Youth in Philanthropy at Foundation for MetroWest Recognizes the Importance of LEADership
Being leaders themselves, the young adults participating
in the Youth in Philanthropy program of the Foundation for Metrowest recently recognized Thrive’s LEAD (Leadership Experience And Development) initiative with a generous grant of $5000. The grant will support all aspects of the program.
Thrive’s Support & Advocacy’s LEAD initiative empowers prospective young adults, who live with intellectual and developmental challenges, to better the world around them. This year-long program uses a dynamic range of activities, including role-playing, public speaking, and group leadership projects, to develop the self-esteem and self-awareness for participants to become community leaders. The future LEADers receive guidance and support from Thrive staff, student mentors from the Advanced Math and Science Academy (AMSA) in Marlborough, MA, past LEAD graduates, and members of the corporate world who share their leadership insights and real-world experiences.
This community-based initiative is a revolutionary way to bring together great minds with the intention of creating future leaders that will someday affect their community and beyond. Thrive’s LEAD Director Caitlin Devaney-Fortwengler reveals, “My hope for the graduates of LEAD is that they have a sense of their potential and self-confidence in their abilities. My goal is to instill a sense of pride, purpose and an understanding of how important it is to engage in your community.”
About Thrive: Thrive Support and Advocacy is a nonprofit organization offering life-changing services and support to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, in and beyond the MetroWest area. Through unparalleled social, residential, and recreation programs; a proactive philosophy; and unfailing commitment to constituents and their families, Thrive helps create lives filled with happiness, meaning, and pride. We empower individuals to focus on ability and find opportunities to shine.
About Youth in Philanthropy at Foundation for MetroWest: Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) is an experiential leadership development program offered through the Foundation for MetroWest designed to empower and educate youth to become our community’s next generation of philanthropists – those who give their time, talent and treasure for the common good. The inaugural program ran in 1997, and over the past 20 years, YIP has grown to become the largest and oldest youth philanthropy education program in the country. To learn more about the Foundation for MetroWest and the other services they provide, please visit www.foundationformetrowest.org or call 508-647-2260.