Woburn and Winchester Youth Teams Awarded $4,100 in Grants from SCI

The 4th year of SCI Social Capital Inc.’s Youth Grant Pitch Contest wrapped up at La Colaborativa’s Survival & Economic Development Center with the Pitch Event on Saturday, April 5, 2025. Fifteen student teams from nonprofits, schools, and community programs in Greater Boston pitched community-impact project ideas to a panel of judges, who then awarded grant funds based on contest criteria. A total of $20,000 was awarded amongst the 15 teams, with grant awards ranging from $600 to $2,000.

SCI welcomed over 190 people to the Pitch Event in Chelsea, MA, with youth participants, program volunteers, family, supporters, and invited guests in attendance. One attendee shared that the Pitch Event was “an awesome celebration of youth ideas.”

In total, over 85 young people aged 8-19 years old were involved in the 2025 SCI Youth Grant Pitch Contest. Out of the 15 participating teams, 6 were awarded the full amount of their budget. This includes Woburn Memorial High School’s Spectrum Club, which was awarded $2,000 to subsidize their annual community gala, a multi-school program for LGBTQ+ high school students. Additional local youth teams awarded funding include 4 Kids by Kids Tutoring, a youth-led initiative based in Woburn that received $1,100 to support their volunteer-based free K-8 tutoring program, and a sociology class from Winchester High School had a team that received $1,000 to create an intergenerational community garden for adolescents and local seniors.

The 2025 Youth Grant Pitch Contest featured two funding tracks: Social Impact and Bridge-Building. Social Impact projects provide community service, arts & culture access, peer support, and/or addressing mental health. Bridge-Building projects bring together people from different communities or different identity groups through cultural exchange and social engagement. The Bridge-Building focus area is a new funding track established in 2025 and supported through funding provided by Boston Bridges Initiative.

Below is the full list of participating teams in the 2025 SCI Youth Grant Pitch Contest with their award amounts:
Social Impact Track:

• Be My Buddy from Friends of Costa Park in Revere. Awarded $1,000.
• Community Health Youth Cohort from La Colaborativa in Chelsea. Awarded $1,200.
• Con Manos Unidas We Change from EASTIE Coalition in East Boston. Awarded $1,150.
• Generation Green from Menebere Leule Medhanealem EOTC in Malden. Awarded $1,000.
• Lynn Lady Leaders from the Boys & Girls Club of Lynn in Lynn. Awarded $1,700.
• One Student One Book One Dream Movement from Literacy and Water Movement in Lawrence. Awarded $1,150.
• Soley from Immigrant Family Services Institute in Mattapan. Awarded $1,423.
• The Gathering from Boston Public Schools Academic Mentoring in Boston. Awarded $2,000.

Bridge-Building Track:

• 4 Kids by Kids Tutoring, a youth-led initiative in Woburn. Awarded $1,100.
• Moses Youth Center Boys II Men from Cambridge Youth Programs in Cambridge. Awarded $2,000.
• Resilience for Refugees from Wilmington High School in Wilmington. Awarded $700.
• RIOT Squad from La Colaborativa in Chelsea. Awarded $600.
• Spectrum Club from Woburn Memorial High School in Woburn. Awarded $2,000.
• Team Warm Welcome, a youth-led initiative in Boston. Awarded $2,000.
• Winchester High School Sociology Class from Winchester High School in Winchester. Awarded $1,000.

The goal of SCI’s Youth Grant Pitch Contest is to connect youth across Greater Boston communities with volunteer coaches who mentor the youth in the development of their community project and pitch to strengthen their community. This process develops valuable career skills such as public speaking, project management, and community organizing. Volunteering in this year’s Youth Grant Pitch Contest were 30 coaches who are active professionals from a variety of local startups, companies, and nonprofits such as United Healthcare, Cummings Foundation, M&T Bank, Berkshire Bank, and Rhone Apparel.

Each youth team will have until December 2025 to complete their respective projects and will submit a project impact report by the end of January 2026.

The SCI Youth Grant Pitch Contest is made possible by SCI’s sponsors, individual donors, and a Massachusetts state budget line item, thanks to the advocacy of State Senator Cindy Friedman. The 2025 SCI Youth Grant Pitch Contest is sponsored by Boston Bridges Initiative; The Boston Foundation; Winning Home, Inc.; M&T Bank; Berkshire Bank; Benefact4; and Kick It for a Cause. Major support for SCI youth programming is provided by Cummings Properties. Thank you to La Colaborativa for their partnership in hosting Social Capital Inc.’s 2025 Pitch Event.

The mission of SCI Social Capital Inc. is to strengthen communities by connecting diverse individuals and organizations through civic engagement initiatives. Visit socialcapitalinc.org to learn more about SCI programs and volunteer opportunities.