5th Anniversary Class of Philanthropy Tank Palm Beach Changemakers Announced
Philanthropy Tank Palm Beach has announced the names of the local teenagers who want to make a difference addressing an issue impacting our area. The select group of students came from dozens of applications considered by the charity’s advisors.
The Philanthropy Tank Finalists will receive mentorship from leading philanthropists and local business leaders. They will also present their charity program ideas in a “Shark Tank” TV Show-like presentation in front of Philanthropist Investors and an audience of hundreds during the live pitch event at the Kravis Center on March 19, 2020 (Get tickets here). Each program can be awarded up to $15,000 in funding. This year’s student-lead charities include:
- Girls Help Girls – Rithika Kacham 11th grade, Suncoast High School
Girls Help Girls is a project that aims to help women in need receive proper hygiene products such as diva cups and pads by raising awareness about the lack of access women have to proper hygiene products.
- Hello Hygienics – Nishah Jaferi and Jonathan Beres 11th grade, Spanish River High School
In Palm Beach County, the issue of homelessness is marked by limited access to basic needs such as dental care, skincare, feminine products, and more. Hello Hygienics strives to combat this barrier to proper sanitation by providing handy, on-the-go, wellness kits to prioritize health for the less fortunate.
- Idea Lab – Angel Rojas, Pierce Dono, and Oliver Charles-Pierre – 8th grade, St. Vincent Ferrer School
These students aim to start an Idea lab in the library of the Glades based Hope Rural School based on the principles we have learned in Design Thinking class. Students will have a setup where they can gather tools and materials to create, invent, tinker, and fabricate as a community through hands-on design and construction.
- MoneyBuddies – Gabriel Sun and Brendan Detamore – 11th Grade, American Heritage
MoneyBuddies is a program that intends to inspire the youth of Palm Beach County by providing them with fun, free lessons in basic principles of financial literacy and proper money management.
- Stand Up and Be Counted – Anajiah Graham, 11th grade, Glades Central
Concentrating in the Glades Area, the program’s goal is to increase the numbers of individuals who first complete and return the Census documents, thereby gaining seats in the House of Representatives when new electoral district boundaries are drawn.
- South Florida Tech for Seniors – Sam Friedman 10th grade, Suncoast High School
This program will work to help local senior citizens with their technology needs while teaching them basic skills to be self-sufficient.
- Venture – Benjamin Gao – 11th grade, Dreyfoos School of The Arts
Venture is a student-led initiative based out of Dreyfoos School of the Arts. The primary goal of this project is to spread work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills to elementary and middle school students within Palm Beach Count
This is Philanthropy Tank’s fifth year of supporting future ‘changemakers’. In that time, students have created and continue to run organizations supporting music/art education, women’s empowerment, underprivileged children, pediatric cancer patients and more. The nonprofit Philanthropy Tank has awarded more than $400,000 in funding and provided hundreds of hours of mentorship for teens who have started nearly three dozen local charities.
Now celebrating its 5th anniversary, the Philanthropy Tank’s local success has led to its recently announced expansion to Baltimore, Maryland.