Meet the 2021 Herren Project Clubs Grant Winners

We are excited to announce the 10 schools that have been awarded a $500 Herren Project Clubs Grant for 2021. Herren Project Clubs encourage overall wellness, healthy decision-making, and community leadership as part of the program. The funds granted can be used for t-shirts, hosting an event, supplies, or anything that will help your club run more effectively.

Students in Herren Project Clubs participate in evidence-informed activities, plan and execute their own events and activities, and create a safe place for students to navigate life substance-free. Clubs create and provide a peer network of support and teach students about adaptive coping strategies, which is critical to the management of stress, and prevention of misuse of substances. By focusing on empowering students and encouraging overall wellness and self-care, students learn about mental health and how to best support themselves and each other through challenging situations without turning to substances.

The grant winners are remarkable schools who embody what it means to “Be You” and who are extremely active in their own community as well as the greater Herren Project community. We are proud that recipients of these grants vary in location, education levels, and the number of participants in the club. Read about the schools below!

South High School (9-12)
Located in Worcester, MA. Supervised by Sandy Danault
Started in 2020 during the pandemic, this club has 7 students attend Herren Project Club meetings regularly/virtually throughout the year. Check out the SHS Instagram and take part in the clubs challenges they do to raise awareness.

Burncoat High School (9-12)
Located in Worcester, MA. Supervised by Meg Brunelle
This is the most active club and participated in the initial launch. With the guidance of Mrs. Brunelle, the students of BHS contributed to the development of the activities in the toolkit. Hilda Maldonado, a club member, won the Herren Project High School Senior Scholarship in 2020.

Highland Park High School (9-12)
Located in Rowlett, TX. Supervised by John Hinton
This Herren Project Club is led by one of our Youth Ambassadors, Ava Tiffany. Highland Park has been active since 2019 with over 100 members. The club organizes monthly events based on 7 Pillars of Self-Esteem.

Dayton High School (9-12)
Located in Dayton, TX. Supervised by Ronald Wright
Dayton High School started in 2017 and has 1600+ students, the most Herren Project Club members. Dayton High School Herren Project Club was involved in our second launch and helped with the development of the toolkit. Every year for Wellness Week they go above and beyond and offer students a week-long, fun-filled, list of activities to participate in.

Pocono Mountain School District
Located in Swiftwater, PA. Supervised by Debra Troiano and Linda Phillips-Kline
Pocono has been part of Herren Project Clubs for 5 years. This amazing club averages 75 students. The students are very active and like to give back to their community by volunteering and donating to local organizations. For example, they make Jarod Boxes, that include toys and activities for chronically sick kids in local hospitals.

Hungary Creek Middle School (7-8)
Located in Glen Allen, VA. Supervised by Josh Gentry
Hungary Creek is an extremely resilient club, who were successful after their adjustment to go virtual this year. Mr. Gentry started this club in 2020 and has grown the participation from a handful of members to 25+ students.

John A. Holmes High School (9-12)
Located in Edenton, NC. Supervised by Kelley Duruman
JAHHS is one of our most active clubs. The club is hosting a 5K Run for Hope on April 24th. The mission of the club is to provide empowerment and wellness initiatives to give youth the tools they need to make healthy choices to live a happy, fulfilling live substance-free.

PATH Program
Located in Cerritos, CA. Supervised by Ruben Vasquez
The Path Program works in conjunction with many local middle and high schools ranging from grades 6-12 and helps over 200+ students per year. The PATH Program was awarded the First Day Film Grant in 2020 and has been hosting regular screenings to their student athletes. This opportunity has been described as a “gamechanger” and they have been able to reach many students through the film.

Boardman High School (9-12)
Located in Poland, OH. Supervised by Dana Safarek
This incredible club has 75 members and their main focus is to volunteer and to give back. They have an impressive resume of various ways they have helped their school and community. They have donated books, clothes, time, and collected gifts to donate to a local foster care center. Boardman High School was part of our second launch and was awarded the First Day Film Grant in 2020.

Charlton Middle School (5-7)
Located in Charlton, MA. Supervised by Mike Daley and Brittany Murphy
Charlton Middle School Herren Project Club has 15 students that range from grades 5-7. This club was started during the pandemic, which made it challenging but it is only growing among the student population. Calista, a student, won the PSA Contest last month and appeared on Herren Project Live last week! Check it out!

We thank all of the excellent schools and communities who applied and we look forward to more applicants in 2022!

Learn more about Herren Project Clubs here and learn more about to best support Herren Project’s prevention work & programs here.