The Manheim Township Educational Foundation (Board of Directors recently approved the creation of a Student Impact Fund, allocating up to $5,000 annually to fund grants submitted by Manheim Township High School students.
While students have always been eligible and encouraged to apply for MTEF grants, few of these applications have come from this group. The Student Impact Fund aims to change that, by making the process more accessible to students. Whereas MTEF reviews general grants twice annually, student impact grants may be submitted at any time during the school year, with notification of approval provided within two months.
“To better engage students, we worked to streamline and simplify the application itself as well as the timeline for approval and award. We know that students have innovative ideas that can benefit the broader school community. With the unique aspects of the Student Impact Fund, we hope to empower them to turn those thoughts into reality,” Executive Director Jenny Germann explains.
Student Impact Representatives, MTHS students who serve as non-voting board members of Manheim Township Educational Foundation, will play a key role in managing the program. Current Student Impact Representatives, senior Noel Shabu and junior Michael Vogt, in collaboration with Germann and Chris Flores, Vice President of the MTEF Board and Chair of the Board’s Grant Disbursement Committee, developed the application guidelines and review process for the new fund and presented the program to the Board for approval.
The Student Impact Fund is reserved for requests under $1,000. A student grant application requires the signature of the school principal as well as a faculty member, who will manage grant funds if awarded. Grant requests must benefit more than one student and should highlight innovation, in keeping with MTEF’s stated mission to provide resources for innovative educational programs for all Manheim Township School District students.
“I want students to know that this is their chance. I hear so much passion and see so much drive for change, for ways to make things better. The Student Impact Fund is a great opportunity to do that,” says Shabu. “We’ve made the process easy. The door is wide open.”