Celebrating Community Leadership
Introducing the 2025 Thomas J. Ruffen Fund Recipients
At the heart of every thriving community lie individuals dedicated to uplifting and empowering others. Their unwavering commitment, innovative ideas, and tireless efforts serve as beacons of inspiration, driving positive change and fostering growth.
Today, with the support of the Thomas J. Ruffen Community Leadership Fund Committee, and generous support from The Boston Foundation, we are thrilled to introduce you to the remarkable individuals selected as the 2025 recipients of the Thomas J. Ruffen Community Leadership Fund.
Tiffany Williams
2025 Thomas J. Ruffen Grant Recipient
Grandeur Finds by Tiffany Secondhand Boutique: Style, Sustainability and Savings
Website: Grandeur Finds by Tiffany
Instagram: @grandeur_findsbytiffany
Grandeur Finds by Tiffany, a 2025 Thomas J. Ruffen Community Leadership Grant awardee, is a secondhand boutique and community initiative promoting sustainability, creativity, and empowerment through reuse and restoration. By transforming clothing, accessories, and small furniture into renewed treasures, the project makes sustainable living both accessible and stylish while addressing the textile waste and illegal dumping that disproportionately impact neighborhoods like Roxbury (02119). With only 15% of textiles recycled nationwide and the average American discarding over 80 pounds of clothing each year, this work fills a critical gap in environmental justice and access to affordable, eco-friendly options for Black and Brown families.
The initiative will offer reupholstery and restoration workshops, donation-based pop-ups, and partnerships with community organizations to help residents reduce waste, build creative skills, and strengthen local leadership. Active year-round across Boston, the program had a Soft Launch Celebration on September 21, 2025, at the Boys & Girls Club Orchard Gardens. The celebration highlighted the mission, spark eco-conscious living, and uplift community pride in sustainable practices—proving that sustainability isn’t just about electric cars or solar panels, but also about textiles, creativity, and collective action.
“Receiving funding from the Thomas J. Ruffen Community Leadership Fund means the world to me! It is more than financial support; it is validation of my vision rooted in purpose, creativity, and community impact. This grant will help me expand Grandeur Finds by Tiffany into a platform that uplifts sustainability, circular fashion, and local empowerment to BIPOC. Me, a Black woman entrepreneur from Roxbury can redefine what leadership is by promoting style, sustainability, and savings with recycle, reduce and reuse.”
Kennysha Wrencher
2025 Thomas J. Ruffen Grant Recipient
Her Womb Essence: Womb Wellness & Advocacy Program
Website: Her Womb Essence
Instagram: @herwombessence.collective
The Her Womb Essence: Womb Wellness & Advocacy Program, a 2025 Thomas J. Ruffen Community Leadership Grant awardee, is a free community initiative dedicated to improving reproductive health education and advocacy for Black and Brown women in Boston. Through interactive workshops led by the Her Womb Essence Wellness & Advocacy Collective and guest experts, participants will explore womb anatomy, menstrual health, holistic care practices, and strategies for navigating healthcare systems with confidence. The program fills a critical gap by offering culturally responsive, accessible education in a safe and empowering space.
Launching in Spring/Summer 2026, the multi-week series will be offered both on Zoom and in community locations such as libraries, event spaces, and wellness centers. Participants will receive printed and digital materials, engage in hands-on activities and discussions, and earn a certificate of participation upon completion. This program embodies the spirit of the Thomas J. Ruffen Grant by strengthening community wellness and elevating reproductive health knowledge for women of color in Boston.
“Receiving funding from the Thomas J. Ruffen Community Leadership Fund means so much to me because it allows me to grow Fibroids to Flowers under my organization, Her Womb Essence: Wellness & Advocacy Collective. My organization focuses on holistic womb wellness, education, and advocacy for women in the community. Fibroids to Flowers is a community research and awareness program that highlights the experiences of women living with fibroids while offering education, resources, and holistic support. This funding helps me continue this important work by creating spaces for learning, healing, and open conversations that connect both holistic and medical care so women can make informed choices about their health.”
Lucas Phillips
2025 Thomas J. Ruffen Grant Recipient
LifeSongs: Scoring the Stories of Survivors of Homicide Victims
LifeSongs: Scoring the Stories of Survivors of Homicide Victims, a 2025 Thomas J. Ruffen Community Leadership Grant awardee, is a powerful multimedia project that blends storytelling and original music to support community healing. Created by a Boston Globe breaking news reporter, musician, and survivor of homicide, the project captures interviews with individuals who have lost loved ones to violence and transforms their words into deeply moving musical compositions. In collaboration with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, LifeSongs offers survivors a space to be seen, heard, and honored through a creative process that acknowledges both their grief and their resilience.
Currently in its early phase, LifeSongs has already produced three prototype recordings with survivors, and this grant will support the next stage of growth—funding the composition and recording of three to four additional songs, as well as a public sharing event planned for early 2027. By amplifying diverse stories of loss and healing, the project seeks to illuminate the far-reaching impact of violence on Boston’s communities and create a collective reflection that resonates across families, neighborhoods, and time.
“I am very grateful to be a recipient of the Thomas J. Ruffen Community Leadership fund and to help honor the legacy of someone who made such an impact on his community and across the City of Boston. This award helps me to move forward a project that shares the underlying principle of the Fund itself: That we can create meaning from loss and multiply the positive impact of those we mourn. To be recognized in this way is a beautiful affirmation that art can — and should — be built around uplifting communities and that leadership takes many forms. I am so grateful for this encouragement and for the resources to keep growing my project.”