Bishop Fenwick High School Students Learn Valuable Skills While Making a Difference
At Magnified Giving, our mission is to educate, inspire, and engage students in philanthropy. We strive to empower young people to become active agents of change in their communities by learning about social issues and supporting nonprofits that are making a difference. We give each of our programs $1,000 that youth have the opportunity to grant to a nonprofit of their choice. One of our recent programs, conducted at Bishop Fenwick High School, exemplified the impact of this empowering process on students.
117 seniors at Bishop Fenwick participated in our youth philanthropy program through their Religion class led by Ms. Bev Oesterlin. The students were divided into small groups based on social issues and were tasked with researching nonprofits working on those issues. The students researched 38 nonprofits and visited some of them on-site. This hands-on approach was crucial to getting the students excited about the agencies they were researching and supporting.
Bishop Fenwick students, Abbey and Cammie (bottom left), presented their $1,500 Magnified Giving grant to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, represented by Sam Panson (bottom right), during a virtual Grant Giving Ceremony on May 11th. Ms. Bev Oesterlin (top right) introduced her students and explained how their school implements the Magnified Giving program.
The students conducted 2,000 hours of volunteering, which showcases their dedication and commitment to the program and to creating a change in their community! The students created presentations for their chosen nonprofits and each block voted on the winner. This approach fostered a sense of community and collaboration among the students. In the end, the students selected Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - Ohio River Valley Region, and awarded them a $1,500 Magnified Giving grant to support their vision of a world without blood cancers. Abbey and Cammie, two students who championed the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), shared that they felt compelled by their mission because of their experiences with loved ones facing cancer. Cammie explained, “I felt LLS especially was worthy of the grant money because of how injurious cancer is not only to the person with cancer, but also to the families who are affected. LLS offers financial, mental, and emotional respite, and I thought that was really special.”
The program at Bishop Fenwick was a great success, showcasing the value of entrusting real funds to youth to award to worthy nonprofits. Ms. Oesterlin emphasized how the program enabled her students to develop a deeper understanding of social issues and build valuable skills in self-management, self-awareness, relationship building, responsible decision-making, and social awareness.
The impact of the program extends beyond just the students at Fenwick. The nonprofit selected by the students also benefits from the program through exposure to potential volunteers, supporters, and donors, and increased awareness of their mission, as well as the grant funding. Sam Panson, a representative of LLS, said that the grant money provided by Magnified Giving through the hands of Fenwick students would support the 3 pillars of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission: patient support, research, and advocacy at the state and federal level.
Magnified Giving is proud to provide unique opportunities for young people to learn about social issues, engage with nonprofits, and become active agents of change in their communities. Bishop Fenwick is one of over 130 programs where youth engaged in philanthropy and granted Magnified Giving funds to well over 100 nonprofits during the 2022-2023 school year. We believe investing in the next generation of philanthropists can create a brighter, more compassionate future for all.