Read who received funding and more about former Belfast educator Paul Vienna’s legacy
From the ACAF, visit them online, acafny.org
The Allegany County Area Foundation Grant Committee meets every two months to review applications and consider how it may help with community needs. Through October, the committee has awarded the following grants (with the fund providing the grant noted):
ACCORD – $1000 for Holiday Angels program. (Carter-Windus Fund).
Allegany County Blind Assn – $200 for a portable ramp that will provide easier access to the association’s Low Vision Clinic. (Shear Fund).
Rushford Free Library – $1500 for new, secure filing cabinets for the keeping of hard copy records and electronic equipment. (Allegany Fund).
Genesee Valley Rotary Camp – $1500 for a new PA system for the camp dining hall.(Carter-Windus Fund)
Marjorie Dieter Mastin (Canaseraga) Historical Society – $2300 for furnace work on the historic former Trinity Episcopal Church building, now owned by the Society and being converted to a public-serving space. (Bob Christian Fund $550 and Peter Sprague Fund $1750).
Alfred Box of Books Library – $700 for programing. (Allegany Fund).
Roswell Park Angel Fund – $250, in recognition of the care Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center provides for Allegany County residents. ($100 Shear Fund; $150 Moogan Fund).
HomeCare and Hospice – $1300 for tablet computers for two Allegany County based nurses. The tablets will provide for better workflow, communication, and care coordination. (Carter-Windus Fund).
Trinity Christian Day Care – $1500 for day care scholarships. (Carter-Windus Fund).
Thelma Rogers Historical Society – $500 for the Society’s Jingle and Glow holiday light display. (Shear Fund).
Southern Tier Traveling Teacher – $1000 for new testing material necessitated by changing state guidelines. (Allegany Fund).
WXXI/WXXY (radio) – $2500 for repairs to the housing that protects the station’s Caneadea transmitter. This unit provides programing and emergency alerts for significant portions of Allegany County. (Carter-Windus Fund).
YMCA Child Care – $2500 for childcare scholarships. (Carter-Windus Fund).
To inquire about grant possibilities, please contact the ACAF office at 585-296-5616 or director@acafny.org
Paul H. Vienna Scholarship Moves to Allegany County Area Foundation
The Paul H. Vienna Scholarship, established in 1975 and sustained by local volunteers ever since, will be managed by ACAF starting this fall with the application and awarding process for the 2026-2027 academic year.
A beloved and highly respected educator, coach, and administrator, Mr. Vienna built a remarkable track record during his 16 years of service to Belfast Central School before passing away at age 38 from a heart attack.
From 1959 – 1974, Mr. Vienna served BCS as physical education teacher, athletic director, and boys’ soccer and basketball coach. He was BCS superintendent from 1974-75. His accomplishments and honors include 63 consecutive league wins and five league championships in basketball; four Section V soccer titles; Service as Secretary of Section V Athletic Association and President of the Allegany County Athletic Association, and recognition as Thomas Oakley Memorial Big 30 Basketball Coach of the Year.
After Paul Vienna passed away, family and friends established a scholarship fund with a September golf outing set up as the initial fundraiser. Thus began the Paul H. Vienna Scholarship golf tournament, which enjoyed a fifty-year run thanks to dedicated volunteers and significant support from area schools, the Belfast community, and the larger athletic community that so appreciated Mr. Vienna and his legacy. The tournament grew in popularity throughout its history, generating funds that have provided college scholarships to over one hundred Belfast Central School graduates. This summer the Paul H. Vienna Scholarship Committee moved its unused scholarship funds to ACAF to endow the award, ensuring that the program will continue in perpetuity.
The Paul H. Vienna Scholarship predates the founding of the Allegany County Area Foundation (1983), making the scholarship uniquely ACAF’s newest and oldest. It is also the Foundation’s 100th active fund.
The Allegany County Area Foundation holds and manages one hundred grant and scholarship funds that support local students and charities. To contribute to the Paul H. Vienna Scholarship or to find out about establishing a grant or scholarship fund, contact Bruce Campbell at the Allegany County Area Foundation at director@acafny.org or 585-296-5616.
