Youth Philanthropy Interns with the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies have created a series of radio documentaries in partnership with The Saturday Light Brigade. The series, titled Inclined to Care, Lifting the Alleghenies to New Heights, 2017, is the culmination of weeks of research into community needs throughout Bedford, Cambria, Indiana and Somerset counties.
The Youth Philanthropy Internship is an immersion study of nonprofits, how they operate, and the people they serve. Local college-bound high-school graduates spend six weeks researching, visiting, and interviewing grass-roots operatives and civic leaders to assess community needs. Then these interns create two $25,000 funding opportunities based on their research, they review applications, and they decide how to spend the money. Funding is provided by The Heinz Endowments.
Our interns work with the Pittsburgh-based Saturday Light Brigade to document their experiences in sound. You can find their work online at neighborhoodvoices.org. 
This year’s group created four pieces, plus bonus tracks:
Johnstown Power Play – Adeline Mishler & Ethan Wingard, based on interviews with Holly Lees (Hockeyville Applicant), Ron Robertson (Cambria County Commissioners Office), Derek Partsch (Johnstown Tomahawks), Dana Henize (Pittsburgh Penguins), and John Dubnansky (Cambria County).
The Paintbrush is Just the Beginning – Alexis Buncich & Kelsey Hunsberger, based on interviews with Bridget Mayak (Artist), Mary Lee Stotler (Laurel Arts), and Jody Best (Confluence Art Center)
Sex Trafficking in Smalltown America – Aiden Stuart & Nikki Wright, based on interviews with Erika Brosig (Victim Services Inc.), Pam Vyhonsky (Conemaught Hospital), and Carla Smith (Emmanuel Baptist Church).
Hidden in Plain Sight – Justin Rovder & Ayanna Sellers, based on interviews with Danielle Bowers (Martha and Mary House) and Lisa Wengerd (Next Step Center).
BONUS TRACK: Senior Interns J.T. Durica and Olivia Oravic based on interviews with the current CFA interns.
This is an insightful group of young people, with a passion for making the Alleghenies a vibrant, forward-thinking, place to live, work, and play. Click here to listen to their documentaries.
