$174,950 Awarded in Sixth Competitive Round to Strengthen Quality of Life
WATERTOWN — Seventeen nonprofit organizations serving St. Lawrence County residents will share $174,950 in grant funding from the Rock Charitable Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation to preserve local history, maintain churches and cemeteries, and support U.S. military veterans in the region.
The legacy fund was established at the Community Foundation in 2019 through a bequest from St. Lawrence County resident and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Marjorie J. Rock, who passed away in February 2017 at age 96. Thanks to her thoughtful generosity and foresight, Ms. Rock’s desire to support St. Lawrence County will be perpetuated for generations to come.
“Because of Marjorie’s foresight and remarkable generosity, these projects can move forward when support for this kind of work is often hard to find,” said Kraig Everard, Community Foundation director of philanthropy. “Through the Community Foundation’s stewardship, her vision comes to life, supporting projects that reflect the fabric of St. Lawrence County communities.”
The following St. Lawrence County organizations will share $174,950 in grant support:
- Madrid Cemetery, $30,000 to support a four-phase restoration project for the Walsh Memorial Vault: replacing gable end vault caps, installing new steel doors, and repointing exterior stone walls.
- First Presbyterian Church, Gouverneur, $25,000 to help with a comprehensive restoration project that will preserve 52 Victorian stained-glass clerestory windows that are 133 years old throughout the Chapel.
- AMVETS Post 265, Parishville, $20,000 to help replace one of four DAV vans that serves St. Lawrence veterans and their medical needs. The new van will be stationed at the Potsdam AMVETS Post and will serve up to 90 individuals: some annually and others monthly.
- Village of Waddington, $20,000 to help restore the altar windows and storm glass at the village-owned St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, which the Waddington Historical Association occupies and uses for concerts, lectures, and other public events.
- St. Lawrence County Arts Council (SLC Arts), $12,000 to help create a Veterans Art Access Fund to provide arts programming for local veterans. The project seeks to directly engage 100 veterans and reach an additional 500 through outreach, with key objectives of reducing social isolation and improving community understanding. Grant funding will provide veterans with vouchers to attend any SLC Arts class, workshop, or community at no cost.
- Heuvelton Historical Association, $10,000 to support a restoration project that will involve repointing deteriorated stone masonry on the Water Street façade of Pickens Hall that was caused by decades of exposure to harsh road and weather conditions. Built in 1858, the building originally served as a mercantile store and opera house and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, Pickens Hall functions as a cultural and community hub, housing a general store, the Village Historical Museum, and offers spaces for performances, meetings, and other public gatherings.
- St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Norwood, $9,500 to help restore the Rose/Annunciation stained-glass window, a historically significant architectural feature central to the church’s identity over the front entrance. Grant funding will stabilize the window and prevent further deterioration of this prominent landmark.
- Town of Rossie, $9,000 to help complete a study to assess the condition and feasibility for stabilization and preservation of the Rossie Falls Old Stone Mill, which was established in 1810 and was once a vital industrial center in St. Lawrence County, known for iron and lead ore processing.
- Free Church Association of Pierrepont, $7,500 to support a building condition assessment that will help identify a strategy to permanently restore and preserve the historic church.
- Town of Hammond, $7,000 to help complete a building condition assessment that will recommend building reuse options and recommendations for appropriate preservation of its historic 1915 opera house, which has potential to become a performing arts and community center.
- Life In His Arms Community Church, North Lawrence, $5,800 for several priority carpentry projects in the former Methodist church that was built in 1865 or 1887 that the community church occupies. Projects include replacing the front steps and landing, replacing rotted boards, repairing or replacing storm windows, and soffit repairs.
- Salvation Army of Massena, $5,200 to help install new oak doors with oval glass leading into its Chapel.
- United Church of Madrid, $4,000 to help restore an historic stained transom window above the church entryway and bell tower. Window restoration was the focus of a recent capital campaign, and five other
windows are being restored at this time. - Woodland Cemetery Association, Fine, $3,500 to support purchase of paint for the vault, cement and mortar for repairs to straighten headstones, and for the removal of a tree in danger of falling that will likely damage nearby older stones.
- First Macomb/Oldsville Cemetery, $2,950 to help preserve this historic cemetery by removing hazardous trees. Grant funding will support the removal of several large, aging trees, within the cemetery grounds that pose a serious risk to nearby headstones.
- First Baptist Church of Oswegatchie, $2,500 to help construct a new handicap ramp tied directly into a stone driveway, ensuring safe access for all individuals, including seniors and those with mobility challenges.
- East DeKalb Cemetery Association, $1,000 to trim tree limbs hanging over the roadway and to remove two dead pine trees. This project will protect headstones, many belonging Veterans from the War of 1812, the Civil War, WW1, WW2, and the Vietnam War.
Since the Rock Charitable Fund began grantmaking efforts in 2019, it has awarded $876,258 in grant funding to support 59 projects at 54 St. Lawrence County organizations, including churches, cemeteries, places of historical significance and those supporting veterans of the United States military.
The Community Foundation administers this permanent charitable legacy fund in collaboration with a seven-member St. Lawrence County-based board of advisors that reviews applications and makes funding recommendations. Advisors include Ruth McWilliams, South Colton; Erik Backus, Potsdam; Fred Hanss, Hannawa Falls; Colin Hostetter, Lisbon; Chris Rediehs, Canton; Mark Thompson, Watertown; and Keith Zimmerman, Canton.
Applications for 2026 grant funding from the Rock Charitable Fund will be accepted beginning Tuesday, April 14, through the Community Foundation’s online grant portal at nnycf.org/grants. At least $125,000 in competitive funding is available this year. Applications are due Friday, September 4.
Grant support is available to qualified organizations whose missions and efforts align with the fund’s charitable purposes, which are: for the maintenance and preservation of churches and other houses of worship and cemeteries in St. Lawrence County; for the preservation and maintenance of places of legitimate historical significance in the county; and to benefit and/or assist veterans of the United States military who reside in St. Lawrence County for their medical and/or recreational needs. Grants in support of veterans cannot be made directly to individuals.
Contact Emily Pfeil, Community Foundation philanthropy associate, emily@nnycf.org, or 315-782-7110, to learn more about this opportunity.
About Marjorie J. Rock
Marjorie J. Rock grew up in St. Lawrence County and graduated from Heuvelton High School in 1937. In 1941, she graduated from the three-year nursing program at Flower Fifth Avenue School in New York City. The following year, she joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, serving in North Africa and Italy during World War II. After the war, she attended Teachers College at Columbia University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1948 and a Master of Arts in 1950.
She spent six years teaching in nursing programs, first as an instructor for Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and later at New York City’s Lennox Hill Hospital. She returned to active Army service in 1954 to assist with medical courses for enlisted personnel and helped to establish a medical education system, particularly in the United States, Japan, and Germany. She served as a supervisor, chief nurse, instructor, and director of an advance medical technician school. Her last overseas duty was in Vietnam.
In 1970, she retired from the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant Colonel and returned to St. Lawrence County, joining her mother in Ogdensburg to help with her care. She earned many honors during her Army service, including the Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal. Her only sibling, a brother, was killed in action in 1944 while piloting a P-47 Thunderbolt plane over Normandy. For the rest of her life, Ms. Rock made St. Lawrence County her home while traveling with friends, caring for others, and assisting her church and other organizations, including the Army Nurse Corps Association and other veterans’ groups. She maintained a keen interest in documenting local history and furthering the education of others in the county.
About the Northern New York Community Foundation
Since 1929, the Northern New York Community Foundation has invested in improving and enriching the quality of life for all in communities across Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
Through partnerships with businesses and organizations, charitable foundations, and generous families and individual donors, the Community Foundation awards grants and scholarships from an endowment and collection of funds that benefit the region. Its commitment to donors helps individuals achieve their charitable objectives now and for generations to come by preserving and honoring legacies of community philanthropy while inspiring others.
The Community Foundation is a resource for local charitable organizations, donors, professional advisors and nonprofit organizations. It also works to bring people together at its permanent home in the Northern New York Philanthropy Center to discuss challenges our communities face and find creative solutions that strengthen the region and make it a great place to live, work, and play.