Developing New Philanthropists - One Summer Camp At A Time

July 8, 2021 | Written by Lindsey Barta

L-R: Montgomerie Ruggiero, Raegan Hamilton, Colin Buckley, Keith Schneider (President & Founder of Square1), Niko Igbonegun, and Avi Jivan. The campers make 105 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for Emergency Shelter of NKY during a hands-on service project.

Local nonprofits joined together this summer to help meet community needs in a creative way: by teaching 5th-8th graders how to be philanthropists and leaders during an engaging summer camp. The program, called Camp Give, was started by Evendale-based nonprofit Magnified Giving in 2017 as an extension of their mission to educate, inspire, and engage students in philanthropy.

Magnified Giving was started by local philanthropist Mr. Roger Grein in 2008 to help young people recognize needs in the community and show them how to use their own time, talent, and treasure to address those needs. During the school year, Magnified Giving involves middle and high school students in the grant-making process, touching their hearts and minds in the process, and ultimately supporting over 100 nonprofits each year with passionate student volunteers and Magnified Giving funds. For summertime, Magnified Giving developed a fun, hands-on, service camp to engage even younger kids and their families in transformative philanthropy education.

*On the last day of camp, Niko Igbonegun presents what he learned about each partner nonprofit during Camp Give to an audience of community members and parents on Zoom.*

This year, Magnified Giving partnered with Square1, an organization whose mission is to uncover, educate, support, and inspire entrepreneurs and leaders, to develop a STEM-focused Camp Give. Together, Magnified Giving and Square1 cultivated an experience for 5th-8th graders to explore community needs and understand how concepts of STEM can help people and solve problems. “STEM and service are a natural and winning combination,” says Lindsey Barta, Magnified Giving Associate Director. “We teach young people that they have so much to offer to make our community better, including their time, talent, treasure, knowledge, and relationships. It’s only natural to show them how concepts of STEM are in their toolbox too. Many problems can and will be solved through science and technology.”

Campers gathered for a weeklong camp where they met with local nonprofits, including Gorman Heritage Farm, Emergency Shelter of NKY, and Sleep in Heavenly Peace to learn about real challenges and understand how they can address those needs. At the end of the week, campers had the opportunity to donate a portion of their camp fee to these nonprofits, and they participated in a “board meeting” to discuss and reflect on how to split the money among the organizations. Overall, they were able to grant over $1,000 to the three nonprofits.

*Raegan Hamilton pauses from her work to smile while campers build bird houses to donate to local fire and police stations.*

The camp was high energy, with campers lighting up at the completion of each service project. All week long, campers applied concepts of STEM to their service activities. At Gorman Heritage Farm, in addition to service activities, they learned all about composting and protecting the earth, even working on their own compost! Students learned about math and engineering while designing birdhouses to donate to local fire and police stations. They also made sandwiches and packed laundry kits for the Emergency Shelter of NKY. "We see each year how hands-on service truly impacts our campers,” says Alison Kaufman, Director of Programs at Magnified Giving and director for Camp Give, “Young people truly want to make a difference in their communities and the lives of others, they simply need the opportunity to be presented to them and they are unstoppable."

Magnified Giving staff were glad to be able to have their camp safely in-person this summer, and they were thrilled with the results of the camp. Executive Director of Magnified Giving, Kelly Collison, says, “At Camp Give, we empower kids to be their best, meet other young philanthropists and serve others, we are privileged to do so.”