During the course of the school year, more than 3,000 students from the statewide Jobs for Maine's Graduates (JMG) program will be in a position to grant $1,000 to a worthy cause of their choice.
The Unity Foundation, in collaboration UniTel and with support from the Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF), will "Jumpstart our Youth" (JOY) to teach today's young people the importance of smart funding and grantmaking practices. Throughout the state, JMG students will examine the needs of nonprofit organizations, learn how to solicit and review applications, understand finance and budgeting, and interview applicants seeking funds.
Left to right: MaineCF Director of Community Investment Peter Taylor, MaineCF Board member Polly Saltonstall, Jobs for Maine Graduates CEO Craig Larrabee, UniTel President and CEO Laurie Osgood, and Unity Foundation Chairman and CEO Larry Sterrs gather in Northport for the launching of Jumpstart for Youth.
The JOY program takes JMG's highly successful community service programming to the next level. Since it was founded in 1993, JMG has provided more than 20,000 Maine students who were at risk of disengaging or dropping out from school with the skills and motivation needed to succeed in higher education and the workforce.
"Philanthropy can seem like an upscale concept, when really it is about the compassion and resources that motivate community members to take care of one another in a way that makes sense," said Unity Foundation Chairman and CEO Larry Sterrs. "Unity has a long-standing relationship with JMG and we know these students will learn important skills to link their hearts with their wallets," Sterrs said.
Guided by curricula developed by the Maine Community Foundation and UniTel, the JMG school specialists will teach the students how to make often-difficult choices with limited funds. MaineCF has supported youth philanthropy programs across the state since 1990. In addition to contributing to the program, MaineCF will provide program development experience to the effort.
UniTel’s "UniKids" program brought together the children of employees to identify needs within their own community and developed a grant program to help meet them. UniTel has shared its approach as well as joined the funding effort.
Students will have until March 2009 to decide upon grant recipients.
October 2, 2008