MCW AWARDS ALUMNI VENTRUES FUND GRANT TO YOUTH LEADER FROM TANZANIA
Grant Provides Up to $4,000 and a Year of Mentorship for Alumni of MCW’s Annual International Youth Leadership Retreat
NEW YORK, N.Y., April 16, 2015 — MCW, a New York-based non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth to become positive agents of change in their communities, has awarded Abdu Mwimi of Tanzania an Alumni Ventures Fund (AVF) grant. Abdu will receive a grant up to $4,000 and a year of mentorship to turn his idea for change in his community into a concrete project, drawing on his experience of drafting a “vision plan” for social change at MCW’s annual Youth Leadership Retreat program.
Abdu will use the award to continue his work with “The Way Forward Foundation,” a registered non-profit he founded in Tanzania. The Way Forward Foundation’s mission is “to educate communities in Tanzania by empowering youth through life skills training and education on the UN Millennium Development Goals”. In addition, the foundation will provide education scholarships to students in need. Upon receiving the grant, Abdu said, “Receiving the award is not something small – it is a sign of the responsibilities to my community. I believe the investment MCW is making to The Way Forward Foundation through the grant will help transform the lives of youth in Tanzania and allow them to be agents of change.”
Since establishing the Alumni Ventures Fund in 2009, MCW has awarded five grants to graduates of the MCW Youth Leadership Retreat. Preparations are now underway for MCW’s 18th Leadership Retreat, to be held from July 29 to August 5, 2015 at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York. Applications can be found on the website at www.mcwglobal.org.
About MCW
MCW is a non-profit organization founded in 1999 with the vision “Local Change through Global Exchange®.” Our mission is to empower youth to become positive agents of change in their communities. Based in New York, with partner organizations in Africa (i.e., Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia), MCW offers the following programs: Global Youth Development, Community Development and Oral Health Care, as well as Partner Initiatives (e.g. Paediatric AIDS Treatment for Africa). MCW’s core values include integrity, compassion, accountability, responsibility and excellence. www.mcwglobal.org.
