Youth in Philanthropy Students Grant $10,000 to Local Nonprofits JA Mazie Mentoring and the Community Harvest Project

High school students from Hopkinton involved with Youth in Philanthropy (YIP), a program offered by the Foundation for MetroWest that provides middle and high school students with philanthropic opportunities, concluded their session by granting $5,000 to JA Mazie Mentoring and $5,000 to the Community Harvest Project. Held May 30 at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts in Hopkinton, the grant ceremony enabled the students to share their overall experience with parents, teachers, grant recipients and community members.

“Going into this program, I was excited to learn about nonprofits, grants and needs in my local area,” said Anne Comcowich, a Hopkinton High School student who participated in the YIP Hopkinton program. “Not only did I learn, but I gained perspective about how even a small amount of funding can really impact an organization through people that it helps. I'm glad to have been a part of the grant decision process and to know that we as a group will be positively impacting real people through funding."

YIP is a unique extracurricular educational program designed for middle and high school students who are interested in learning more about running a nonprofit, how donations are used and the needs that exist in their own community. For the last 17 weeks, 20 students from Hopkinton High School in grades 10-11 participated in the YIP program offered at the school. The students researched local nonprofits, reviewed their grant applications and had the opportunity to conduct site visits to four nonprofits before selecting JA Mazie Mentoring and the Community Harvest Project.

The JA Mazie Mentoring Program recruits and trains adult volunteers to act as mentors and role models for at-risk high school students, providing youth with the support they need to reach their goals and achieve success after high school. The program was founded in 1998 for students at Framingham High School, and a second program was started in 2010 for students at Waltham High School. The YIP grant will support the Mazie Mentoring Program in serving more than 50 students at Framingham High School.

The Community Harvest Project improves access to healthy food across Worcester County for those who are experiencing hunger. Inspired by two Hopkinton farm owners who began to donate vegetables from their farm and invite community members to assist in the growing process in the early 1970’s, the Community Harvest Project engages volunteers to grow fresh fruits and vegetables. Through volunteer farming programs, education initiatives and community partnerships, the organization brings together thousands of community members every year. The YIP grant will support the operating costs of the volunteer farming programs, costs for supplies such as seeds, fertilizer and hand tools, as well as a small percentage of staff time to oversee the operation.

The YIP Hopkinton program is funded in part by the Hopkinton Country Club Charitable Foundation. In addition to the YIP students in Hopkinton, student groups involved in YIP programs across the region are making a positive impact on the MetroWest community. Read more about the YIP program and their efforts here.