Projects
Jinny Chalmers Fund
Grant Awardees
The Jinny Chalmers Fund for Education Justice was founded as an action-oriented memorial to Jinny Chalmers and her visions for excellent, inclusive education and racial justice.
From training youth for activism and mentorship, to providing experiential outdoor STEM education, to supporting aspiring educators of color as they pursue their careers, to building freedom and power for the most marginalized in society, our grant awardees exemplify the kind of work that Jinny nurtured and championed.
Chalmers Fund grants range in size from $3,500 to $6,000.
To learn about projects the Jinny Chalmers Fund for Education Justice has supported, view our annual reports and see examples below:
1for3.org
1for3 partners with community-run organizations in Palestine’s West Bank around health, education, water, and food. The West Bank’s children are facing dire conditions due to the military occupation, apartheid, and economic scarcity. The Zahrat Al-Yasmeen kindergarten operates in two UN-run refugee camps in Bethlehem.
A Jinny Chalmers Fund grant is enabling Zahrat Al-Yasmeen kindergarten teachers to integrate trauma-informed practices into their classrooms. A series of trainings at the Aida refugee camp brought together preschool educators from Zahrat Al-Yasmeen with educators and trauma specialists from Palestine and the U.S.
Apprentice Learning
Apprentice Learning (AL) provides real-world work experiences for middle grade students, primarily youth of color, from Boston’s under-resourced and underestimated communities. In the past year, 192 eighth grade students learned foundational workplace readiness skills, then worked two hours per week at one of AL’s cooperating worksites. Participants were mentored on the job and learned about the culture and purpose of the business/organization.
Support from the Jinny Chalmers Fund helped AL expand its enrollment and provide $200 stipends to students for the first time.
Mexican American Studies Teachers Academy
The Mexican American Studies (MAS) Teachers Academy is a scholar- and teacher-activist powered summer academy that introduces teachers to foundational knowledge, analytic frameworks, and racial justice and liberatory pedagogies to teach Mexican American Studies. It is the only academy of its kind in Texas providing professional development for MAS teachers. The Academy plays a significant role in growing and sustaining the statewide movement for Ethnic Studies in Texas PreK-12 schools.
With JCFEJ support in 2024, 77 teachers from across the state took part in this year’s comprehensive academy focusing on the theme of “Floricanto: Cultivating Conocimiento through Creative Expression.”
The City School
The City School’s (TCS) Pathways to Change program offers three career pathways for youth to develop as educators, organizers and advocates, and organizational leaders. Each pathway is rooted in training and mentorship and supports participants (first as youth and later as adults) to become effective leaders for social justice. Youth learn many skills within the three pathways, including curriculum and workshop design, facilitation, public speaking, base-building and outreach, finances and budgeting, and board participation.
In 2024, The Chalmers Fund supported TCS as it hosted its largest Pathways to Change (PTC) program in recent years. Our funding also helped TCS strengthen its community organizing work aiming for Boston to achieve a non-police, community-based mental health crisis response model. PTC’s youth leaders co-led biweekly member meetings for an intergenerational group of 50 community members to build support for this model.
Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership
Located in Rockland, Maine, Hurricane Island offers experiential education programs for youth ages 11 – 18, integrating science education, applied research and leadership development. The Hurricane Island hands-on science curriculum offers opportunities for students to explore and connect with the natural world along the island’s rocky shore—and to emerge as leaders who leave the island feeling more empowered to build a sustainable future.
The Chalmers Fund helped Hurricane Island Center provide full scholarships to bring six Boston area students to Hurricane Island. Our funds also served as a match to help raise another $14,300 to bring nine more students, for a total of 15.
St. Stephen’s Youth Program
The SSYP’s organizing work shows that collective action by a unified group of families can change longstanding educational systems and structures. The SSYP organizing strategy builds a base of black, brown, immigrant, and low-income families committed to exercising their power to insist that the City’s decision-makers uphold their promises for better public schools and neighborhoods.
In 2024, a Chalmers Fund grant allowed SSYP to stipend eight members of its peer-elected Action Committee. They met weekly to plan campaign strategy and led over 150 parents and family members to take collective action for education justice.
Young People’s Project
The YPP has partnered with the Boston Public School Teacher Cadet program to address the need for innovative math instruction to meet the educational needs of low-income children of color in Boston. The YPP partnership with Boston Public School students is aimed at addressing racial inequity and the disproportionate assignment of Black students to special education classes, and under-assignment to advanced classes.
In 2024, the YPP held its 8th Annual National Flagway Math Tournament in Cambridge, Mass., with 250 students participating. A Chalmers Fund grant enabled YPP to design, create, and pilot math games tailored to elementary school students. College and high school Math Literacy Workers used K-5 math concepts and designed games allowing elementary students to experience math in a fun way.