Seeds of Peace is the winner of the Maine Community Foundation’s (MaineCF) 2010 Noyce Award for Nonprofit Excellence. The organization is being honored for its Maine Seeds Youth Leadership Program. The award includes an unrestricted $10,000 grant.
The Maine Seeds Youth Leadership Program was started by Tim Wilson, special advisor to Seeds of Peace. The program seeks to develop the leadership capabilities of youth—the “Seeds”—focusing on communication and critical thinking skills. Participants are teenagers ages 14 to 17, from all 16 counties in Maine, many of them drawn from low-income families and immigrant communities.
“The 2010 Noyce Award selection committee was particularly impressed with Seeds of Peace’s efforts to draw participants from low-income and racially diverse populations in all 16 counties,” says Meredith Jones, MaineCF president and CEO. “We salute Seeds of Peace for bringing its leadership training to youth all across Maine.”
The focus of this year’s Noyce Award was “Strengthening Community by Building Leadership.” Special consideration was given to programs that serve individuals and groups typically underrepresented. MaineCF received 19 nominations for the 2010 award.
The Noyce Award for Nonprofit Excellence honors philanthropist Elizabeth Noyce (1930-1996), who was dedicated to supporting the health and development of Maine’s nonprofits. Past Noyce Award winners include the Sunrise County Economic Council, Franklin County Community College Network, Maine Migrant Health Program, and Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
Read the article at The Free Press (Maine) »