Vision SPRING 2013 Faith and Education - Chaminade Julienne ...

New Club at CJ
Phi•lan•thro•py
noun, altruistic concern for human
welfare and advancement, usually
manifested by donations of money,
property, or work to needy persons,
by endowment of institutions of
learning and hospitals, and by
generosity to other socially useful
purposes. (dictionary.com)
It’s no secret that service to others is
synonymous with a CJ education, but
guidance counselor Susan Eichenauer
wanted students to learn even more about
poverty in the local community, as well as
what it takes for different organizations
to serve those in need. She also wanted to
introduce a new way for students to support
those whose mission it is to help others,
so she invited 10 students to join the
newly formed philanthropy club.
The club is a member of Magnified
Giving, a Cincinnati-based program
founded by Roger Grein, which provides
focus and structure for the club.
“It is learn-as-you-go,” said Eichenauer.
“In this first year at CJ, we are all testing
the waters. Mainly, we wanted to help
the Dayton community which is what I
really liked.”
The program seeks to inspire and engage
students while “magnifying the impact of
philanthropy,” according to magnifiedgiving.com.
The group provides hands-on
philanthropy education for students, and
grant money for organizations that are
selected as winning recipients by club
members — no easy task to accomplish.
After deciding that they wanted to choose
an organization that served children, the
CJ group narrowed down their long list of
worthy organizations to 10. That meant
club members would research, visit, and
become involved with service at each of
the 10 sites — all to determine which
organization would receive the $1,500
Members of the philanthropy club met to discuss
notes and research that they had compiled on
many service organizations in the Dayton area.
in grant money. The experience was eyeopening
for LiNan McSherry ‘15 and fellow
club member Megan Murray ‘14.
“I learned that this program is really big
in Cincinnati and that we are the first to
do this in Dayton,” McSherry said. “Many
non-profits are run by volunteers and not
paid staff. They are all about helping those
in poverty. We learned about the many
services they all provide.”
“If these agencies were not in Dayton, then
there would be a lot more need. Those
needing medical attention would not get
it. Catholic Social Services’ food pantry
serves thousands. If we didn’t have that, a
lot more people would be going hungry.”
Murray agrees saying that so many in the
community are providing a tremendous
amount of services, and that it is hard to
decide who will receive the grant money.
“It’s difficult to choose. You have to decide
what to focus on and there is no wrong or
right choice, but our club has to decide.
We go out to the sites and get a feel for
how they help others. We take a look at
how different places use resources, money
and volunteers. We end up seeing how
they impact so many.
“At the Catholic Social Services food
pantry, you walk people around and help
them pick out food that they like rather
than just handing them a bag of food
that might go to waste. We had the
opportunity to interact with the people
who came,” Murray said.
“Sometimes you don’t get to see the
people you are helping at other places.
They came in with suitcases that they
walked around with all day. They were
so grateful.”
To close out the club’s inaugural year,
members will attend the Magnified
Giving Student Philanthropy Program
2013 Award Ceremony on April 30 in
Cincinnati along with other clubs from
across Ohio and Northern Kentucky
and representatives from agencies that
were awarded grants this year. Sitting at
CJ’s table this year are grant recipients:
Daybreak ($1,000) and Dakota Center,
Inc. ($500).
“Choosing how to spend the grant was
the hardest part of the grant process,”
said McSherry. “All the organizations
that we chose, we chose for a reason
— they helped people in the greater
Dayton area. However, our group
chose Daybreak and the Dakota Center
because we felt that they helped people
short term and long term.
“On one hand you have Daybreak that
houses, feeds, and offers emotional
stability to young adults, teens, and
women. And then you have the Dakota
Center which helps little kids who are
less fortunate and do not have the extra
curriculars that most children are able
to have.”
According to Eichenauer, club
participants gained an understanding
of the operation of non-profit agencies
from the experience and had the
opportunity to meet Magnified Giving
founder, Roger Grein, who did not let
personal setback become an excuse
for not helping others. “I hope when
presented with obstacles in their future,
they learn that they can persevere and
overcome what life throws at them.” V
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