“They meet with the organizations who have requested grants and they really come prepared with tough questions about the programs,” said Katie Braswell, Vice President of the Hamilton Community Foundation and facilitator of the YPC program. “They know they have a set amount of grant dollars to give, and they want to make the most prudent decisions with the money.”
The Youth Philanthropy Committee, which meets monthly during the school year and learns about community needs, is comprised of students from freshmen to seniors at Hamilton, Ross, New Miami, and Badin high schools, which Braswell said “is great to see students from different schools interacting and collaborating with one another.”
Though she and board member Susan Vaughn, who is also a Hamilton City Council member, oversees the monthly meetings, they said the students do the work of planning meetings, recruitment of students, and planning volunteer opportunities for the group.
The Youth Philanthropy Committee has made an impact in the community for more than 15 years, which teaches the youth the importance of philanthropy and volunteerism. The culmination of each year is the awarding of grants to local organizations serving youth, and the $30,175 in grants this year were to the following charities:
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County - $5,000 for site-based mentoring at Riverview Elementary School
- Fitton Center for Creative Arts - $5,000 for summer camp
- Girls on the Run - $2,500 for entry fee for local girls to participate
- Hamilton Living Water Ministry - $3,275 for summer camp
- HOPEfull Pastures Therapeutic Farm - $2, 650 for automatic watering system for livestock
- JEE Foods - $5,000 for Miami University Regionals food pantry
- Ohio State Extension Office - $2,750 for a youth food safety and safe cooking program
- Parachute: CASA - $1,500 for gift certificates for advocates to take clients out to eat or for ice cream during their visits
- Sleep in Heavenly Peace - $2,500 for supplies to make beds for children who don’t have one.
The Youth Philanthropy Committee makes recommendations for grants from several community foundation funds: Christopher Courtney Memorial Children’s Fund, Butler County Children’s Home Fund, the Exchange Club Fund, Melvin J and Mary Helen Hauser Memorial Fund, Charles and Elizabeth Heitsman Fund, and the Albert Stuhlmueller Memorial Fund.
“I’m proud of the students for their preparation for this part of their responsibilities,” Braswell said.
By the time a student graduates, they would have been part of the process to issue grants four times, which Braswell said gives them “deep insight into the granting process.”
“We are putting young people into the community who already have a very real understanding of philanthropy,” she said.
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