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Student Changemakers Award $15,000 to Address Barriers to Health Care

Students participating in YC2, Community Memorial Foundation’s youth philanthropy program, recently awarded $7,500 grants to Alivio Medical Center and TEACH to address barriers to health care surrounding language, cultural competence and ability to pay.

The 2020 cohort of YC2 (also known as Young Community Changemakers) includes 29 juniors and seniors from Lyons Township High School and Nazareth Academy. Curricula encourages students to explore our local community and its social needs; learn about philanthropic theory; and engage in organizational evaluation and grantmaking. At the end of the program, students collectively award up to $15,000 to nonprofit organizations that further the mission and vision of Community Memorial Foundation.

This year’s program faced unique challenges related to COVID-19 shelter in place measures, but all students quickly adapted to participating in online program sessions and site visits. At the final session, we asked students to summarize philanthropy in one word, and you can see several of their responses in the screenshot above; hope, impact and inspiration were common themes.

We’d like to thank the students, parents, educators and grantee partners who make this program possible, especially Plymouth Place for hosting the initial program sessions, and The Burjan Family for their continued support of YC2.

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