A basketball tournament to promote awareness among teenagers about the dangers of cell phone texting while driving and another project designed to enhance the distribution of food to families in need are the 2010 recipients of two grants totaling $5,000 awarded by Loudoun and Fauquier high school students who are advisors for youth grant-making at the Piedmont Community Foundation.

The Loudoun Do Something Now Club in Purcellville and The Wakefield School Service Club in The Plains were awarded the grants funded by the S. Murray Rust and Mary H.C. Rust Student Philanthropy Project (SPP) administered by the Middleburg-based Piedmont Community Foundation.

The Rust fund was established in 2006 with the purpose of involving area students in philanthropic pursuits in their communities. Over the last four years, a total of $18,800 in grants has been distributed by the SPP. The students put out requests for proposals from youth and then decide which projects they would like to recommend for funding after evaluating applications submitted by individual student service organizations in both counties. Details can be found on the student's website www.ForwardTurn.org

The SPP is now in the process of registering interested students for the current school year who will be involved in awarding grants in 2011. Slots on the student steering committee are open for two students from each public and private high school, with home schooled students allotted four openings in Loudoun County and two in Fauquier.

The Wakefield student grant totals $3,000 and will be used to support the purchase and installation of a "Food Shed" for the Fauquier County Food Distribution Coalition (FCFDC). Every month, the coalition dispenses food at the United Methodist Church of Warrenton, and the new food storage shed will be located at the church.

"They would benefit greatly from a shed/facility to store boxes, carts and goods," read the Wakefield proposal. "Last year, the FCFDC fed about 185 households and 579 individuals every month…The shed will be a permanent contribution to assist the FCFDC in their efforts to help the growing number of needy in individuals and families within the region."

A grant of $2,000 will be used by the Loudoun Do Something Now Club in Purcellville to continue its sponsorship of a "Big Shots 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament" for teenagers in the spring of 2011, an annual event that began in 2009. The tournament, which also promotes awareness of the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse, is held at Purcellville High School and includes appearances by well-known professional athletes and other guest speakers. Last year, the club also received a grant for $2,500 to help fund the 2010 tournament.

"As an organization, we have realized that the numbers of teen accidents from texting while driving will only increase if something does not change," students wrote in their original grant proposal. "We hope to make a difference and help spread awareness for such a pending problem."

Registration forms for the Student Philanthropy Project steering committee are now available at school guidance offices or through the Piedmont Community Foundation at 101 N. Jay St. in Middleburg. The first orientation meeting for the steering committee will be held at the foundation on Oct. 9 from 10 a.m. to noon. For further information, contact PCF executive director Karen Krei at 540-687-5223 or Kkrei@verizon.net. Student meetings at the PCF offices are scheduled on the second Saturday of the month from October through May.

The Piedmont Community Foundation seeks to enhance the quality of life for all citizens of Loudoun and Fauquier counties and has awarded nearly $1 million in grants over its ten-year existence.