Providence, R.I.--Three Providence-based nonprofit organizations were named the beneficiaries of more than $11,000 that was managed by 15 Providence College students enrolled in a philanthropy class during the recent spring semester.

The Special Topics in Public and Community Service course offered through the College's Department of Public and Community Service Studies donated $6,000 to The Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence, $2,650 to Mary House Ministries, and $2,500 to Elmhurst Clean & Green. The announcement was made during a ceremony on May 7 on campus.

The ceremony capped a semester-long effort that saw the students manage a $15,000 giving account--which they named the Making a Difference Fund--as part of the Fidelity Investments Students4Giving program. While the course was offered last spring, this was the first time that students were charged with managing and disbursing funds.

Last September, PC was chosen as one of only 10 higher-education institutions in the country to participate in the program, which is sponsored by the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and Campus Compact.

PC was the only Rhode Island college or university selected from among the 21 schools nationwide that submitted proposals to participate. Among the other schools chosen were The George Washington University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Northeastern University.

Organizations selected for meeting community needs
The process of selecting the grant recipients began when nine local organizations submitted requests for proposals early in the spring semester.

Course member Lucy C. Yost '09 of Silver Spring, Md., said the final three nonprofits were selected because the class believed they would make a "real difference" in the community.

"We wanted to have a real impact with what we had to donate, and we believed that these three organizations could help us accomplish that," Yost said.

The Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence is an organization whose mission is to teach by word and example the principles and practice of nonviolence. The funding it received from PC will support the institute's Youth Programming department, which provides jobs and leadership development opportunities to youth ages 14-19, said Anthony DiPietro, chief operating officer of the institute.

"We are so pleased to be receiving this grant," DiPietro said. "The students clearly followed a thoughtful process, and they were interested in sustainable projects that would impact the immediate area surrounding the College. We're grateful that they feel our project will fulfill important needs."

Mary House will use its share of the fund to offer health fairs for the people it serves. Now in its fourth decade, Mary House continues to serve thousands of meals to residents in the Smith Hill neighborhood and throughout the state of Rhode Island.

With the assistance of many volunteers, the Mary House Meal Kitchen serves a hot meal to approximately 300 to 400 people every Monday evening in the St. Patrick School gymnasium on Smith Street.

Elmhurst Clean & Green is a group of citizen-volunteers that meets once a month at the Feinstein Academic Center at PC and coordinates plans for cleanups, plantings, and improvements around Providence. Its funding will be used to develop open space for community gardens at Davis Park near the College.

Life lessons gained by class
Yost said managing the fund showed her "the importance of the work many organizations are doing in the Smith Hill community" and gave her the opportunity "to make real decisions and help real people."

William Allen, special lecturer of public and community service studies, echoed Yost's sentiments and added that he was pleased with the class' thoughtfulness throughout the process.

"Acting as the board of directors of the Making a Difference Fund, students fulfilled their responsibilities in a careful, deliberate, and responsible manner," he said. "As a result, they acquired practical skills and defined new roles for themselves as engaged and values-based philanthropists."

Dr. Raymond L. Sickinger, professor of history and of public and community service studies and director of the Feinstein Institute for Public Service, said he hopes to see this course become a regular offering within the Department of Public and Community Service Studies with the support and advice of the Feinstein Institute.

"This was one of the most enjoyable experiences for me," he said. "This was a wonderful group of students that constantly left Bill and I amazed with the depth of their thinking."

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