SPC awards grant money for 2011
	On Wednesday, April 27, representatives of The Hill School’s Student Philanthropy Council (SPC) presented checks totaling $10,000 to four local nonprofit organizations to help fund those entities’ educational programs. Charles A. Frank III, Hill '59, and his wife, Betty, with members of the 2010-11 Student Philanthropy Council. The SPC was established in 2009 through a gift to The Hill School from Charles A. Frank III, Hill ’59, and his wife, Betty. Hill student participants solicit and evaluate local nonprofits’ requests for funding, then award a total of $10,000 in grants. The 2012 grant budget will be made possible through a generous gift from Dr. and Mrs. Clement C. Alpert, grandparents of a member of the class of 2011. The beneficiaries of this year’s SPC grants are noted below, with photographs taken during the check presentation visits:

	Freedom Valley YMCA: $1,555 Grant
	The Freedom Valley YMCA will use these funds to support a new program called TRUST (Togetherness Requires Understanding of Social Teamwork). This program’s goal is to implement an environment of cooperative learning for the children under their care. The program, initiated as a response to increasing problems with rough play on playgrounds, is designed to help children resolve conflicts and work toward common goals. Through games, field trips, and guest speakers, the children learn to cooperate and hone other communication skills.

	Gallery School of Pottstown: $3,145 Grant
	The Gallery School will apply funds from The Hill School Student Philanthropy Fund to the "Healing Arts-Time for Me" program. It is a free arts program available to cancer patients, survivors, their family members, and caregivers. The Pottstown Memorial Medical Center works with The Gallery School to recommend students for the program; students are then able to choose from any one of many available classes at the Gallery School. The goal of the program is to try and re-empower a segment of the community through the visual arts by encouraging a refocus on life, its challenges, and its gifts.

	YWCA Tri-County Area: $3,300 Grant
	The Tri-County Area YWCA will use the SPC grant to fund two, eight-week “etiquette” and self-esteem boosting programs (“Little Miss Manners: Empowering Girls Through Etiquette”) for area low-income girls ages 8-12. The program helps young girls by addressing topics ranging from manners and hygiene to healthy eating. A culminating tea will be held next year at The Hill.

	Developmental Enterprises: $2,000 Grant
	The Developmental Enterprises proposal states that funds will be used to help finance a literacy program for disabled adults who attend their Training Center in Pottstown. They will help 17 adults learn to read through special assessments and tutoring. The Franks’ vision for the Student Philanthropy Council was based on their shared belief that young people should volunteer to benefit their communities – and that, through such participation, Hill students will develop life-long philanthropic habits and interests. As noted by Mrs. Frank, “These young people at Hill are learning so much from this experience and the good works that they are doing.” Students greatly value their experiences on this council as well. “I have learned that every dollar counts and that the decisions we make affect others more than we can imagine,” says Katie Gibbs ’11 (Orinda, Calif.). Hanna Betts ’11 (McLean, Va.) notes, “Working together with such a dedicated group of students has been an educational process in itself, one that has that improved my skills in this area.” “I have lived here in Pottstown since I was I kid, and I wanted to try to help the community,” says Jak Hutchinson ’11.