Young civic leaders in Cambridge have once again stepped up to support nonprofits during the pandemic. For a second year in a row, the Cambridge Youth Council (CYC) and CRLS Black Student Union (BSU) organized a fundraiser for nonprofits, and in just a month’s time from MLK Day to Valentine’s Day, they raised over $16,346 – far exceeding their $10,000 goal. Ten Cambridge nonprofits serving our unhoused community will benefit.
“Walking to and from school, I see the same people every day, without food, without shelter…and it breaks my heart. When deciding on where the money should go, so many people within CYC and BSU expressed such experiences,” said Mohammad Jihad, a CYC member.
The first $5,000 raised was matched by the Foundation through our Teaching Philanthropy Fund – a fund created by our longtime former executive director Bob Hurlbut to educate and empower our city’s youth to be part of giving. An additional 109 community members donated, many of them applauding our youth for leading the charge. “Kudos to our empathetic and activist youths!” wrote one donor and another messaged, “Thank you for the CYC and BSU’s student leadership to support our community!”
We couldn’t have said it better. Thanks our young civic leaders for their compassion and community action – and to everyone who generously contributed to this important effort.
“We are so incredibly grateful to those who donated because the money raised allows us to contribute to addressing issues in our community that we care about,” said Mohammad. “It’s truly been an incredible opportunity to see the community come together once more to uplift those less fortunate within our community, especially during these difficult times.”
The 10 grant recipients are:
