YMCA of the USA Awards High School Students $5,000 to Lead Change in Their Local Communities

CHICAGO, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- YMCA of the USA (Y-USA), the national resource office for the 2,600+ YMCAs across the country, is excited to announce the winners of the 2025 YMCA Changemakers Summit. Now in its fourth year, the summit offers rising 10^th–12^th graders the opportunity to propose a project that addresses a critical issue or need in their communities. Three winners receive $5,000, two finalists receive $2,500, and three semifinalists receive $1,000 to implement their project in their community.

The summit took place June 27-29 in Orlando, FL. Out of the 39 teams who participated, three teams were chosen by their peers as winners. The awarded students and their projects are:

Winners: Compass in a Canvas - Nikki Wu & Amanda de Leon ($5,000 – Caine Halter Family YMCA, Greenville, SC)
Winners: Unity Provisions - Ryan Nguyen & Vivian Pan ($5,000 – YMCA of Greater Boston, MA)
Winners: Boomerang Learning: Promoting Parental Involvement in Education - Kris Lau & Neel Patel ($5,000 – YMCA Southwestern Indiana, Evansville, IN
Finalists: AED for All - Hyunwoo Joo & Ishan Chakrabarti ($2,500 – Green Hills Family YMCA, Nashville, TN)
Finalists: Change A Leaf: Mental Relief in Alief - Gabrielle Brown & Sean McClain ($2,500 – Alief Family YMCA, Houston, TX)
Semifinalists: Harvesting Health - Samantha Mossa & Siyona Patel ($1,000 – New Jersey State Alliance of YMCAs, NJ)
Semifinalists: It's Okay Not To Be Okay - Jeshen Kannan & Allison Hong ($1,000 – Bear-Glasglow Family YMCA, Glasglow, DE)
Semifinalists: Girls for Books - Neerja Bathla & Nidhi Bathla ($1,000 – YMCA of Greater San Antonio, TX)

YMCA Changemakers projects are completely youth-led. Each year, participating students select an issue based on the needs of their local community and craft a proposal to address it. Past proposals have focused on topics such as emergency preparedness, youth mental health, period poverty, addressing hunger, anti-pollution efforts and more.

The Changemakers Summit is informed by the YMCA’s Changemaker Strategy, which aims to prepare young people to be active contributors and stakeholders in decision-making within their communities. The Changemaker Strategy is guided by 3 principles: beliefs and values, meaningful experiences, and intentional settings.

“Young people have unique insights on meeting community needs and leading change, and through programs like YMCA Changemakers, the Y helps them turn their ideas into action,” said Suzanne McCormick, President and CEO of Y-USA. “I’m inspired by the finalists and all the students who took part in the summit. Their passion, creativity and commitment to their communities show that our future is good hands.”

About the Y
Driven by its founding mission, the Y has served as a leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community for more than 175 years. The Y empowers everyone, no matter who they are or where they’re from, by ensuring access to resources, relationships, and opportunities for all to learn, grow and thrive. By bringing together people from different backgrounds, perspectives and generations, the Y’s goal is to improve overall health and well-being, ignite youth empowerment and demonstrate the importance of connections in and across 10,000 communities nationwide. Learn more at ymca.org.

Contact:
YMCA of the USA
312-416-0870
media@ymca.net

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