Teens pack confidence into backpacks for Bay County kids

Teens pack confidence into backpacks for Bay County kids

This article is part of an ongoing #InspiringGenerosity series highlighting people, agencies, and programs the Bay Area Community Foundation supports.

Teens from the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) of the Bay Area Community Foundation helped 500 kids get ready to return to school this month.

YAC – established through a match challenge grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in the 1990s – began with an endowment fund that has since become a significant source of support for youth-driven projects.

If you talk to someone from the organization, most will tell you that one of their favorite projects is a back-to-school partnership between YAC, the Bay Area Community Foundation, and the United Way of Bay County.

The project has the teens collecting school supplies and then filling 500 backpacks. Pulling it off requires teamwork, leadership, organization, and all-hands-on-deck assembly line to get the bags packed and distributed before school starts.

Ian Anderson, a senior at Bay City Central High School and YAC Chairman, says he is proud of distributing hundreds of backpacks each year filled with school supplies as part of the program.

“It definitely affects the youth,” Ian says.

Read more about the Barbara and Gary Bosco Back 2 School Program in this June 19 Route Bay City article. 

The backpack project is far from the only one the YAC coordinates. Over the years, the YAC endowment has grown to nearly $2 million and has granted out more than $1.8 million to support a variety of community needs and innovative opportunities.

YAC members are responsible for deciding how to allocate $80,000 in grant funds every year. Grant decision meetings take place twice a year, in the fall and spring. Applicants propose projects addressing various needs of youths throughout the region.

In 2025, the Bay Area Community Foundation invited YAC members to take an active role in the Give Local Bay 24-hour fundraising drive.

Bringing the teens into the event was about more than raising money, says Nicole Horn, Donor Relations and Communications Officer for the Bay Area Community Foundation.

“We want to teach them about philanthropy and, hopefully, they can encourage other youths to come check things out,” Horn says.

Read more about the teens and Give Local Bay in this April 17 Route Bay City article.

The YAC endowment has not only provided financial support to important causes but has also empowered Bay Area youth to take on leadership roles in their community. As the fund continues to grow, so too does the impact of these dedicated young individuals who are committed to making a difference. 

Area youth interested in getting involved in YAC should contact Aaron Faist, Program Officer at Bay Area Community Foundation at 989-893-4438 or aaronf@bayfoundation.org.