Visionary & Practical, Changemaker Youth Grants 2023 Show How Small Changes Have Big Impacts
We offered youth $1000 to address violence in their communities. Look what happened:
A 180-person motorbike rally for sustainability and unity. A youth-written theater performance about ending ritual killings in Nigeria. A walk-a-mile in their shoes march that collected funds for a gym-accessible wheelchair. A 5-hour music festival for inclusivity. A school-wide culture week that included multicultural foods in the cafeteria, teach-ins, sports games, and language lessons over the PA. Anti-bullying skits, posters, coloring pages, and trainings. A mental wellness room for one high school and mental wellbeing kits for graduating seniors at another.
These are just some of the incredible projects dreamed up by youth ages 12-23 and funded by the Changemaker Youth Grants.
Tasked with designing a “creative project to address violence,” the Changemaker Youth Grant recipients worked on ending bullying, stopping gun violence, addressing ritual killing, pushing for sustainability, celebrating diversity, fostering mental wellness, and growing inclusion. Across 9 teams, 27 young people designed and launched projects that engaged 3500 people, especially including their peers.
This is the second year that Pace e Bene has offered these grants. Inspired by our colleagues at the MK Gandhi Institute, we worked with them to adapt the design concepts behind their successful Youth Healing Hate Grants to our work to foster a culture of active nonviolence. You will see from their stories that young people not only understand the connections between direct, systemic, and cultural violence, but they also have brilliant and effective ideas for how to counter the problems they and their peers face.
Here are their stories, photos, and videos.
Theresa & Lydia-Mary Onokpasa, Nigeria
Theresa and Lydia-Mary Onokpasa are sisters who live in Nigeria. Working with other youth and community members, they created a youth-written theater performance aimed at ending ritual killing. The project and script center the experiences of Nigerian youths—the main perpetrators and victims of this injustice.
“Using a respected African cultural form, storytelling through drama, to successfully dismantle the African belief in the efficacy of black magic was an innovative approach at tackling this injustice. It was the first of its kind, and well received.” – Theresa Onokpasa
Theresa and Lydia-Mary spoke with the students of a secondary school in their community about ritual killing. In an interactive session, the students spoke with their peers, gave advice on the issues, and heard suggestions on how to break the cycle of violence.
Then the sisters distributed pamphlets throughout the community, asking their neighbors and community members to write down their personal opinions on ritual killing, including its root causes and possible means of prevention. These statements were then used to create the script for the theater performance and inform speeches that were given as part of the campaign.
The script for the theater performance was written in collaboration with a group of youths who would be part of the actual show. The play is about three young men of different social-economic backgrounds who delve into ritual killing with the hopes of securing themselves wealth. The story focuses primarily on what prompted them to commit this crime (often poverty) and the consequences of their actions.
Casting and rehearsals took weeks. Theresa and Lydia-Mary screened 30+ applicants who volunteered to act in the cast.
Theresa writes, “We learned a valuable lesson—that our society is eager for change. There only needs to be a first step in the right direction to serve as a catalyst for a peaceful revolution.”
With their script in hand and cast practicing their roles, they are awaiting dates to debut the performance at the National Theater or other similar venue. The Changemaker Grant supported early conversations and co-creation of the script, as well as providing for the theater venue fees and promotional materials.
Watch this part of the Changemaker Ceremony @1:23:00 Theresa & Lydia-Mary Onokpasa – Theater To End Ritual Killing in Nigeria
S. Sabari Rajan, India
A bike rally was held in Puducherry, India to uplift the message of the Gandhian philosophy of simplicity and sustainability.
S. Sabari Rajan and his four colleagues are youth organizers with RISE India, a group that organizes nonviolent actions for protection of the environment and social justice issues. On March 12, 2023, they mobilized 180 motorbike riders for a rolling demonstration that traveled through the streets of Puducherry, India. Rallying at the Gandhi Statue, the riders traveled en masse to lift up a message of simplicity, sustainability, and unity. Read more about the 180-person bike ride for unity.
In the words of Changemaker Youth Grant recipient, S. Sabari Rajan, “India is going through a tough time of right-wing rule promoting religious-based discriminations and violence through hate campaigns and fake messages. Gandhi's non-violent India is slowly becoming a violent India. Our project aims at educating the students about the prevailing situations and making them the agents of peace and non-violence.”
A second event engaged children in a peace art competition. Eighty students participated in the competition; the prizes (lunch box), gifts (drawing materials), and snacks & tea were provided to each student. The event was colorful, welcoming, and full of a vibrant peace.
The Changemaker Grant allowed the group to make large signs (including one on the side of a truck), purchase art materials, and provide food for the art students.
Watch this part of the Changemaker Ceremony @ 57:02 S. Sabari Rajan & RISE India – Motorbike Rally & Peace Art Contest
Destiny Daniel, Georgia, USA
Destiny Daniel, a 20-year-old undergraduate student at Howard University from Atlanta, GA, knows the troubling statistics on local high schoolers. Close to 50% of Atlanta students report feeling depressed, sad, or withdrawn according to the 2022 Georgia Student Health Survey. One school in particular, Frederick Douglass High School, has the lowest graduation rate in the district at 69%, and a 49.2% school failure rate (indicating the percentage of students who are failing at least one class).
Destiny decided to do something simple—yet powerful—to address the trends.
The GradBag Project: How Putting Focus Into Youth Mental Health Can Decrease Violence focuses on spreading love and support to combat teen violence. Each senior at Frederick Douglass High School received one of the 226 "North Star Sacks" that contained a range of resources to support and uplift the students. These bags fostered hope by addressing students' struggles and providing resources to help them.
“It still takes a village to raise a strong and healthy person. Frederick Douglass, a famed abolitionist, defined the ‘North Star’ as a star of hope. Likewise, these bags fostered hope by addressing students’ struggles and providing resources to help them. The items were made to inspire students that their now is not forever and their future is for them to create.” – Destiny Daniel
Destiny made 226 bags for 207 students, plus some for teachers and staff. The drawstring gym backpacks included granola bars, tumbler, positive stickers, fruit snacks, bottled water and tea, journals, pencils, affirmation cards, a mental health resource page, a quote from Frederick Douglass, and a Letter From the Community. The Changemaker Grant was used to purchase all these materials.
Each of the Letters From the Community were personalized and unique. The messages were written to the students from judges, college students, and other community members. Some came from people as far away as France or Nigeria. Each letter was very personal, touching on true stories and hard things, and letting students know they were not alone.
The affirmation cards were designed to send an uplifting and thought-provoking message to the students. For example, one of the cards read: “Inspire each other, especially youth and elders. Who and what inspires you? I am an inspiration to those around me and they’re an inspiration to me. Youth like me—and elders—are our history and future.”
The bags were distributed in the last week of school, offering a positive gift to the seniors which reminded them that people cared.
“These Grad Bags let seniors know that they are important and that people in the community see them, they love them, and that they support them.” – Destiny Daniel
Watch this part of the Changemaker Ceremony @ 33:27 Destiny Daniel - The Grad Bag Project
Chase Blackburn, Massachusetts, USA
“Music has the ability to bring people together. There’s no mistakes in music, just like there’s no mistakes in people.” – Marie Blackburn, Chase Blackburn’s mother.
Chase Blackburn is a 19-year-old student with Down’s Syndrome who just graduated from Mashpee High School. In 2018, he started a hashtag campaign called #IncludeMe and has rallied community members and students to bring inclusivity and disability inclusion to greater awareness. His passion for music is known throughout the area, as he joins classes, music jams, and concerts with a wide range of musicians. His project for the Changemaker Youth Grants was a 5-hour music festival called Band Together For Inclusion, a fun-filled community event whose mission was to promote the message of inclusion through music.
On May 5th (Chase’s birthday), the festival was held at Mashpee High School. This was also Chase’s senior project at school, and both town officials and school administrators offered support by giving permission to use the auditorium and building. The grant money helped Chase and team hire two stage managers and a lighting technician, who managed the many performers flawlessly throughout the night.
The festival opened with two members of the Wampanoag tribe, a pair of father and son drummers. The Cape Cod Youth Symphony performed. Thirty-eight youth from the Sandwich Soul Choir offered a couple numbers. African drummers and dancers performed. Local musicians of a wide range of genres put their talents to work. Throughout the night, Chase got up on stage and performed with the various musicians on acoustic guitar and djembe drums. He also got on the drumset with Anthony Kay from Nashville, TN, and played along with him. Over 250 people attended, sometimes traveling from other towns around Boston, MA, to join in. There were many dignitaries in the audience, including selectmen from the town, school officials, and the District Attorney.
Admission to the event was free, but people had an opportunity to give a donation to the Fellowship Fund of the College Light Opera. This music organization helps diverse youth from colleges all over the country take to the stage in Cape Cod. In order to provide the equity that leads to an inclusive environment, they provide stipends for students as they perform nine musical theater productions in nine weeks. Between the donations and silent auction, Band Together For Inclusion raised nearly $6000 for the Fellowship Fund.
In addition, the Band Together For Inclusion team made Cape Cod’s First Inclusive Advertising Guide, featuring local businesses that align with inclusive values such as summer camps, music schools, lawyers, doctors, car companies, civic groups, and governmental agencies. It also includes two pages of how-to steps on how to build a more inclusive organization around disabilities.
Watch this part of the Changemaker Ceremony @ 8:24 Chase Blackburn - #IncludeMe Music Festival
Maia Frost & Boston Latin School YouthCAN, Massachusetts, USA
For over 10 years, students at Boston Latin School in Massachusetts have been dreaming of a wellness room. With the help of a Changemaker Grant, Quyen Vo, Maia Frost, Gretchen Curran, Esther Rosi-Kessel, and many other members of the student organization YouthCAN are bringing that dream closer to reality.
They have identified an underutilized room at the school to be converted into a peaceful shared space where both teachers and students are able to relax. The wellness room emphasizes nature, mental health, and stress reduction. Titled the “Sustainability Room,” the project first started in 2018, but was interrupted by COVID and restarted in 2022.
This year, the students worked with Stephanie Macneil from HMFH Architects to design a blueprint for the room renovation. The concept divides the classic classroom space into three sections. The first section, closest to the door, will have tables and a mural where people can talk. The second area, called the Collaboration Area, will have a sofa and coffee table where people can work together. The third area is nearest to the windows and will have comfortable chairs and a rug, plants, and decor that help students have space to relax and chill.
Boston Latin School is a very busy school without any spaces like this for students. It will have natural lighting and a nature theme. It is the only space where students don’t have to be doing school work and can be used during school hours. The only other place for students is the library, but students have to be working on something there and follow rules for quiet.
Securing furniture has been one of the big challenges for the project. The YouthCAN team wants to put up a Little Free Library, tables, chairs, couches, rugs, but need to get approval from the school administrators. They plan to have plants in there and student volunteers to tend them. (The school administration has a lot of restrictions on what can be brought in, often for practical reasons such as fire safety.) The Changemaker Grant is helping the students purchase the furnishings for the room, and paint for a mural.
The students envision their mural will be a collaborative project, working with other clubs and art students. The YouthCAN team are also recruiting teachers and student volunteers to help run the room during the day, including watering plants during vacations and summer schedules. Because the school requires a teacher to be present in each room during the day, they have to get teachers to rotate being present during their free periods. The students hope to start painting and redecorating the room in Fall 2023.
Watch this part of the Changemaker Ceremony @1:30:13 YouthCAN Boston Latin School - Sustainability Wellness Room for Students
Lillian Denbow, Jazmine Cartonio, Kali Salley, and Zanidee, Maine, USA
Four middle school students, Lillian Denbow, Jazmine Cartonio, Kali Salley, and Zanidee, collaborated on a creative anti-bullying project that included handmade posters, a presentation to younger students, and a theatrical skit video aimed at improving school safety, kindness, and inclusion.
“Our grant is about showing support for people who have been bullied and helping them to raise awareness. We have all noticed how bullying has affected many people’s lives and we’re hoping this project can help raise awareness for them.”
The students attend Oxford Hills Middle School in Maine. Together, they made posters to hang in the schools. They also have a plan to visit every elementary school in their district, hoping to connect with young students before they get to middle school. They crafted their own coloring pages for the children to use and developed a presentation on preventing bullying. They made and hung up posters on anti-bullying, and circulated a video of a skit they wrote.
The Changemaker Grant provided the art supplies for posters and printed materials.
In 2023, they visited Agnes Gray Elementary School and interacted with the kids. They are planning a visit to Guy E Rowe Elementary School in the fall, and are working to visit the other six schools in their district in the coming semesters.
Ms. Kathleen Fraize, a teacher at Oxford Hills Middle School, provided mentorship, but emphasized that the students contacted every school official, principals, the printing company, and put together all the details.
“I was blown away by how impressive these students are and (listening to their presentation) was brought to tears many times.” – Kathleen Fraize
Watch this part of the Changemaker Ceremony @ 43:49 Lillian Denbow, Jazmine Cartonio, Kali Salley, Zanidee - Anti-Bullying Art & Skit
Kimesha Harriott, Eastham, MA
Kimesha Harriott and a group of students created a remarkable series of events at Nauset Regional High School in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, designed to build cultural understanding, inclusivity, and reduce violence through celebrating diversity.
From May 22-27, 2023, the first annual Cultural Week uplifted the many diverse cultures of the students, including first and second generation immigrant communities as well as family backgrounds tied to Jamaica, Spain, Russia, Nepal, the Philippines, Ireland, Hungary, Greece, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, Portugal, Cape Verde, Germany, and others.
Kimesha is the president of the Multicultural Club, which worked together to plan all the events and activities. Eight students (who did not know each other before working on this project) formed the steering committee. After doing the Cultural Week, they are great friends and their “bond is now unbreakable”.
Here is the schedule of events:
Monday, May 22: Introduction: Teaching Learning Phrases
Tuesday, May 23: Football Sign-ups
Wednesday, May 24: Rep Your Flag Day
Thursday, May 25: Soccer Game “Caribbean vs. the World”
Friday, May 26: Cultural Assembly
In addition, they made a set of murals for a school, including one on a whole wall and another large one displayed in the library. A team of people made the frame from scrap materials with the help of the woodshop teacher.
The cafeteria served cultural foods all week long including Spanish Rice (Spain), Jamaican Patties (Jamaica), plantains (Kriolu), Shepherd’s Pie (Ireland), Olivye (Russia), cucumber salad (Hungary), Filipino Chicken Salad (Philippines), and Aloo Phuji (Nepal). This was a big hit among the students.
Using the intercom in the main office, they broadcast a set of phrases in two different languages each day, including:
Hello.
How are you? I am …
What is your name? My name is …
Where are you from? I am from …
What languages do you speak? I speak …
What is your favorite song? My favorite song is …
They also aired a quote each day about unity in each of the two featured languages for that day. Fliers were made and distributed as well. The languages included Greek, Portuguese, Kriolu, Spanish (Mexico and Colombia), Russian, and German.
Gym classes featured martial arts demonstrations and trainings on the sports fields. Candida Rose from the Cape Verdean Cultural Center visited the music classes to speak about their music and teach drumming and dancing.
On Tuesday, Barbara from the Cape Verdean Cultural Center taught cultural history in the history classes.
On Wednesday, during Rep Your Flag Day, they decorated their school with the many national flags that represent the countries of ancestry and origin for the students. The flags lined the fence, walkways, and walls of the school.
On Friday, the Cultural Assembly showcased a Jamaican dance group, singers, dancers, poets, Cape Verdean drums, martial arts, an Afghan speaker, phrases from Jamaica, fun activities, and more. The Jamaican dance group Caribbean Gyals also performed during the Cultural Assembly.
“The purpose of this Cultural Week is to promote and understand diversity throughout our school campus. To have a better understanding of these cultural differences that are unknown to me and my peers. We wish to unite our campus and student body. This is just a small step that we hope will have a ripple effect that starts spreading kindness and love over hate.” – Kimesha Harriott
Excited by the success of this year’s Cultural Week, the students intend to make it an annual event. Plans are also in the works to hold a poetry and art contest and a Carnival of Lights in coming years.
Watch this part of the Changemaker Ceremony @1:01:12 Kimesha Harriott & team - Culture Week
Majd Ataya, Edmonton, Canada
In Edmonton, Canada, 14-year-old Majd Ataya worked with a diverse, intergenerational team to hold two workshops on bullying, cyberbullying, and harassment. The schools were selected because of their high incidents of these problems. Brochures, pamphlets and leaflets were also distributed to the students. A guest speaker explained to the students the dangers of cyberbullying and harassment. These workshops developed and enhanced protective skills for dealing with bullying behaviors, and improved the school climate.
“I’m currently attempting to stop all kinds of bullying. I’m doing this by informing all my friends about the risks and how it can affect one’s mental health. Hopefully with all our efforts we can completely stop this recurring problem.” – Majd Ataya
Watch this part of the Changemaker Ceremony @1:19:14 Majd Ataya - Ending Cyber-Bullying
Lauren Gentile, Ohio, USA
In Aurora, Ohio, two service learning classes at Aurora High School collaborated across semesters to put on a "Walk a Mile in Their Shoes" event. Students and community members wore someone else’s shoes as they walked a mile around the school track field. The purpose of the event was to encourage empathy, spread awareness against bullying, and promote a more inclusive culture in the school. The idea was originated by Lauren Gentile, who applied for and received a 2023 Changemaker Youth Grant. The second semester service learning class actually put on the event.
The students wore the color blue along with anti-bullying wristbands in advance of the “Walk A Mile In Their Shoes” event. TownHall 2 donated water and shirts for the class. An accompanying fundraiser raised $1090 for a scooter or piece of adaptive equipment to enable a disabled student, 6th grader Keira Holzman, to participate more fully in physical education and other movement-based activities. Upon her promotion to the high school in two years, most likely the equipment will stay at Harmon for use by future students who may need it. The Service Learning Class is a group of 14 students who spend time outside of school doing volunteer work and service projects, while developing skills in collaboration, problem-solving, communication and leadership. In class the students focus on developing an understanding of the needs of others, an altruistic desire to serve and the necessary tools on how to do so.
Watch this part of the Changemaker Ceremony @ 54:54 Lauren Gentile - Walk-a-Mile In My Shoes Fundraiser for Accessible Wheelchair
Katrina Hatch, Massachusetts, USA
Katrina Hatch in Brewster, Massachusetts, initially hoped to co-create art with middle and high school students on the issue of gun violence. The sculptures would then be displayed on trees in public parks throughout the area. However, encountering resistance from school administration, she pivoted the project toward a lantern memorial that can be crafted over the summer and illuminated in the fall. Stay tuned!
Watch the full recording of the Changemaker Youth Grants 2023 Celebration & Presentations: https://youtu.be/fIK-3I_9iW4
Learn more, see photos, and hear their stories here.
These stories show the vast, practical, and visionary potential young people hold for making direct change in their communities. Pace e Bene is proud to be able to support these ideas coming to fruition. We are very grateful for the many donors—large and small—who pitched in to fund a second round of grants. We estimate that these projects will impact at least 3500 people, most of them youth. In the long-term movement to build a culture of nonviolence, these projects represent stepping stones along the way. From their foundation, a bridge from our current nightmare to our long-cherished dream can be built. Someday, we will find our way across it, together.