The Princeton Class of 1978 can now accept online donations. By clicking below, you will be able to make a gift to help the Foundation support deserving Princeton students in their community service projects around the world.

Class of 1978 Foundation

Through the Class of 1978 Foundation, our class continues to help new generations of Princeton University students explore commitment to public service through community service projects in the United States and overseas. In its last 15 years of giving, the Foundation has awarded nearly $195,000 in grants to help underwrite the summer volunteer work of 89 Princeton students.

Each spring, the Foundation solicits proposals from Princeton undergraduate and graduate students. Applications are carefully reviewed and ranked by board members who award five to eight grants of up to $3,500 annually. The number of grants varies depending upon the quality of proposals and the available resources.

The Foundation will begin accepting applications for 2013 grants in January. The deadline for submissions will be APRIL 1, 2013.

Download: 2013 Grant Application

Please note that this year, as part of the Class of 1978's 35th reunion service commitment, the Class of 1978 Foundation will offer one of its 2013 stipends for volunteer work in support of YouthBuild (https://youthbuild.org). For details about the organization and volunteer opportunities, please click here.

Since its inception, the Foundation has stayed true to its mission of supporting students' direct involvement in hands-on community service. Projects are as unique as the grant applicants themselves and the organizations they serve. Foundation recipients have helped build homes in the slums of Belfast and reintroduced biology courses to gutted high schools in conflict torn Eastern Europe. They have helped build a library in Ghana and worked on grassroots economic development, eco-tourism and sustainable agricultural projects in Peru, Honduras, and Belize. They have volunteered with community health initiatives in Cuba and worked with organizations serving urban Aborigines in Australia. Closer to home, Foundation-funded volunteers have helped teach younger students academic and test-taking skills they'll need for college; have briefed immigrants on their legal rights and protections, and have pioneered therapies and programs for hearing impaired elementary students.

"Ultimately, this experience reaffirmed my passion and desire to give back to communities and to other individuals, and to dedicate myself to public service and to making a difference in people's lives," wrote Dana A. Satir '01, who spent the summer of 2000 teaching in a special program for disadvantaged middle school students in Raleigh, North Carolina.

For more information about the Class of 1978 Foundation or to make a donation, please contact:

Jesse Milan, Jr. '78
President, Class of 1978 Foundation
Email: 1978.princeton.foundation@gmail.com

History of the Class of 1978 Foundation

Princeton trustee Liz Duffy '88 was among one of the first groups of Princeton students to receive a grant from the Class of 1978 Foundation. That stipend---a few hundred dollars at the time---helped cover Liz's living expenses during the muggy summer she spent in Trenton, New Jersey, after her junior year, volunteering with the "Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies" program.

"That summer I learned that I could use the skills that I developed at Princeton to make a difference in the world --- and have a lot of fun in the process," said Liz, the former executive director of the Ball Foundation, a Chicago area organization focused on career development and educational achievement issues, now head of the Lawrenceville School. "Thanks to the Class of 1978 for launching me on what has been an immensely rewarding career path entirely in the non-profit sector."

Most recently, Teresa Méndez , our 1999 alumna, related that after seven years as a journalist, she is now working on a masters degree in clinicial social work at Smith College School for Social Work,"...returning to the type of public service work that my class of 1978 Foundation grant supported when I was a junior at Princeton University."

Liz and Teresa are among the dozens of Class of 1978 Foundation grant recipients who have been able to explore ways to contribute their talents, energies and resources "in the Nation's Service, and in the Service of all Nations."

About six years after we parted ways in 1978, several classmates began looking ahead to develop ways our class could continue to share the fruits of our education and knowledge to benefit others and to encourage others to do the same. Through our classmates' foresight and generosity --- and the numerous classmates who have subsequently contributed to the Foundation or served on its 15-member board --- our class has sustained a program that has helped new generations explore commitment to public service through a truly stunning array of community service projects in the United States and overseas. Research may be an essential element of a summer's work --- such as the work Amy Anderson '01 did for a non-profit group developing software to help people with profound speech disabilities. But the benefits go far beyond the student's academic enrichment. Not only do these students forgo summer jobs and needed income, but they often serve in areas and in projects --- whether here or in developing countries --- where they experience first-hand the hardships of the people and communities they seek to serve. Grant recipients have also worked in soup kitchens and halfway houses and in job placement and homeless programs. Their work charts the course of profound global issues, as seen in the increase in applicants seeking to work with HIV/AIDS prevention and service projects in Africa, Asia, and South America. Their efforts attest to the intractability of these and other problems --- as year after year applicants return to programs that address the lack of access to economic and educational resources and opportunities that so many of us have been fortunate enough to take for granted.

Listed below are the Class of 1978 Foundation awards made in the past fifteen years:

Summer 2012: Seven grants were awarded, totaling, $21,550:

Katie Horvath '15 - $3,458 to assist El Centro Humanitario develop a marketing plan and support the rights of day laborers in the Denver, Colorado area;
Seth Forsgren '14 - $3,018 to assist A Tu Lado train emergency health workers in Bolivia;
Sarah Germain '13 - $2,500 to assist Engineers Without Borders construct a potable water system in Peru;
Justin Harris '13 - $3,154 to serve an internship at the New York City Legal Aid Society;
Ivy Maina '13 - $2,500 to teach women's health in a rural camp for girls through Seeds to Sew International, Inc. in Kenya;
Kevin McKee '14 - $3,500 to assist the Global Health Research Foundation develop a Patient Outcomes and Environmental Monitoring System (POEMS) in Bhutan and Nepal;
Brian Reed '15 - $3,420 to assist PITCH: Africa to develop a rainwater harvesting project in Kenya.

Summer 2011: Eight grants were awarded, totaling, $20,518:

Alexandra Gecker'12 -- East Harlem School Project in New York City ($2968)
Salmaan Kamal'13 -- Community HealthWorker Project in Sierra Leone ($2000)
Omoshalewa Bamkole'11 -- Family HealthCenter Project in Monmouth, New Jersey($2500)
Jeremy Blair'13 -- Engineers WithoutBorders Library building project in Ghana ($2000)
Seth Forsgren'14 -- Emergency MedicineTraining Project in Venezuela($2300)
Daniel Gastfriend -- Rainwater HarvestingProject in Nigeria($3250)
Katelyn Gostic'13 -- MATCHCharter SchoolInternship with underprivileged students in Boston, MA($3500)
David Newill-Smith'14 -- EngineersWithout Borders Palm Oil processing project in Sierra Leone ($2000)

Summer 2010: Five grants were awarded, totaling, $13,450:

Nushelle de Silva, $3,000, helping with a project to resettle Sri Lankan war refugees back into their villages and develop sustainable infrastructure and economies;
Sojung Yi, $3,000, internship in Johannesburg, SA, with organization teaching mothers on HIV/AIDS prevention and developing community wide curriculum in this area;
Kok Hou Chia, $2,000, working for Fadhili Helpers, a community-based HIV/AIDS relief organization in Nairobi;
Henry Rounds, $3,000, installing solar panels for a clinic in Sierra Leone to power modern lab equipment necessary to improve maternal/pre-natal care;
Albert Liao, $2,450, working with Unite for Sight, in Ghana, assisting local optometrists by coordinating the distribution of glasses; educating villagers about proper eye care and how to access the healthcare that is available to them.

Summer 2009: Seven grants were awarded in 2009, totaling $13,450:

Hank Song, $3,000 - project leader, Engineers Without Borders, Peru
Lisa Gu, $1,000 - Upward Bound project in Massachusetts
Mathias Esmann, $2,500 - Anti-Malaria project in Sierra Leone
Stephanie Ng, $1,950 - Unite for Sight project in Ghana
Rik Sengupta, $1,500 - Math curriculum development at a school in India
Mohit Agrawal, $2,000 - Ghana project lead for Engineers Without Borders
Jesse George-Nichol, $1,500 -teaching sports at a school for abandoned children in India

Summer 2008: Six grants were awarded in 2008, totaling $16,000:

Carl Owens, $3,500 grant: Carl provided intensive writing and reading support for first generation college-bound students at a leadership academy in South Africa
Laura Kergosian, $2,500 grant: Laura assisted in Manna Project International projects to develop a community health clinic and at a hospital that provides medical care to Quito's poorest residents.
Alissa Escarce, $3,500 grant: Alissa worked with the Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, based in Zacatecas Mexico, to improve conditions of mexican migrant workers through legal advocacy and education;
Francis Grehan, $3,500 grant: Francis developed a competitive rowing camp for disadvantaged "first people" children in rural British Columbia.
Whitney Chapman, $1,000 grant: Whitney worked for a Headstart program in rural British Columbia.
Mariko Nakayama, $2,000 grant: Mariko helped establish a children's library in Costa Rica, with literature from around the world to broaden children's exposure to the world and other opportunities.

Summer 2007: Five grants were awarded in 2007, totaling $14,000:

Vicki Chen '09, $3,000 grant: Vicki worked with an organization in India to provide ophthalmology and optometry services to rural poor
Jessica Kwong '07, $3,500 grant: Jessica worked in Sierra Leone leading a class of teenagers in reading, discussing, translating and performing Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Danilo Mandic '07, $2,500 grant: Danilo organized After Kosovo: A Project for Peace, a three-month project in Belgrade, Serbia, designed to bring together students from Kosovo and Serbia --- two communities largely isolated from each other --- to engage in dialogue and to challenge the prevailing air of prejudice, intolerance and misunderstanding
Christopher Simpson '08, $2,500 grant: Christopher is working in Kenya with the Nakuru Theater Group using theater to provide AIDS education
Yetta Ziolkowski '09, $2,500 grant: Yetta worked in New Orleans with Save the Children on further disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Summer 2006: Five grants were awarded in 2006, totaling $11,400. You can read more about the 2006 projects by clicking on each grant recipient's name:

Rachel Goldstein '07, $2,400 grant: Worked as an intern for Prison Tails, a program that pairs dogs from animal shelters with inmates from a medium-security prison in Indiana. As the inmate-handlers train and socialize their canine companions, preparing them for adoption into loving homes, the men gain valuable skills that help them succeed upon their release from prison
Andrew Lapetina '07, $2,000 grant: Led a group of eight students from Princeton's chapter of Engineers-Without-Borders-USA to build and install an irrigation system in Kumudo, a small village in Ethiopia
Wing Chun Eric Hui '09, $2,000 grant: Member of group of eight students from Princeton's chapter of Engineers-Without-Borders-USA to build and install an irrigation system in Kumudo, a small village in Ethiopia
Scott Lee *06, $2,500 grant: Volunteered with community health center in rural Kenya developing a strategic plan and training the local staff in policy advocacy and financial and non-profit management
Nicholas Macfarlane '08, $2,500 grant: Worked in Eastern Indonesia on a community driven marine sustainability service project

Summer 2005: Six grants were awarded in 2005, totaling $12,200:

Devan Darby '06, $2,000 grant: Working in an infectious disease hospital and clinic in Mumbai, India, under the auspices of Child Family Health International
Caroline English '08, $1,200 grant: Assisting the Global Village coordinator at Habitat for Humanity in Tanzania
Joseph Falit '07, $2,000 grant: Interviewing clients and doing human rights research at the Harvard Immunization and Refugee Clinic at Greater Boston Legal Services
Maital Friedman '07, $,2,000 grant: Working with the Kenya Women Finance Trust providing loans to women to expand existing businesses or underwrite innovative business ideas
YuJung Kim '06, $3,000 grant: Participating in local employment initiatives with the Foundation for Sustainable Development and Espacio Solidario in LaPlata, Argentina
Nathalie Moise '05, $2,000 grant: Teaching AIDS awareness and health promotion in Belize as part of the Pro Belize Service Corps NGO Internship Program

Summer 2004: Five grants of $2,000 each were awarded in 2004:

Suneel Bhat '06: Constructing a school building in Bangane, India
Zahir Kanjee '06: Working for the West African AIDS Foundation in Ghana
Katherine Lu '05: Working for the Bushikori Christian Center in Uganda at a health clinic and orphans' program
Andrea Wang '05: Teaching English in a rural community in Huangdu, China
Grace Zamora '06: Teaching English in a WorldTeach program in Costa Rica

Summer 2003: Six awards were given in 2003, totaling $9,000.

Mallika Ahluwalia '05, $1,000 grant: Teaching English, math and science to high school students in India
Cynthia Arocho '04, $2,000 grant: Working with the Foundation for Sustainable Development in Nicaragua on an after-school program and computer classes for adults
Ana Inés Garcia '04, $2,000 grant: Teaching in an Adult Literacy Center, Early Childhood Development Center, English Language School and Computer School in Kajoli, Bangladesh
Jonas Jacobson '05, $1,000 grant: Working with the Public Defender's Office in Washington, D.C.
Zahir Kanjee '06, $1,000 grant: Working on HIV/AIDS education and outreach with The Treatment Action Campaign in Capetown, South Africa
Jana Macaleer '04, $2,000 grant: Working on HIV/AIDS outreach in Mbale, Uganda

Summer 2002: Four awards were given in 2002, totaling $8,000.

Matthew Goldberg '04, $2,000 grant: Working with community health workers on street theater projects in Brazil
Vanessa Snowden '04, $2,000 grant: Internship with the Foundation for Sustainable Development in Puno, Peru working for a local community development organization
Kerry K. Song '04, $2,000 grant: Internship with Global Service Corporation in Tanzania working on HIV/AIDs prevention education
Arthur R. Williams '04, $2,000 grant: Working with Pedro Kouri Health Institute in Havana, Cuba on community health issues

Summer 2001: Seven awards were given in 2001, totaling $9,000.

Amy E. Anderson '01, $1,000 grant: Internship with nonprofit stuttering/research group, Hollins Communications Research Institute, working on software speech program
Catherine Casey '02, $2,000 grant: Internship with Learning Bridge Norfolk, a Summerbridge Program in Norfolk, Virginia, teaching French and Spanish to middle school students
Casey ("Rocky") Craley '04, $200 grant: Research Project in Dominica with Dr. Mark Flinn of the University of Missouri working on malnutrition studies and teaching computer skills to island children
Natalie Deffenbaugh '02, $1,600 grant: Internship with Ghana Education Project in Ghana working as a librarian
Calin Guet '97 and GS, $2,000 grant: Working to revamp high school curriculum on molecular biology in hometown of Sibiu, Romania
Sudhir Nourn Lay '03, $2,000 grant: Volunteer with Global Service in Thailand educating Thai people about HIV/AIDs and working in a public health clinic
Matthew Tanner '04, $200 grant: Research Project in Dominica with Dr. Mark Flinn of the University of Missouri working on malnutrition studies and teaching computer skills to island children

Summer 2000: Six Awards were given, totaling $10,800. There were 16 applications that year.

Bria Coates '03, $2,000 grant: Working with the Sisters of St. Joseph and Australians for Aboriginal Reconciliation (Australia)
Brooke Jack 02, $1,000 grant: Environmental Education at Selva Verde Eco-Lodge
Helen Beckler Marrow '00, $2,000-grant: Belize Summer Project (group application --- Latin America)
Jennifer Morton '02, $2,400 grant: Summerbridge Internship teaching middle school students (San Francisco, California)
Dana A, Satir '01, $1,400 grant: Summerbridge Internship teaching middle school students (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Benjamin J. West '01, $2,000 grant: Summerbridge Internship teaching writing to middle school children (Germantown, Pennsylvania)

Summer 1999: Six awards were given in 1999, totaling $10,780. There were 31 applications that year.

Teresa M. Méndez '00, $2,000 grant: Working with College Kids in San Francisco, CA, an organization that helps children from low-income communities get into college
Russell W. Homan '02, $780 grant: Teaching a SAT preparatory course at Granbury High School, Granbury, Texas
Jen Cannistra '01, $ 1,000 grant: Internship with Summerbridge in San Francisco, CA teaching math classes ("Beyond Algebra') to middle school children
ChaRandle Jordan '99, $3,000 grant: Developing and teaching a "Summer Scholars Program" offering instruction in mathematics and writing to rising 10th grade students, Meridian High School, Meridian, Mississippi
Laura B. Eichhorn '02, $2,000 grant: Developing a lab science course for deaf high school students attending the Mississippi School for the Deaf, Jackson, Mississippi
Jane Liu '01, $2,000 grant: Internship with the Lao Family Community Development Program (San Francisco, CA)

Summer 1998: At our 20th Reunion we distributed grants to six recipients, totaling $13,300.

Class of 1978 Foundation Officers and Board

Jesse Milan, Jr., President
Cliff Johnson, Vice President
Clayton Platt, Treasurer
Katherine Foran, Secretary

David M. Abromowitz
Karen Ali
Estelle Berger
Holly Hexter
Lori Weiner Lander
Bob Massie
Cynthia McCollum
Sarah FInnie Robinson
Jill K. Silverman
Paul Sleven
Brian Stephenson
Gwen Feder (ex officio)