each individual grant.

The mission of the Shineman Foundation is to be a “catalyst for change” to enhance the quality of life in Oswego County. The foundation says it uses its resources to fuel economic vitality, to encourage strong social bonds that improve the community, and to build the capacity of its nonprofit partners.

SYRACUSE — LiteracyCNY announced that its board of directors recently appointed five new board members from area organizations. They are:

• Mary Katherine Buckley, audit manager, Fust Charles Chambers 

• John Maas, regional director, Office of the New York State Attorney General 

• Caitlin Moriarty, director of membership, CenterStateCEO, Tech Garden 

• Crystal Rhode, marketing coordinator, C&S Companies 

• Mike O’Shea, CPA and tax principal, Firley Moran 

LiteracyCNY also announced that its newly elected board president is Bill Kriesel, managing member of Diversified Capital Management LLC. 

Bill Kriesel expressed enthusiasm for the new class of board members. “The energy and backgrounds of the new board members will be a great addition to our organization. We have spent the last few years focusing on adding board members from all sectors, including business, government and academia,” he said in a news release. “I think with these new members, our board now has a broad mix of expertise and experience, which will help us accomplish our mission.” 

Other newly elected officers for the LiteracyCNY board are: Jon Mathews, Syracuse Marriott Downtown hotel manager, as VP; Marlena Daher-Rahman, Syracuse Educational Opportunity Center director of community engagement, as secretary; and Richard Sargent, an attorney, as treasurer.

LiteracyCNY’s mission is to provide adults in Central New York with the literacy tools and skills that they need to be contributing, productive, and engaged members of the community. It advocates for adult education, providing instruction, and partnering with other community-based agencies. LiteracyCNY says it enrolled more than 350 adult students last year and consistently exceeds its New York Department of Education mandates.