Most people are aware that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation annually gives away millions -- soon to become billions -- of dollars to assist needy people worldwide, but they might not know about the efforts of young Hoosier philanthropists.

Indiana teens like Gary's Marquise McMiller and Franklin's Kayla Bell already have committed themselves to a lifetime of community service.

Marquise, 14, wants to help renovate Gary's historic midtown section to attract tourists and make people proud of its black roots, he said. Kayla, 14, puts together boxes of snacks and games, and distributes them to soldiers headed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

They're just two examples of dozens of youth philanthropy projects under way statewide.

This summer, 120 people gathered at the fourth annual YPII Jam at Franklin College. The event's theme was "iGive-iServe: The Dance of Community Action." It was sponsored by the Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana, a nonprofit network of more than 40 organizations with a goal of engaging youth in giving and serving.

"When you can bounce ideas off of other people, you get ideas to go back home with and say: 'Hey, I found out about this; let's try it,' " said Liz Crim, 19, Warsaw.

While philanthropy is what these youth have in common, none of them defines it in quite the same way.

"It's selflessness," said Derek Jones, 18, a senior at Scottsburg High School.

"It's nothing about you; it's about everyone else."
Marquise, a freshman at West Side High School, believes time is the most important part of philanthropy.

"I don't believe a philanthropist necessarily has to be wealthy," he said. "You can be poor. You can be middle class. I'm learning about how you can invest time; there's such a thing called 'time dollars.'

"As long as what you invest comes from your heart and you want to do something to help somebody, that's being a philanthropist."

The drive to go out and do something for somebody else is how Kayla, a freshman at Franklin High School, sees philanthropy. "(It means) to take time out of your day to go help somebody, or even donate, no matter how much the amount, to a cause," she said.

All have different definitions, but all follow the same idea: to help. They all wanted to attend this conference for a new perspective on better ways to help their cities, towns and neighborhoods.

"I came because I wanted to get some new ideas as I head off into a new community, some ways to get plugged in and really help out in that community," said Liz, who recently started her freshman year at Anderson University.

Among the various YPII Jam workshops were:

Incorporating beliefs and values in all that you do.

Recruiting members to your cause.

Basic grant-writing skills.

Creative service project planning.

{mosimage}Recruitment was a goal that these young philanthropists had in common. Marquise said finding volunteers was one of his frustrations because big projects need so many people to help.

Derek said he gets kids to volunteer at his school by stressing how much fun it will be to work side-by-side with friends toward a common goal. Otherwise, when students are asked to volunteer, they may hesitate because all they think of is the work involved, he said.

Fundraising was another topic explored at the conference. Marquise helped create a Gary 100th anniversary video and now is helping sell it to raise money to help the community, he said.

Liz has seen firsthand how distributing fundraising dollars can help a community prosper. She's been a board member of the Kosciusko Endowment Youth Services Permanent Fund.

"It's really neat to give out grants to people. And we have gotten lots of people, lots of businesses to donate money to our permanent endowment," she said. One of the projects she recommended for funding was a tropical ecosystem for a middle-school classroom.

Repeatedly the youth stressed how much they receive by giving.

Derek will never forget a laughing little boy with cerebral palsy. "I had the opportunity to go to Camp Riley, and it was the most amazing experience yet," he said.

Derek is president of the high school division of the Indiana Association of Student Councils, which helped fund Camp Riley, and the little boy with the great laugh was among those attending.

The young philanthropists also agreed that community service has influenced their future goals.

"I want to go to Africa when I'm 16 to help fight AIDS and poverty there," said Kayla. {mosimage}

Ralph Moormon, 16, attends Heritage Junior/Senior High School in Allen County. He wants to become a counselor and help families in pain.

Derek wants to become a doctor and set up his own grant-giving foundation.

Marquise already is a motivational speaker in his community, particularly with youth and at churches.

Liz is devoted to building the community foundation wherever she lives.

Instead of telling kids why they should volunteer, Ralph said the question should be: "Why aren't you volunteering?" {mosimage}

"I can't think of a reason not to volunteer. It's gonna help the future. If they start doing it as a kid, they can really grow and teach the next generation."

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Katie Stergar, 15.
REPORTER: Renee Wellman, 12.
 

Copyright 2006 Y-Press

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Where to volunteer

To discover places to build volunteer hours, go to the Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana's Web site: www.ypin.org/map.htm or www.volunteer match.org, a site that uses ZIP codes to connect volunteers with local nonprofits.

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Indiana projects

Here are highlights of some young Hoosiers' philanthropy projects:

Kayla Bell started "Christmas for Our Heroes." She solicits donations and puts together gift boxes for U.S. military personnel, filled with snacks, phone cards and games. In the first two years of her program, Kayla compiled and delivered more than 100 boxes to the troops at Camp Atterbury preparing to ship out.

Liz Crim was a part of the Kosciusko Endowment Youth Services Permanent Fund in Warsaw. KEYS has 20 youth members in Grades 8-12 and has awarded $150,000 in grants in the last decade. KEYS members also volunteer for a countywide second-grade reading program and support children in Kosciusko County's Head Start program through volunteering and buying educational toys.

Derek Jones is president of the high school division of the Indiana Association of Student Councils. The organization raises thousands of dollars for Riley Hospital for Children every year. The association also hosts an annual leadership and service convention, and sponsors several youth service awards.

Marquise McMiller attended the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Entrepreneurial Institute at Indiana University. His plan is to lead others to renovate the historical midtown section of Gary, bringing in tourist attractions to lure more black Americans back to their roots in the city.

Ralph Moorman is a board member of the Cornerstone Youth Center in Monroeville. The center offers services, programs and recreational opportunities that stress positive outcomes for youth in rural southeastern Allen County. At the center, Ralph and his mother participate in Building Relationships Around Successful Service. This month, the group is hosting a hog roast to raise money for emergency medical and fire department services.

Colts aid effort to boost volunteer work among youth

About three of every 10 teens in America volunteered in 2005, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and advocates would like to see that number rise.

So would the Indianapolis Colts. Along with American Family Insurance, the sports team is sponsoring the Young Playmakers Challenge this fall. It encourages Indiana middle-schoolers to improve their communities through volunteering for service projects and to help nonprofit organizations.

In October and November, schools that sign up for the program will track their student volunteer hours. The classroom with the highest number of volunteer hours will receive a visit from a Colts player in December.

The top 10 students in Indiana with the highest number of volunteer hours will receive two tickets to a Colts game. To find out more, go to the Indiana Department of Education's Web site: www.doe.state.in.us/reed/newsr/2006/08-August/partners082806.html.