UPDATE: Registration for the 2023 session of Shaping a Better Tomorrow has closed. We have reached our maximum capacity of 20 students. Please see below a list of the speakers who will be educating our future community leaders. If you are still interested in this program, please contact us directly at shapingabettertomorrow@gmail.com.

News: Shaping a Better Tomorrow is excited to announce a partnership with WFEE - The Winchester Foundation for Educational Excellence. This will enable winning student projects for grant submissions.

Background: COVID-19 has served as a time of reckoning. While we might be transitioning from a pandemic to an endemic, the social issues COVID-19 has shed light upon are not nearing their end. Rather, the gravity of the situation and the need for solutions is only more pressing. Therefore, now is the time to understand the challenges the world is facing today and work together with peers to engineer solutions for a better tomorrow.

Program: Shaping a Better Tomorrow aims to educate and mobilize the next generation of thinkers. The objective is to introduce students to the most pressing social issues the world is facing today through interactive panels and Q&A sessions with subject-area experts. The topics selected for the Winter 2022 - Spring 2023 session are:

  • Climate change

    • Ken Pruitt, Sustainability Director of Winchester

  • Economic inequality (education inequality)

    • Mike Bettencourt, Winchester Select Board Chair

  • Allyship

    • Liora Norwich, Executive Director at Network for Social Justice

    • Arya Ramachandran, Winchester High School

  • Health care/outcomes

These learning sessions culminate with teaching students to “take action” in their own community. They will be able to leverage their newfound knowledge to design a project that can help investigate, educate, and advocate for a topic they find most pressing/interesting. Based on the needs and viability of a student proposal and the total funds raised, some financial support will be provided to ensure the success of the project. 

Audience: This program is geared towards middle school students (around grades 6-8).

Logistics: The program will run through Winter 2022 - Spring 2023. All meetings will be after school at a local Winchester community location. With the help of mentors, we are reaching out to middle school resources and students. The program is scheduled to kick off on January 16, 2023, as part of the MLK Jr. Day of Service!

Funding: The class will be free for all participants. The goal is to make it accessible to everyone. The program has raised up to $1000 and is in the process of applying for more grants. All funds will go directly toward supporting student initiatives.

Goal: The ultimate goal of this program is to empower students to help shape the world they want to live in. Focusing on issues that can leverage grassroots solutions and receiving the necessary support to implement the changes should give students the confidence to serve as catalysts for shaping a better tomorrow.

Sustainability: The objective of having the Latin Club and NFSJ involvement (even if only in an advisory capacity) is to help with the sustainability of the endeavor. Based on the learnings from the pilot program, the hope is that this can serve as a template for future initiatives at the middle school level.

Curriculum: There will be a total of 6 meetings. The first will introduce the program, objectives and walk through the take action proposal application process. There will be one session for each of the topic deep dives (4 total). The final meeting will allow each student to present their project and share the impact they’ve had on their community. The final session will be held a few of weeks after the 5th to ensure ample time is allotted for students to complete their “take action” project. It will be in the form of a student fair.

Calling all students who want to make a difference! 

Be part of a small cohort and seize the opportunity to take action and help raise awareness across your community.

Shaping a better Tomorrow will educate you on some of the most pressing issues the world faces today. Through this program, you’ll be given guidance to plan and execute a take-action project. Additionally, you may even receive funding for your project if appropriate! Prepare yourself for High School and the potential to intern for Social Justice or community-oriented organizations! 

There are a finite number of spots, so if interested, fill out THIS form ASAP