LeVeck joins ACCF as IMPACT Youth Council director

ASHLAND – Ashland County Community Foundation is pleased to welcome Ashland native and Ashland City Schools teacher Sarah LeVeck as director of the foundation’s IMPACT Youth Council.

The foundation is retaining LeVeck on a contracted basis beginning this month as she prepares to lead the council starting with the 2021-2022 school year.

ACCF President/CEO Jim Cutright said he believes LeVeck is the perfect fit for the position, which is all about inspiring young people to give back to their community.

LeVeck, along with fellow teacher Jarrod Vance, led Ashland Middle School students in a special project to create DK PlayZone, a new playground at Ringler Field. ACCF served as fiscal sponsor and also provided a grant to support the project.

“Through working with Sarah on that project, I became so impressed with her understanding of how to communicate with students the need to get involved in their community in a philanthropic way,” Cutright said.

IMPACT is an acronym for Imagine Making Philanthropy an Ashland County Tradition. The IMPACT Youth Council is a group of high school students from Ashland County schools who meet monthly to learn about philanthropy, explore the role of a community foundation and discover various opportunities for youth in Ashland County. At the end of the nine-month program, students on the council are given the authority to make grants to programs and projects that serve local youth.

The program is funded through a combination of endowment distributions from the CUTTY Fund for Youth Empowerment, generous annual support from an anonymous donor and unrestricted dollars directed by ACCF’s board.

Cutright launched the IMPACT program in 2015 with strong leadership from Ginny Telego, who served as director for five years.

“We will always be grateful to Ginny for an outstanding start to this program,” Cutright said.

This past year, COVID-19 restrictions prompted ACCF to offer an abbreviated version of the program, run in-house by foundation staff, with only returning students participating.  All students who would have been new to the program last year will be offered seats in the coming school year.

In planning for the post-pandemic future of the program, ACCF staff recognized the need for support from someone with LeVeck’s passion and skills.

LeVeck is eager to engage with students and serve the community in her new role.

“Youth are hungry for significance but often just aren’t sure where to start, with limited resources and experiences at their disposal,” she said. “Through this position at the community foundation, I look forward with joy and excitement to empowering and mobilizing students’ energy, desire and optimism to be stewards of generosity and servant leaders within our community.”

LeVeck teaches math at Ashland Middle School. She also serves as chair of the mathematics department and as a gifted intervention specialist.

Along with her husband, Lance, LeVeck has three children. She is a member of Park Street Brethren Church.

ACCF is currently accepting applications for the IMPACT Youth Council. Sophomores, juniors and seniors from Ashland, Hillsdale, Loudonville and Mapleton high schools as well as the Ashland-West Holmes Career Center or home schools may apply online at www.ashlandforgood.org/impact-youth-council.

About Ashland County Community Foundation: Ashland County Community Foundation advances philanthropy and improves the quality of life in Ashland County by connecting people who care with causes that matter. ACCF has awarded over $18 million in scholarships, grants and distributions.