Published On: Thu, Feb 25th, 2021

Three Boca Raton Teenagers Among Elite Group of Students Named to Philanthropy Tank Class of 2021

Prestigious Nonprofit Announces the Seven Teen Group Finalists that will Vie for up to $15,000 in Funding During March Finals Event.

Boca Raton, FL – Philanthropy Tank has announced the finalists for its 2021 program. The nonprofit focuses on empowering and inspiring the next generation of CHANGEmakers by challenging and equipping them to implement sustainable service-driven solutions to problems affecting our communities. 

The charity received hundreds of applications from students between 8th and 12th grade from across Palm Beach County. The application requires students to submit a philanthropic idea that directly addresses issues in Palm Beach County. The students’ projects will be presented to a group of Philanthropist Mentors who can award each project up to $15,000 in funding to launch and implement their program. The students will also receive guidance and support from these local leaders, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs. 

Three Boca Raton teens are among the 15 students chosen as Finalists: 

•     STEMINIST Club: Talya Givoni (11th  Boca Raton), Spanish River Community High School – STEMINIST is a program that aims to break the gender stereotypes in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) by empowering young girls in the foster care system to code, create computer circuits and perform chemistry experiments. 

•     OrangeMath Tutoring: Pierre Louis (12th Boca Raton), Sophie Louis (9th Boca Raton), Adin Groper (12th Coral Springs), Eric Mackey (12th Wellington), Spanish River Community High School and American Heritage High School – OrangeMath Tutoring is a program that aims to provide free math tutoring in Spanish and Haitian-Creole to minority K-5 students. 

The rest of the Finalists include: 

•     DigitalEdge: Ashwin Parthasarathy (11th Boynton Beach) and Sarik Shah (11th Delray Beach) of American Heritage High School Boca/Delray – DigitalEdge is a program that aims to provide tech lessons along with gently used and refurbished computers to underprivileged students that lack computers in their households.

 •     Boundless BioTech: Tawfiq Rawnak (12th Lake Worth) , Akash Muthu (12th Palm Beach Gardens),  Jainil Chokshi, (11thJupiter), Manan Mahani (12th West Palm Beach) from Suncoast Community High School – Boundless BioTech is a program that aims to teach free college-level Biomedical Engineering (BME) curriculum (coding, lectures, and field training) to low-income students in Palm Beach County. 

•     Fridges for Life: Yasmin Lopez (11th Lake Worth) from Lake Worth High School – Fridges for Life is a program that aims to encourage local produce stores, restaurants, farmers and community members to donate the excess food they do not use to store in one of many community fridges installed across Palm Beach County. 

•     StudentBodyHealth: Alexis Bardy (11th Lake Worth) from G-Star School of The Arts – StudentBodyHealth is a program that aims to boost mental morale and positive health practices for today’s youth during the COVID-19 quarantine by teaching yoga and healthy eating habits.

•     BEtter YOUth: Gabrielle Williams (12th Palm Beach Gardens) and Olivia Gayle (11th West Palm Beach) from Palm Beach Gardens High School – BEtter YOUth is a program that aims to provide at-risk youth in the Juvenile Detention system with opportunities to better themselves through teaching technical work skills, life skills, and spiritual prosperity. 

The Finalists will make their presentations virtually in an event that will be posted on Philanthropy Tank’s website as well as its Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn pages on March 30th . 

This is Philanthropy Tank’s 6th year operating this unique program in Palm Beach County. The locally grown success has resulted into expansion for the charity. Philanthropy Tank recently announced its first class of student philanthropists from the Baltimore (MD) area. The charity plans on continuing expansion.  

To date, Philanthropy Tank student-led programs have impacted more than 300,000 lives; more than 500 students have participated in the student programs; and more than $600,000 in grant money has been awarded to more than 45 projects. 

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