Grants Awarded
We have funded 110 projects since we began awarding grants in 2010. All projects are the ideas and dreams of young people in the Portland, Maine Public Schools who want to make a difference!
2022-2023 school year……. coming up!
Our next grant winner could be you - check out details here.
2021/2022 Academic Year
Muslim Student Association • Casco Bay High School
Solar Car • King Middle School
Welcoming Library • Portland Arts and Technology High SchoolMural with Ryan Adams • Deering High School
3 Hearts, 9 Brains • Casco Bay High School
Self Defense • Casco Bay High School
Music Room Renovation • Deering High School
We Belong Here • Deering High School
Animal Lives Matter • Casco Bay High School
Painting the Flags • Deering High School
Library Art Exhibit • Portland High School
Transitional Handguide for Graduating Seniors • Casco Bay High School
Civil Rights Team Welcome Mural • Lincoln Middle School
Revamping the Music Room • Deering High School
Change Your Shorts to Change Your Mindset • Casco Bay High School
Bullet Journaling • Deering High School
2021
Calming Space • Lyman Moore Elementary • $490.35
Students in the Lyman Moore Breathe Program want to transform one of their classrooms into a “Calming Space”, which will include painting a mural and purchasing welcoming furniture.
Community Building Mural • Deering High School • $498.32.
During the pandemic, students felt that there has been added stress to many of their lives. They will create a mural to serve as an opportunity for collaboration and allow students to express their emotions through art.
Hugelkultur Garden • Lincoln Middle School • 495.13
A Student is planning a Hugelkultur garden, to use as a teaching tool for students to learn about sustainable gardening.
2020
Outdoor Learning •Lyseth Elementary • $500
Students at Lyseth School are deeply loving the outdoor learning that Covid precautions have necessitated, and are going to promote the beauty of learning in the outdoors with art.
Welcoming Project •Lyseth Elementary • $328.12
5th grade students at Lyseth will design and paint a mural to welcome students to their school and foster inclusivity among new peers.
Science on the Playground • Longfellow Elementary • $500
5th grade students are developing an information kiosk outside with research and information about local bugs for other students to learn about.
Sewing Circle • Portland High School • $479.99
Two PHS students learned to sew fleece hats and gave them to homeless people in Portland. They partnered with a homeless advocate to deliver the hats.
There’s More Than One Kind of Reader and More Than One Kind of Book • King Middle School • $485
Students purchased audiobooks as an alternate strategy to help students read. They wanted to encourage all students to read and find the best strategy that works for them.
Chill Zone • King Middle School • $196
As part of a science class, students created a “Chill Zone”. It is a place where students can chill out and take a breather when they need to. Comfortable seating and drawing materials were purchased for the area.
Cultural Ball • Deering High School • $490.50
As a way of developing leadership skills of black students, members of the Black Student Union will host a cultural ball highlighting black culture.
2019
Memory Project 3.0 • Portland High School • $404.82
PHS Art students partnered with the Memory Project to paint portraits of a children from a war torn country. The portraits will be delivered back to the children.
Stop the Bleed • Portland High School • $490.94
A PHS student is coordinating a Stop the Bleed training for PPS school nurses and PHS faculty.
Tortuga Jewelry Project • Portland High School • $500
A PHS student created her own line of jewelry to sell and raise money for Verdi Azul, a turtle conservation project in Costa Rica.
Project Graphics • Portland High School • $479.95
A PHS student identified an issue that students with different learning needs would benefit from working with graphic tablets. He taught students how to use the tablets.
Refleccion de Vidas • Portland High School • $230
Grupo Latinx, a group for Spanish speaking students from other countries, documented through a photo project how life has changed for them since their arrival in the US. The exhibit was displayed at the Multilingual Center.
Better Bathrooms, Better People, Better Attitudes • King Middle School • $481
7th grade students at King Middle School identified bathroom safety as an issue. They worked with artists from SIDE X Side to create 4 murals for the bathrooms that expressed inspirational quotes through visual messages.
Foreside Harbor Pen Pal Project • Lyseth Elementary School • $500
Second Graders and their teacher led a pen pal project with the senior citizens residing at Foreside Harbor, a nursing facility. Students wrote letters and sent monthly crafts to the seniors. They met their pen pals at the culmination of the project.
Learning Through Movement • Rowe Elementary School • $500
Fifth grade students created movement activities for kindergarten students during their P.E. classes that focused on developing literacy and math skills.
Social Justice Campaigns • Lincoln Middle School • $400
Having learned about social justice issues, students held a Social Justice Festival to inform the public about what they have learned and actions that people can take to get involved.
Congolese Drums Project • Portland High School • $500
A PHS student purchased a set of Congolese Drums to be used by a school group, Ballet Africa Mbonda Congo, which promotes awareness and understanding of Congolese culture through dance.
2018
Memory Project • Portland High School • $500
PHS Art Students partnered with the Memory Project to paint portraits of children from a war torn country. The portraits were delivered back to the children.
DeStress Stations • Deering High School • $466.39
Students created spaces in schools where students could “de • stress” throughout the day.
Capstone Project • Deering High School • $240
To highlight mental health issues, DHS students painted a mural in their school focusing on increasing mental health awareness.
Not Normal Fashion Fighting Sexual Assault • Casco Bay High School • $369.16
A CBHS student designed a fashion line to fight the normalization of sexual assault and the rape culture in our society.
Learning in Color • Deering High School • $135.80
Based on research about the effect that color has on brain stimulation, two DHS students repainted the Special Education room.
Yellow Tulip Project • Deering High School • $430
Deering students partnered with the Yellow Tulip project to address mental health issues in young people.
Drag for a Better Day • Portland High School • $500
A PHS student made and sold tee shirts to benefit the National Suicide and Prevention Hotline and Equality Maine.
Pollinator Garden • Ocean Avenue • $497.40
Kindergarten students created a pollinator garden to address the growing problem of pollinator habitat decrease in Maine.
Community Contra Dance • Peaks Island Elementary School • $500
Students hosted a dance to welcome members of the island to the school and help build community between the different generations of the island.
Welcome to Deering • Deering High School • $377.52
Art students interviewed students about what they would like as a greeting from their culture and created a welcome banner.
Honey Girls Mural • Portland High School • $237.46
The “Honey Girls” created a mural that expresses that diversity of girls at PHS. The mural is intended to inspire and foster ideas for positive change.
Outside Sanctuary • Presumpscot Elementary School • $500
The Kindness Club created an outdoor sanctuary for students who need a place to calm down and take a break.
2017
Raspberry Pi Project • Deering High School • $498.76
Buddy Bench • Lyseth Elementary School • $500
We Belong Here • PATHS • $490.00
Food Pantry Redesign • Lyman Moore Middle School • $150.25
Art Space Renovation • Portland High School • $500
Courtyard Improvement • Portland High School • $443.43
Safe Passage Fundraiser • Deering High School • $200
Atrium Redevelopment Project • Riverton Elementary School • $500
Bird Habitat Restoration • King Middle School • $500
Locker Project Garden • Lincoln Middle School • $500
Front Garden Project • Deering High School • $350
Paddles for Camp Sunshine Fundraiser • PATHS • $500
2016
Empty Bowls • PATHS • $500
Mindfulness and Meditation Training • Deering High School • $500
Birds Need Trees • King Middle School • $500
Big Buddies • Reiche Elementary Schools • $500
Endangered Species Art Book • Deering High School • $500
Climate Change • Casco Bay High School • $270
Art Cart • Lyseth Elementary School • $500
Self Defense Class • PATHS • $500
Bee Awareness Garden • Deering High School • $493
2015
Clothes Closet • Portland High School • $500
Front Street Playground Renovation • Lyman Moore Middle School • $500
Art Gallery • Deering High School • $500
Supporting Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking Victims • Deering High School • $500
Keeping Active • An Obstacle Course • Presumpscot Elementary School • $500
Coffee Shop • Bayside Learning Center • $485.83
Ramily Market • Deering High School • $403.97
SHINE • School Sign • Lyseth Elementary School • $400
Peer Mentoring/Teambuilding • Lincoln Middle School • $500
Indoor Greenhouse Garden • Deering High School • $250
2014
Book Marks • Deering High School • $490.70
Mobile Library • Deering High School • $500
All One School • Deering High School • $415
Nutrition • Farm to Table • PATHS • $500
Community Building Mural • Deering High School • $500
Lockerbie Diaper Project • Deering High School • $305
Noise Pollution Prevention • Lyman Moore Middle School • $500
Masking Tape Graffiti • Portland High School • $500
Hunger Awareness • Lincoln Middle School • $500
Green Team Returnable Bins • King Middle school • $417.54
2013
School Supplies and PSA • Lincoln Middle School • $496.99
Senior Center Visit and PSA • Lincoln Middle School • $500
Green Screen • Lyman Moore Middle School • $359
Sewing Machines and Juice Pouches • Reiche Elementary School • $500
2011
Mosaic Project • Lyman Moore Middle School • $350
Healthy Food • PATHS • $500
Fashion Show • PATHS • $450
Healthy Snacks • West School • $500
Grow Lettuce For School Lunches • Lyseth Elementary School • $500
Sustainable Agriculture • Casco Bay High School • $500
2012
Composting and Gardening • Deering High School • $500
New Art Space • Portland High School • $500
Welcome to Lincoln Middle School • Lincoln Middle School • $500
2010
Building a House with Habitat for Humanity • PATHS • $500
Bathroom Lighting – Deering High School • $500