Magnified Giving Alumna Thrives in New Stage of Her Philanthropy Journey
This fall, we’re profiling several inspiring young philanthropists for our Future of Philanthropy series. At Magnified Giving, we believe that engaging youth in philanthropy helps them to develop essential soft skills like communication, teamwork, empathy, and problem-solving. We show young people the many paths to using their time, talent, and treasure to serve others, and we know that this exploration gives them the confidence and knowledge to walk those paths early and often throughout their lives.
We’re excited to share about the different paths of several youth who have participated in our program and demonstrate how they are creating a stronger future in a diverse range of social cause areas.
Monica Kline, a freshman at The Ohio State University, is passionate about helping her community in various ways, especially by lifting up individuals with disabilities and special needs. During her senior year at Perry High School, Monica participated in the Magnified Giving process through an elective service-learning class called Perry Service Learning (PSL). Through PSL and the Magnified Giving curriculum, she and her classmates selected long-term community service placements. Monica chose to volunteer regularly at Broadmoor School, a school specialized for students with developmental disabilities. Her long-term service role at the school shaped her in many ways, including a blossoming appreciation for each individual's unique strengths. She said, “I learned the importance of recognizing individuals for their uniqueness, as well as appreciating the strong relationships that can grow from appreciating differences.”
Monica volunteers at Footprints Center for Autism’s annual benefit by selling raffle tickets and engaging with guests.
At first, Monica had trouble connecting with each student and even felt like a stranger. Quickly, her perspective shifted when a young student shocked her with a heartwarming change. Monica explained, “Instead of her usual practices, she grabbed one of the classroom toy trucks, sat down on the floor, and pushed it to another student. It was her first-ever attempt at interacting with the other students or even acknowledging their presence in the room.” This opened Monica’s eyes to an understanding that progress is achievable for every student, though growth and progress will look different for each individual. Her relationship with the students and other people in her life grew from this experience and she learned to recognize people for their abilities and potential.
Monica engages with students and volunteers during a CREW outing to a local bowling alley.
During their Shantytown experience, Perry students stand in front of their tents, wearing signs designating how “they” became homeless/”their” struggles.
As she and her classmates worked through the Magnified Giving process, Monica had the opportunity to nominate an organization to receive a grant made up of funding provided by Magnified Giving and also raised through Perry's fundraising efforts. Monica nominated The Deepwood Foundation for the Magnified Giving grant and made it to the final round of voting. The mission of The Deepwood Foundation is to provide grants and gifts to programs and activities supporting persons with developmental disabilities, and the foundation is the benefactor for the Broadmoor School, where Monica volunteered.. Monica was inspired by all that she learned and took initiative to organize a basketball game between her school and Broadmoor School. After a successful event, she emphasized how impactful this was to the students, saying, “Each player walked away with a new perspective; connecting with a group of people they previously had little interaction with or understanding of.”
A recent outing to a corn maze with volunteers and HAY students.
In addition to her service and advocacy for Broadmoor School, Monica’s found other ways to use her time, talent, and treasure to support individuals with developmental disabilities. Through her experience in PSL, Monica also volunteered at Footprints Center for Autism’s annual benefit, “A Blue Carpet Affair,” which was organized by fellow Perry classmates who volunteered at Footprints during the school year. She also participated in Perry High School’s CREW Club, a group that allows typical students and students with special needs to interact outside of the school, where they are usually isolated from one another. She enjoyed interacting with her peers through visits to a bowling alley, the movie theater, and a pottery painting class.
Other meaningful experiences through PSL helped her learn about other social causes, including poverty. Monica and her classmates participated in a Shantytown experience, which involved sleeping outside in tents to bring awareness to homelessness and partnering with a local nonprofit, Subzero Mission, to learn about the realities of homelessness in Ohio.
Monica volunteers at the Community Refugee and Immigration Services Annual 5K during her first semester at OSU.
Now onto the next step in her philanthropy journey, Monica has jumped headfirst into opportunities to engage with her community and serve others at The Ohio State University. She joined OSU’s Advocates for Communities and Education Scholars (ACES) program, an initiative that spreads awareness of community concerns such as healthcare, poverty, homelessness, and economic opportunity, and Monica is using her time and talents to participate in service projects with the group throughout Columbus. Monica is also participating in Big Buckeye Little Buckeye, a service group that partners with Healthy Asian Youth (HAY) to mentor, tutor, and hang out with Asian youth in Columbus. Monica is also an active member of CHAARG, an organization that encourages women to become comfortable with health and fitness and develop successful lifestyles.
There are many ways to be a philanthropist every day, and Monica is an inspiration in integrating service and community engagement into her lifestyle through involvement in groups of service-minded individuals. Monica is truly pressing forward on her philanthropy journey, sparked by her experience in PSL and Magnified Giving. When asked what Magnified Giving means to her, Monica simply said, “Magnified Giving empowers youth to be the change they seek.”
Thank you, Monica, for making a positive impact in our community through your volunteerism and community engagement! Through their own unique journeys, youth are developing a strong future for a wide variety of social cause areas, just as Monica is contributing to a future where all individuals are cared for, seen, and loved. Stay tuned for more additions to our Future of Philanthropy series!