Youth in Philanthropy Students Award $10,000 in Grants to Local Nonprofits

Middle school students from The Lincoln School 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 presenting $5,000 grants to both Save A Dog and Lucy’s Love Bus. Held March 23 at The Lincoln School in Lincoln, the giving ceremony enabled the students to present the grants and share their overall experience with parents, teachers, classmates and community members.

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 what needs exist in their own community through this hands-on experience. For the last 15 weeks, 11 students from The Lincoln School in grades 7-8 participated in the YIP program offered at the school. The students researched local nonprofits, reviewed their grant applications and had the opportunity to conducted site visits to four nonprofits before selecting Save A Dog and Lucy’s Love Bus.

For nearly 20 years, Save A Dog has rescued and rehomed abandoned dogs with the goal of saving as many lives as possible. “This will greatly enhance our summer program for teens and allow us to keep the current teen coordinator as well as bring in an additional helper, who started at Save a Dog several years ago as a freshman volunteer. These teens will inspire others to continue volunteering in this program, providing enrichment for shelter dogs, and helping us find permanent homes for abandoned animals. We want to thank the Foundation for MetroWest and the Youth in Philanthropy students at the Lincoln School for allowing us this tremendous opportunity to enrich the lives of both young people and homeless dogs,” said Shirley Moore, President and Founder.

Lucy’s Love Bus works to deliver comfort and quality of life to pediatric cancer patients by providing funds for free integrative therapies, and to engage young people in activism and philanthropy. “It is an honor to have been chosen by the Youth in Philanthropy students at the Lincoln School to receive this gift. I would like to thank them for their vision and generosity, that will allow Lucy’s Love Bus to provide gentle integrative therapies to children who are coping with cancer in our region,” said Executive Director and Founder Beecher Grogan. “The group of 7th and 8th grade students at The Lincoln School worked together throughout the nonprofit research process and thought long and hard about the ways in which they can best impact their community. They were proud to present grants to Save a Dog and Lucy’s Love Bus, and we are proud to have enabled them to do so through YIP,” said Caroline Murphy, Senior Program Officer at the Foundation for MetroWest.

In addition to the grant giving ceremony at The Lincoln School, students involved in YIP programs at schools and in communities across MetroWest are also making a positive impact on the region. Read more about the YIP program and their efforts here.