Lebanon — Nine youth-led projects planned for throughout Boone Count received funding from Boone County Youth as Resources Sunday.

The spring YAR awards were presented Sunday afternoon during a program and reception at Arc Rehabilitation Services in Lebanon.

In all more than $6,800 was awarded. Members of youth groups and individuals developed the ideas and applied for the grants from Boone County Youth as Resources, a program of United Way of Central Indiana. YAR anticipates that more than 250 young people will volunteer as part of the projects receiving funding.

The projects, the YAR grant amount and the groups winning the grants include:

n Operation Courtyard — The Sequel, $452. The Zionsville High School Friends of the Courtyard will landscape the math and science courtyard at Zionsville High School.

n Dunk Out Bad Choices, $905.92. Lebanon High School Tiger X Alternative will continue its safe student initiative. This grant will help the club provide an opportunity, during home football games this fall, for students and the public to learn about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

n Bunches of Lunches, $698.59. Youth of Lebanon First Baptist Church will provide sack lunches to all of the children who attend their vacation Bible school program this summer.

n Wonders of the World, $1,644.18. The Teen Council of the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library will provide a summer reading program for teens in Zionsville. The project received a matching award from Youth Venture.

n TREE — Taking Responsibility for Earth’s Environments, $425. A group of friends from Zionsville Middle School will identify and label trees at Starkey Park in Zionsville.

n Operation Organizations, $853.20. The youth group of Thorntown Christian Church will renovate and organize a storm shelter/community room.

n Grandpa@yahoo.com, $210.19. Girl Scout Troop 249 will help teach senior citizens at a local retirement center how to use e-mail and other basic computer skills.

n Raising Gardens, $919.13. Boy Scout Troop 804 will rebuild the flower garden at the entrance of Lions Club Park in Zionsville. The project received a matching grant from Youth Venture.

n A Clean Sweep, $719.99. Boy Scout Troop 804 will clear and shred an area of overgrown shrubs along the Zionsville Rail Trail.

Featured speaker at the event was David Marden, a Lebanon High School student who is the Key Club Lt. Governor for the Sagamore Division.

“Being involved in service has helped me grow as a person,” Marden told the youths receiving grants Sunday. “Anyone can make a difference in someone’s life.”

Marden said that in addition to improving the community, young volunteers will find that they benefit themselves, by making friends, having fun and being more active.

“You can laugh with friends while making a difference in the community,” he said.

Marden said he moved a lot as a child, and he found middle school especially tough because of things going on in his personal life. That changed when he joined the Builder’s Club, a youth service organization of the Kiwanis club, in the eighth grade.

“I loved it,” he said. “I felt so much more comfortable with myself after I joined the club. Service has given me something to do when I feel useless.”

Marden said each of the volunteers have their own stories and assured them that their efforts do make a difference.

YAR’s board is made up of students and adults, and three board members leaving the board because they are graduating seniors were recognized at the event.

Emily Faggetti, the group’s secretary and a Western Boone High School senior, said she has enjoyed being on the board. “I feel it has made me community aware,” she said.

Laura Beth Padgett, the board’s co-chair and a Western Boone senior, said she learned a lot from participating on the board. “It taught me the value of volunteering,” she said. “It’s great to see that there are so many people rooting for our community to become a better place.”

Tyler Everett, a Lebanon High School senior, said he was happy to work with youth groups seeking funds for projects and understood the importance of having a place to go for funds. “Three years ago I got a grant for my Eagle project,” he said.

The next round of YAR awards will be this fall. Workshops for those interested in applying for a YAR grants will be Sept. 8, 14 and 24, and the next grant deadline will be Oct. 16. Program coordinator Amy Hammerle noted that next year YAR will go to just one grant cycle a year, and that will be in the fall.

Since its inception in 1996, Youth as Resources has awarded nearly 160 projects, engaged 4,300 youth volunteers and awarded more than $133,428 in Boone County.

For more information about YAR and the grant process, call Hammerle at (765) 482-9014 or contact her by e-mail at any.hammerle@uwci.org.