BTru: Arts-Integrated Service Learning Program

I’m Sean Fitzgerald, the son of a community that believed in me, a teacher who has spent more than 30 years helping young people discover their potential, and the founder of BTru Foundation.

Before I tell you what BTru is, I need to tell you why it exists.

I grew up in Mattapan, Massachusetts, in a family facing poverty, mental health challenges, addiction, and neighborhood violence. There were years when we didn’t have a phone or a car, and I still remember when my school sent food home with our family. By many measures, the odds were stacked against me.

But that is not what defines my childhood.

What defines it is the people who believed in us. Neighbors looked out for one another, celebrated each other’s successes, shared what they had, and stepped in when families needed help. They showed me that a caring community can change a person’s trajectory.

As a Boston Public Schools teacher, I have seen that when young people are given meaningful opportunities to serve others, they develop empathy, confidence, leadership, and the belief that they can create positive change.

That realization led me to create BTru.

BTru empowers students in Grades 3–8 through meaningful service-learning experiences that transform compassion into action. Using art and creative expression as the vehicle for service, students explore community needs, choose from BTru's hands-on service-learning projects, and work together to create meaningful community impact.

Students do more than volunteer. They learn to recognize challenges, collaborate, take initiative, reflect, and discover they can make a difference.

I lead BTru alongside Program Coordinator Jacquelyn Judge and a network of educators, community partners, business volunteers, and board members committed to this mission.

BTru’s mission is to empower young people to lead lives of purpose through empathy, service, creativity, and community.

My hope is that every student who experiences BTru leaves believing what I was fortunate enough to learn as a child: one person who cares can change a life, and every one of us has the power to be that person for someone else.