The Darien Youth Community Fund Announces First-Ever Jingle Jog!

Written by YCF student Margaret Williams

Stay active during the holiday season and support a great cause at the same time with the Darien Youth Community Fund’s first-ever Jingle Jog fundraiser!  Run or walk as much as you can between Sunday, December 13 and Thursday, December 24 and track your mileage for sponsor pledges. The funds raised will be directed towards the Youth Community Fund (YCF) grant pool, which will ultimately be allocated towards nonprofits working to combat homelessness and hunger in lower Fairfield County. 

Participants will sign up through The Community Fund of Darien’s website at www.communityfunddarien.org as either a student ($5 for youth - 18 years) or an adult ($10 for 19 years and older.) Participants will also have the option of creating a team to compete with, and will be able raise money for the YCF grant pool through sponsorships (either individual or team-wide.).  Support a Jingle Jog participant over the “12 Days of Cheer” with a one time donation, or a donation per mile -- it’s up to you!  

Through the course of the event, there will be a daily prize drawing (for which all registrants are eligible) including gift certificates to stores and eateries around town. At the end of the twelve days, additional prizes will be awarded to the team and the individual who has raised the most money.
​
The Youth Community Fund (YCF), one of The Community Fund of Darien’s four youth groups, is composed of approximately 50 high school students from Darien High School and local private schools who learn about philanthropy, local human service needs, and the role of nonprofits in our community. Members participate in a variety of volunteer projects at different local nonprofit organizations. YCF students also help to fundraise to add money to their grant pool. Students select a group of local nonprofit organizations to apply for funding and decide how to  allocate approximately $12,000 in grants to the local nonprofits.