JHS 100 Member Club Legacy Continues in Partnership with CRCF

For more than 80 years, Jamestown High School’s 100 Member Club has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to supporting Jamestown High School students through scholarships and educational enhancements. Today, that legacy is poised to continue for generations to come through a partnership with the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. 

The JHS 100 Member Club Board of Directors has approved plans to transfer the organization's assets to the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, where they will establish the JHS Alumni 100 Member Club Scholarship Fund, a permanent charitable fund dedicated to continuing the Club's longstanding support of Jamestown High School students. 

While the legal process includes dissolving the Club's standalone nonprofit corporation, leaders emphasize that the organization's mission is not ending. Rather, the partnership represents an intentional transition designed to strengthen and sustain the Club's impact well into the future. 

Since its founding in 1944, the JHS 100 Member Club has awarded scholarships to Jamestown High School graduates while also supporting educational and extracurricular opportunities that enrich the student experience. Over the years, the Club has been powered entirely by volunteers who have dedicated countless hours to fundraising, communications, scholarship administration, and organizational management. 

As with many volunteer-led organizations, maintaining those administrative responsibilities has become increasingly challenging. The Club's leadership recognized an opportunity to preserve its mission while allowing volunteers to focus less on administration and more on supporting students and honoring the Club's legacy. 

"After careful consideration, our Board recognized that the best way to preserve our mission was to partner with an organization whose expertise is aligned with our longstanding mission," said Cindy Lind Hanson, President of the JHS 100 Member Club. "This partnership ensures that the scholarships our donors and alumni honor and support will continue. The legacy we've built over decades is not disappearing—it's being strengthened and protected for future generations." 

Under the partnership, the Foundation will provide donor stewardship, scholarship administration, communications, and long-term fund oversight. Supporters will continue to receive communications regarding the Fund’s impact as well as opportunities to contribute.  

"Jamestown High School’s 100 Member Club has an extraordinary history and legacy in our community," said Tory Irgang, Executive Director of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. "It’s a privilege to partner with them and make certain that legacy continues forever. Our administrative capacity will ensure there are scholarship awards to benefit Jamestown High School students not just today, but for generations to come." 

Through the Foundation's infrastructure, gifts to the JHS Alumni 100 Member Club Scholarship Fund will continue to be invested, administered, and distributed in support of JHS graduates. The Foundation and JHS 100 Club leadership are working together to ensure a seamless transition that honors the organization's history while positioning it for future success. 

"At its heart, this decision is about students," Hanson said. "Everything we've done for more than 80 years has been focused on helping young people pursue their educational goals. This partnership allows us to continue doing exactly that—more efficiently, more sustainably, and with confidence that the mission will endure." 

For more information about the JHS Alumni 100 Member Club Scholarship Fund, contact the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation at (716) 661-3390.