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Students use grant money to develop 'Habits of the Heart'

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February 11, 2009

by Tim Troglen

Reporter

Hudson -- What would a handful of middle school students do with $10,000?

For those who guessed give it away to charitable organizations, that answer would be correct.

That's what happened in December with the culmination of a 15-month long program at Seton Catholic School.

The program taught aspects of philanthropy to seventh- and eighth-graders. It then paired off eight of the students with eight residents of Laurel Lake Retirement Community to create a philanthropy board that decided how to divvy up $10,000 in grant money from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation.

The program, the first of its kind in Hudson, was started by Barbara Boyce, the director of development for Laurel Lake.

According to Boyce, after a nine-month-long class in philanthropy, eight students were chosen to take part in the program with the Laurel Lake residents.

Boyce said the program was called "Habits of the Heart: A Youth Education Program in Philanthropy."

"The class teaches young people the value of philanthropy and of becoming community leaders," Boyce said. "My motivation was to use the vast amount of experience of our residents -- many who have served on boards in this area."

One of the senior board members was Sally Davies, a 48-year Hudson resident.

Davies said she enjoyed getting to know the students and seeing how they decided to distribute the money.

"They just took over," Davies, 77, said. "We all just stepped back."

Davies said the students, who began the program in seventh grade and joined the board as eighth-graders, showed a great deal of dedication and commitment to the program.

"This just blew my mind," she said.

Pat Neidert taught the extracurricular Seton class, which was not part of the regular curriculum.

She said the students learned the history, tradition and future possibilities of philanthropy in America.

"I think they were able to see the fruits of their program and the real life application of what they learned in the classroom," Neidert said.

Deborah Hoover, president of the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, said she was "really pleased with how it turned out."

"It was a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn about philanthropy," Hoover said. "And I think both sides learned from one another."

Hoover said the foundation has provided two grants to Laurel Lake -- one in 2007 for $26,000 and one in 2008 for $19,000 for the program, with $10,000 of each grant to be given to applicants chosen by a board.

"It's a program that has grown and been a wonderful opportunity," said Pat Fritz, of the Seton advancement office.

Grant recipients

Organizations receiving grants from the Seton-Laurel Lake board include:

* The 4-H Equestrian Challenge -- $645 to support nine 4-H Club developmentally disabled children to participate in the 2009 Summit County Fair equestrian programs;

* Case-Barlow Farm -- $750 to support a distance learning project;

* Hudson Community First -- $1,650 to support eighth-grade Hudson School students as they conduct a petition drive to educate and encourage the city of Hudson to adopt an orphanage in Zambia;

* Hudson Community Service -- $3,155 to support emergency assistance to Hudson families;

* The Hudson Fire Department Association -- $1,000 to support a scholarship fund which awards Hudson High School students annual scholarships as they pursue a career in public safety;

* Western Reserve Community Band -- $500 to purchase music for the 2009-10 season;

* Children of Ubumi -- $1,300 to sponsor one Ubumi orphan as she attends school over the next two years, which will include tuition, uniform and books; and

* Hudson Bandstand Inc. -- $1,000 to support the 32nd annual Hudson Summer Music Festival in 2009.

E-mail: ttroglen@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3146




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