San Antonio nonprofit gives thousands of dollars to local high school students for youth-led projects

By Edward Ortiz
Published in Community Impact on March 21, 2022

Zoe, a student at our partner network school, Young Women’s Leadership Academy of San Antonio, was one of those who received a grant to fund a project. Continue reading the full article below.

Up Partnership’s youth voice network, Our Tomorrow, recently provided 11 youth-led groups from around San Antonio with $43,000 in grants in a pilot program meant to advance various community projects.

According to a news release, the projects are being led by students from San Antonio, and Southwest and East Central independent school districts. Grant funds also went to the Center For Young Minds, a program created by the local Ecumenical Center.

Lisa Marie Gomez, UP Partnership’s vice president of youth voice and restorative justice, said her local organization created this pilot program in response to young people’s request to be active participants in creating solutions to challenges in their community.

“The youth in our community have valuable ideas about the impact they want to make in their school and broader communities, and we were thrilled to be able to support them through this initiative,” Gomez said.

The release said the chosen high school students and a staff mentor from their respective school are using their project to make an impact in areas, such as mental health and suicide prevention, food insecurity, tax preparation, professional development and cultivation of social skills.