By Melissa Moore-Randall
Revere Eighth-graders Isabella Drinan Susan B. Anthony Middle School, Khouloud Aslane Rumney Marsh Academy, and Maria Rodriguez Marcelino Garfield Middle School have been selected as Ambassadors to the 2024 Project 351.
According to the Project 351 website, “The Class of 2024 is the 14th Class of unsung heroes and quiet leaders selected by their communities to serve and lead. Since 2011, more than 5,000 Ambassadors have developed the courage and capabilities to lead, positively impacting more than 1.3 million people across Massachusetts through service. The concept of Project 351, which had been developed by Carolyn Casey, reflected Governor Patrick’s belief in the Beloved Community and the unlimited potential of young people. His embrace led to the realization of Project 351 as a one-day celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., statewide unity, and youth leadership. By day’s end, a movement of hope-in-action had been founded. And, with it, an invitation to serve and lead for eighth graders in each of Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns. From that day forward, Project 351 Ambassadors would unite the entire state as one team, one community in service to cause greater than self. One year later, Governor Patrick convened the second Class of Ambassadors to celebrate Dr. King and kick-off a 12-month leadership journey.
Eighth grade leaders selected to represent Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns joined Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, Sen. Ed Markey and other notable guests in January to kick off a year of service and celebrate the milestone of Project 351’s 5000th Ambassador.
Launch Day, which annually honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., included an afternoon of service in collaboration with partners including La Colaborativa, Immigrant Family Services Institute, and Cradles to Crayons, impacting more than 15,000 people.
Isabella Drinan attended the Launch Day. “I was selected through a multi-step process. First, teachers nominated around 8 students that they thought would make good ambassadors for the program. Those students were then emailed and told to answer a set of questions if they were interested in being the ambassador for the school.(Revere specifically does 1 ambassador for each of the 3 middle schools, each school following the process. This could change depending on the city though. Those questions were on a Google Document, where the names were later taken off and a group of teachers anonymously chose who would be the ambassador depending on the answers to the questions. That led to me being chosen to be one of the ambassadors! I did participate in Launch Day. There were a few speakers who talked on the stage of the JFK Library, and then we got to learn more about the different Service Heroes we honored later on in the day. The Service Heroes included Dr Martin Luther King Jr., YoYo Ma, and 38 other heroes who have positively impacted the community! We were separated into teams based on these Service Heros, and I was on the team honoring Chef Jose Andres. After that, teams were sent to 1 of 3 service sights to help out the community. I went to the IBEW to help people who were living in temporary housing. This included making hygiene kits, painting small murals for the families to take with them when they find permanent housing, preparing meals, and much more! Then we went back to the JFK Library to recap the day and find out the lives we impacted; over 27,000! We celebrated that a bit before heading back home.”
Project 351 is a nonprofit organization powered by Ambassador leadership and enabled through the generosity of foundations, corporations, and individuals. Project 351 is honored by the leadership investment of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, Martin Richard Foundation, and Crimson Lion Lavine Family Foundation.”
