Youth LEAD

Our History

Youth LEAD, formerly Interfaith Action, began to sustain and build upon the support and unity shown for one another during a time of crisis in the late 1990’s in the town of Sharon, Massachusetts. Synagogues in Sharon had been vandalized and hate mailings had been sent to Sharon residents from an out of state address. With the support of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the town united, rallying behind the interfaith response of town clergy leaders against the vandalism and hate-mongering. The Youth Leadership Program was founded with seed money from the ADL and Interfaith Action is grateful for the ADL’s initial support during the first three years of program operation. Interfaith Action officially incorporated in 2004 and became a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in 2005 and updated its name to Youth LEAD in 2011.

Father Robert Bullock of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Sharon, MA was a guiding force behind the creation of Youth LEAD. He sought to build upon and sustain the spontaneous goodwill shown at this time of crisis. Father Bullock recognized that educating our youth had to be a cornerstone for building interfaith understanding and sustaining civility and thereby enhancing oportunities for greater peace and global community goodwill in the long term. 

The Sharon Pluralism Network was founded in 2007 with a grant from the Third Sector New England (TSNE) Capacity Building Fund and additional funding from the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation.  Youth LEAD is the fiscal sponsoring partner in this collaborative community-wide effort that includes the Sharon Religious Leaders group; Sharon Adult Center/Council on Aging; Sharon Public Library and the ; Sharon Public Schools; Sharon Community Youth Coalition; the Sharon Recreation Department; the Sharon Education Foundation; and the Stoughton/Sharon Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts (LVM), English for Speakers of Other Languages Program (ESOL).
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