The Community Foundation administers a number of special awards to recognize achievement and dedication in our community.

Our Rebecca Annitto’s Service Opportunities for Students (SOS) Fund Internship Award and our Diana Rochford Memorial Fund Service Award give high school students the chance to have meaningful summer employment at nonprofits. Our Leslie “Bud” Vivian Memorial Fund Award recognizes community members who have spent years making this region a better place to live.

Special Awards applications for 2024 will be available on Thursday, February 1st. Applications are due Monday, April 15th.

Rebecca Annitto

Rebecca Annitto’s Service Opportunities for Students (SOS) Fund Internship Award

The Award: 
The Fund exists to encourage high school students to participate in the work of their communities. Recognizing that students must choose between working for pay and an enriching volunteer experience, the SOS Fund offers three awards of $2,000 each to allow motivated, service-oriented young people paid work experiences at nonprofits.

Criteria: 
To be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Demonstrate an ongoing interest in volunteer or community-based work, including a track record of meaningful activities in the community
  • Describe a specific opportunity that is of interest to them
  • Indicate why this opportunity would be meaningful

To Apply:
Please submit:

  • A resume or overview of your activities and volunteer commitments;
  • A one-page essay describing the opportunity you want to pursue and why it is meaningful to you, including contact information for a staff member at the proposed employer who can verify details of your project; and
  • A letter of recommendation from a person familiar with your prior volunteer work.

About Rebecca
Rebecca Annitto was tiny in stature but powerful in heart, spirit and passion for life. Her wide eyes looked broad and deep. She saw all the wonder and sorrow in the world. She loved being coxswain for Mercer Junior Rowing; adored fashion and beauty; loved friends and family and felt a special kinship towards others who were less fortunate.

In 2005, Rebecca was working to develop her vision to connect students with meaningful service opportunities, helping local organizations identify and harness the talent and vitality of her fellow students. Rebecca recognized that high school students have school-based community service requirements and their own desires to contribute. She saw how difficult it was for kids to find suitable, interesting and accessible volunteer websites. She thought it would be great if students could find local volunteer opportunities that matched their interests, abilities and schedule.

Rebecca Annitto was about to turn 15 when a tragic accident took her life on September 14, 2005.

Deadline to Apply: April 15, 2024

Diana Rochford 

Diana Rochford Memorial Fund Service Award Internship Award

The Award: 
The Fund exists to encourage female high school athletes to participate in the work of their communities. Recognizing that students must choose between working for pay and an enriching volunteer experience, the Fund offers two awards of $2,500 each to allow motivated, service-oriented young people paid work experiences at nonprofits.

Criteria: 
To be eligible for this award, students must:

  • Female student
  • GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • Soccer player
  • Mercer County, Middlesex County or Burlington County resident
  • Volunteer work/community service experience

To Apply:
Please submit:

  • Resume or overview of your activities/volunteer commitments and soccer team experience;
  • High school transcript;
  • One-page essay: What is a global cause you feel strongly about, and if you had the means and time how would you contribute to it?

About Diana
Diana Rochford was one of those people who everyone admired. Her beautiful smile lit up the room and she was a devoted friend who always championed the underdog. She consistently gave 110 percent to everything she did, whether it was her education, soccer, school musicals, or church choir. She especially loved helping those in need, which led her to participate in mission trips with her church. She lived by the motto “Small things done with great love can change the world.”

Diana also loved being on the soccer field. When she tore her ACL in her freshman year, she was determined not to let that stop her. She worked her way back into the starting lineup as a sweeper, her favorite position, and into a leadership role as captain of the team when she was a sophomore. For Diana, being a leader went beyond the soccer field, and she found herself helping her teammates with personal problems as well. They always felt safe coming to her for help, knowing she was a good listener, truly cared about each one of them, and would never betray their trust. She also dedicated time to her travel team, where she played sweeper and outside midfielder.

Diana’s other love was singing. She participated in school musicals, the school choir and a select a capella group. These friends were devoted to each other and she adored being with them. Diana also sang with the celebration choir at her church, which is where she was on the evening of Aug. 24, 2002, just before the beginning of her senior year. After Diana left church, she spent some time at a friend’s house.  It was on her drive home that Diana had a tragic accident.  She was 17-years-old.

Deadline to Apply: April 15, 2024

Leslie “Bud” Vivian

Leslie “Bud” Vivian Memorial Fund Award

In late 1995, classmates from the Princeton University Class of 1942 together with 16 local organizations established the Leslie “Bud” Vivian Memorial Fund at the Princeton Area Community Foundation to honor the memory of their friend and colleague. This memorial endowment is intended to promote in perpetuity the principles by which Bud lived, and to recognize his important contributions to the Princeton community. Bud Vivian served as Princeton University’s Director of Community and Regional Affairs for many years and his concern for his neighbors extended into all corners of the town.

The Fund makes an award annually to a member of the community who has volunteered or worked for many years to benefit Princeton’s citizens, and has demonstrated the qualities which Bud possessed and shared so fully:

  • the ability to see the need for community action to resolve a problem of human need;
  • the ability to identify and define a problem in terms that make it understandable to those most able to solve it;
  • the ability to bring different parties together to find a solution, with the knack for generating constructive compromise, and;
  • the perseverance and dedication to carry solutions through to successful completion.

A grant from the Fund is made each year to one or more local nonprofit organizations suggested by the award recipient.

Guidelines for Nominations
Submit a letter of nomination highlighting the qualities and accomplishments of your nominee. Please include written letters of support from other individuals to help inform the selection committee. Nominations and supporting documents must be sent to the Princeton Area Community Foundation. A winner will be chosen by the Vivian Award Selection Committee.

Leslie “Bud” Vivian Memorial Award Winners

For more information or support, please contact:

Myriam Padro
Philanthropy Services Associate
Email Myriam Padro

Nelida Valentin
Vice President, Grants & Programs
Email Nelida Valentin