The CSB class of 2009 not only left an impact on the St. Ben’s community, but will also leave a lasting impact on hundreds of people around the world. With a donation of $20.09 from students of the 2009 class and matching donations from alumni, the Student Philanthropy Fund was able to provide three grants for community service projects.
The three grants, totaling $2,500, were given to projects that will uphold one or more of the Benedictine values. The projects awarded grants are headed by CSB junior Chelsea Haugen, junior Katie Kenefick and senior Katie Brown.
“We feel that we chose the three best projects that matched our mission and criteria,” Joy Pohland of the Student Philanthropy Fund Board said. “We feel that these will have the biggest impact.”
Haugen’s project, titled “A Simple Treasure,” is designed to provide reading material for the children of Anna Marie’s, a shelter in the St. Cloud area for battered women and their children. The $1,000 that Haugen received will go toward buying books for these children.
“My mission is not only to provide the materials, but to spread the message about the importance of reading and where their education can take them,” Haugen said in an e-mail.
Kenefick, along with junior Jenny Wesser and junior Molly Noel will use the grant to run a workshop titled “You Are Beautiful.”
The hour-long workshop will focus on building self-esteem of girls involved in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota.
“A positive self-esteem is one of the most beneficial tools one can give to developing females,” Kenefick said. “It equips young women to love themselves through failure, heartbreak, disappointment and everything in-between.”
A majority of the $1,000 awarded for the workshop will go toward journals for the girls.
The journals will feature inspirational quotes printed on the pages and act as a reflective tool to allow the girls to set goals and write down what they like about themselves.
Brown will extend the Student Philanthropy Fund to South Africa with her project. She will use her $500 grant to purchase school supplies, primarily chairs, for the Pendla Primary School in New Brighton, South Africa.
The three community projects were chosen out of an applicant pool of 14 projects with the groups asking for a combined $13,000 dollars.
The Grants Committee gave first preference to those projects that addressed the issues of social justice and leadership development, but welcomed other proposals.
“We saw a huge need for grants,” said senior Emily Miller, who is a Student Philanthropy Fund Board Member said. “There were lots of great ideas.”