By Anna Hughes

It’s no secret that Gen Z wants to change the world. They’re passionate, informed, and active in their communities, with hopes of building better lives for themselves and their neighbors.

This mindset inspired leaders of the Community Memorial Foundation to create a program focused on just that: giving young people in the western suburbs an opportunity to create lasting, meaningful change for others in their communities.

The Young Community Change-makers (YC2) program was founded seven years ago as an extension of the work that the Community Memorial Foundation does every day: utilizing grant-making and community work to advance its mission of improving the health and well-being of 27 communities across western Cook and southeastern DuPage counties. YC2 gives 60 juniors and seniors at Hinsdale Central High School, Lyons Township High School, Nazareth Academy, and Riverside Brookfield High School an inside look at the nonprofit space through the lens of leadership development and philanthropy.

“This initiative really does lift up the best of philanthropy, gratitude, empathy, partnership, community, and hope,” Community Memorial Foundation President and CEO Greg DiDomenico said. “That is our hope: that this engagement with teens, this program with teens, really lifts up the best that philanthropy brings and that our community experiences as a result of it.”

Interested students apply every fall to participate in the 10-week program, which includes weekly meetings, site visits, and the opportunity to provide $30,000 of grant money ($15,000 per cohort of 30 students) to an organization of their collective choosing. It’s a chance for them to not only learn and discuss local issues with their peers but also work hands-on in the community.

“When we’re reading the applications, we’re really looking for a student that has the heart, the mind, and the interest in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector,” Program and Communications Officer Beth Murin said. “So, you might not need to be the quarterback of the football team with straight As, but you need to have some understanding or desire to understand the needs of your community and how we can collectively work and collaborate to meet those needs.”

Ayla Mushtaq, a senior at Hinsdale Central, was part of 2024’s YC2 crew. This program allowed her to embrace her interest in philanthropy and engage with students from other schools.

“I feel like I did learn a lot about how to make a difference locally, but I also feel like I learned a lot about what philanthropy is,” Mushtaq said. “The other thing that I really gained from the experience was realizing how it’s kind of inspiring to sit in a room full of kids that are your age, that also care about giving back to the world, care about making it a better place.”

DiDomenico and Murin are mesmerized each week as they watch these passionate students like Mushtaq, who give up a few precious hours of their Sundays to be a part of this program.

“We tell them, ‘Everyone is a philanthropist. Everyone has the opportunity to be a philanthropist, right?’” Murin said. “I think typically people think of Warren Buffett or Bill Gates or people that have a ton of money, but I always tell them, by being there on a Sunday, they’re phi-lanthropists because they’re giving their time, their talents, their relationships, their ties, and then this treasure to the community.”

Murin said these teens’ top priorities are often mental health resources and widespread access to healthcare. She treasures their unique viewpoints and relishes the powerful conversations they create each week.

“I love working with young people,” Murin said. “This generation, they’re so smart, they’re so hopeful. They really get it.”

Although the students are there to learn, sometimes it’s their turn to teach—whether or not they realize it.

“When I sit into the session where they decide where they’re going to distribute the grants, I learn so much. I’m taking notes, writing down, just thinking, ‘Wow, that’s a great way to look at it.’” DiDomenico said. “It offers us, as a foundation, an opportunity to learn from them and be inspired by them.”

Many students find a true passion for this work throughout the program, hoping to incorporate their newfound knowledge into future plans. Mushtaq, who will start college at Northwestern in the fall, said this experience will certainly influence her studies.
“I definitely want to major in something like history, philosophy, or social sciences-oriented,” Mushtaq said. “I think [YC2] really spiked my interest in some of the philosophical kinds of issues or ideas behind the problems that people are facing today.”

The takeaways from these classes, however, expand beyond philan-thropy. They’re simply just lessons for life.

“I think the one thing that I really, really took away from this is, like, the importance of listening to people and listening to their stories,” Mushtaq said.

That pillar of empathy is central to the mission of the Community Memorial Foundation. And with young adults like Mushtaq and her cohort of Gen Z visionaries, there’s certainly plenty to go around.

Community Memorial Foundation has invested over $90 million in the community since its founding in 1995. They are grateful to The Burjan Family, Moira & Paul Naffah, and Corlyn & Jeff Simmons for facilitating the YC2 program.

For more information about the Foundation and YC2, visit CMFDN.org.

Juniors and Seniors in high school can apply every fall for the program with selected members announced in early January. Last year’s YC2 Class of 2024 featured above.