Court Appointed Special Advocates of North Mississippi was one of ten non-profit organizations to receive a grant at the North East Mississippi Youth Foundation’s Annual Press Conference on Sunday at First United Methodist Church in Tupelo.

NEMYF was established by the CREATE Foundation to give teenagers in our region a place to learn about giving back, getting involved, helping others and improving our region.

The 2021-2022 NEMYF board of directors consists of 49 11th and 12th graders from 25 high schools across 14 counties. These counties include Alcorn, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Clay, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Lowndes, Monroe, Oktibbeha, Pontotoc, Tippah, Tishomingo, and Union.

Since its founding in 2001, the NEMYF board members have grown the endowment to over $173,000. The priority of this funding is to support programs related to four focus areas – youth, special needs and human services, education, and the arts. Each year the cohort can spend up to 4% of the endowment on grants that help youth in our region. The group has collectively given over $53,000 in grants. This year, the grant awards totaled $5,520.

CASA, representing Lafayette County, was issued a $460 check. The grant will help CASA and its advocates address the best interests of abused and neglected children in Lafayette County.