UNITY — Working collaboratively, 200 middle and high school students from Messalonskee, Winslow and Waterville awarded $7,000 in grants to Maine nonprofits through the statewide youth philanthropy program, Jumpstart Our Youth, according to a press release. Jobs for Maine’s Graduates students invited several nonprofits to apply for the annual grant funding through an RFP process, hosted presentations to hear more about the missions of the agencies, how the grants would be used and ultimately voted to select the seven nonprofits to each receive a $1,000 grant.

The seven grant recipients are: Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers, Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter and South End Teen Center, all of Waterville; and the Autism Society of Maine, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Pine Tree Camp and Special Olympics Maine, who work statewide.

Jumpstart Our Youth was founded by the Unity Foundation in Unity, Maine in partnership with the Maine Community Foundation and Unitel, Inc. to teach young people about the role of nonprofits, smart funding and community service. Now in its fifth year, the JOY program is the only student-driven philanthropy program in Maine and has awarded approximately $250,000 to nonprofits across the state.