Annual Report Your Story: Our Legacy - Gratiot County Community ...

Giving Comes Full Circle8Teenager JakeHirschman firstlearned about theYouth AdvisoryCouncil (YAC) afterhis parents attendedthe YAC TalentShowcase. Theywere very impressedand suggested thathe might want tojoin YAC. He was asophomore at AlmaHigh School whenhe attended his firstYAC meeting in 2000.He recalls that thegroup consisted of aJake Hirschman, YAC Alumnus and Foundation Volunteerhandful of guys and alot of girls. The girls, however, were not the sole attraction. He enjoyed thegroup because “…there was always something interesting, a lot of varietyin the activities.” As a YACer he enjoyed working with senior citizens aswell as with elementary school students.One year he served as President of YAC and learned about the process ofgrantmaking. His experiences in YAC prompted him in college to becomeinvolved with organizations where he could encourage philanthropy.Now an Ithaca businessman and a volunteer on the Foundation’sDevelopment Committee, Jake values the Foundation because its wholepurpose is to help others. Jake said, “There is no one thing that stands outin the Foundation’s activities. It does so many things and so many thingswell.”8