MONROE — Hoping to help local charities raise badly needed funds and connect young people to community giving is the goal of a new program that launches this month at Monroe High School.
Spearheaded by Monroe residents and MHS alums John Baumann and Katie Doyle-Baumann, the couple is committing up to a $1 million match to any MHS student donations in order to raise and target funds for local non-profits.
They are calling it the “Pay it Forward Challenge,” according to John Baumann, who announced creation of their initiative on Monday.
“We really want to get them involved at an early age,” said Baumann. “They’ve got to own it and help to create a culture of giving.”
Baumann served as the President and CEO of Colony Brands for more than 22 years and Katie Baumann worked as a music teacher in the Monroe School District. The couple has targeted support of many community initiatives through their John and Katie Baumann Inspiration Project.
The Baumann’s are working with the student senate and staff at MHS on the new student giving program and since this is the first year, they’re counting on the students to help design something that’s effective and successful with current and future high school kids.
The Baumanns have committed $1 million to the program to be allocated over roughly 15 years. John Baumann said the goal is for the couple to match up to $10 for every dollar donated by the students. For example, an individual student donation of up to $10 may be matched with up to a $100 from the Baumanns.
Students can choose from a list of about 20 local charities for giving that’s already been developed but Baumann said they are open to adding additional, qualifying groups that students might be interested in or have a personal connection with.
Launched following initial discussions in February, the main emphasis, said Baumann, should be on local groups that assist Green County residents to live meaningful lives.
“The goal is to get a very high participation rate, especially this first year,” said Baumann. “Students may not fully appreciate it yet, but they have all benefited from living in a community that has supported their education and has a vested interest in seeing them develop into happy, successful adults.”
Depending on the overall success of the first iteration of the “Pay it Forward Challenge,” Baumann said future such programs could be held annually or smaller events could be launched several times in a given school year. Beyond the act of giving, Baumann said he hopes the initiative creates a sense of unity and empathy in the students — something he said has been missing from society writ large in recent years.
“Some times the way we treat each other can be kind of rough,” said Baumann. “We want to help change that in our community and it helps for people to see things through the eyes of someone else through giving.”
