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Grants Honor Samantha Otte’s Life & Legacy

Samantha Otte Youth Opportunity Fund with the Community Foundation awards grants for youth opportunity

Today, on what would be Samantha Otte’s 30th birthday, twenty-two area nonprofit organizations received grants in her memory that will benefit hundreds of area youth for artistic, leadership, and humanitarian efforts. 

The grants, totaling more than $32,000, were distributed from the Samantha Otte Youth Opportunity Fund with the Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois & Northeast Missouri at the Quincy Public Library in the presence of her family and friends. 

The Samantha Otte Youth Opportunity Fund honors the life and spirit of Samantha Otte by helping others. Samantha passed away in March 2000 at age 10 after a liver transplant necessitated by cystic fibrosis. Since the fund was established in late 2000, more than $400,000 has been distributed through grants in Samantha’s memory.

“We are deeply grateful Samantha's life has continued to make a positive difference for thousands of local children. Because of the incredible sustained support for the Samantha Otte Youth Opportunity Fund, Samantha's legacy has brightened the future for our most disadvantaged youth,” said June Otte, Samantha’s mother. “We are humbled and comforted to know her zest for life now lives on for so many children benefiting from the good programs in the Quincy area. We are forever indebted to all who have made these blessings possible.”
The Samantha Otte Youth Opportunity Fund was supported until 2014 by proceeds from the Sammy Fund Weekend. In 2015, the Quincy Breakfast Kiwanis Club announced it would continue a Sammy & Kids Golf Outing and donate a portion of the proceeds to the Fund for continued growth. 
“We are so grateful for the Community Foundation and the Samantha Otte Youth Opportunity Fund for supporting the NEA Big Read: Quincy during the month of February,” said Kathleen Helsabeck, Quincy Public Library Executive Director. “This grant money will help us provide over 3,000 books to the community, a majority of which are for children. Grant monies will support early childhood literacy, which is key for long-term academic success and emotional well-being for kids in our community.”

Grants were awarded to the following organizations:

  • Adams County Farm Bureau Foundation Ag in the Classroom initiative, increasing children’s awareness of the ways agriculture affects their lives
  • Bella Ease Teen Reach College Bound program, providing financial assistance for first-generation college students
  • Cheerful Home Child Care & Early Learning Center "Kiddie Kushion” mulch for playground
  • Cornerstone: Foundations for Families Comprehensive Youth Services program
  • Cornerstone: Foundations for Families Activities for youth counseling clients
  • Girl Scouts of Central Illinois Girl Scout school outreach program and camperships for girls in need of financial assistance
  • Griggsville-Perry Community School District #4 Foundation Playground swings at middle school
  • Jackson-Lincoln Swimming Complex, Inc. Seasonal passes to allow low-income youth to access the pool and family-friendly activities
  • John Wood Community College Foundation JDUB Academy tuition assistance
  • John Wood Community College Foundation Financial assistance for participants in the College for Life Program
  • Junior Achievement Financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work readiness education for K-12 students
  • Muscular Dystrophy Association MDA Camp scholarship for low-income Quincy and West Central Illinois children
  • My Brotha's and My Sista's Keepers Crisis assistance for area children through the Keeper’s Project
  • Quincy Community Theatre Two monthly scholarships for low-income children to attend QCT classes
  • Quincy Public Library Support for 2020 “Big Read” initiative, providing 2,000 books to local children
  • Quincy Public Schools District #172 Water therapy program at the YMCA
  • Quincy Society of Fine Arts/Arts Quincy Instant Arts classroom & Community Arts Access program support
  • Quincy Symphony Orchestra Association Tuition scholarship for low-income participants in Youth Choir and Youth Orchestra and for the purchase of printed music
  • The Art Center smART Kids Program
  • Transitions of Western Illinois Foundation Mobile listening center for students at Transitions School 
  • United Way of Adams County, Inc. Good News of Christmas campaign
  • YMCA of West Central Illinois - Quincy Family YMCA Swim lessons and water safety education for up to 72 financially challenged Quincy area children
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