V10 FOUND1020 USSYPYearbook2023 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 78
Family, Foundation, Legacy
George Hearst
F
Phoebe A. Hearst
William R. Hearst
George R. Hearst, Sr.
Randolph A. Hearst
Millicent A. Boudjakdji
or 61 years, the United States Senate Youth Program has brought thousands of America’s brightest young leaders to Washington, returning them home
with insight into the history and heritage of their democracy and encouragement to be leaders of the future. Each year the students leave with lasting
impressions of their week including new friendships and bonds that many term “life-changing.”
1820
1962
An exemplar of American success, George Hearst, born in 1820, went west
to seek a future in mining, and developed the family fortune, He served in the
California State Legislature representing San Francisco and was appointed
to the U.S. Senate in 1886 and served until his death in 1891. His wife,
pioneering philanthropist Phoebe Apperson Hearst, distinguished herself
as one of America’s most accomplished women, dedicated to historic,
educational and children’s causes. She co-founded the National Parent
Teachers Association in 1897 and was instrumental in the reclamation and
rehabilitation of George Washington’s Mount Vernon property.
The United States Senate Youth Program was envisioned by William
Randolph Hearst’s sons, George R. Hearst and Randolph A. Hearst, who
worked with the Senate leadership of the day – Senators Kuchel, Mansfield,
Dirksen and Humphrey – to establish and authorize the program in 1962.
Since inception, the Senate majority and minority leaders and the vice
president of the United States have served as the program’s Honorary CoChairs; two senators, one of each party, serve as annual Co-Chairs and an
eight-senator bipartisan panel serves as the annual Advisory Committee.
1863
2019
William Randolph Hearst, their only child, was born in 1863 and became one
of the great legends of American journalism, establishing vast media holdings
at the forefront of new communications technologies, including radio,
television and specialty magazines, and becoming an avid student of history
and politics. Hearst newspapers detailed the history of the 20th century, and
his public service included two terms as a Democratic Congressman from
New York. During his life he gave millions of dollars to colleges, hospitals,
kindergartens and museums, and in the decade before his death he
established the charitable foundations that bear his name.
For more than 70 years, The Hearst Foundations have continued to support
numerous charitable organizations across the country in the fields of
education, health, culture and social service. The Foundations’ two flagship
initiatives are the United States Senate Youth Program and the annual
William Randolph Hearst Journalism Awards Program, founded in 1960, to
encourage journalistic excellence and to support education at accredited
undergraduate schools of journalism nationwide.
For more information about The Hearst Foundations, please access: hearstfdn.org
76 | UNITED STATES SENATE YOUTH PROGRAM 2023