Watch out Berkeley! Here comes Sahar Afrakhan, a proud member of the class of 2018! This young woman is passionate about giving back. I had the pleasure of meeting Sahar last spring when she participated on a panel I moderated on engaging the next generation in philanthropy. Her poise and passion inspired everyone in the room. Maybe some of her thoughts on philanthropy will inspire you.

Deborah: How do you define philanthropy for yourself? And how are you engaging in philanthropy? Who are you engaging in philanthropy with?

Sahar: Service and philanthropy have always been naturally a part of my life. I’ve never thought about what philanthropy means to me because I’ve taken it for granted (its role in my life). My parents have just raised me with the idea that giving back and opening your eyes to something bigger than yourself is part of the recipe for success and a way to further one’s education. Since I’ve become involved with philanthropy I’ve worked with children from ages 4-16, I’ve spoken to adults about how to get the youth involved, [and] I’ve spent a lot of time with members of other family foundations that are under 18 and getting hands-on experience. It’s really cool to see a group of people so dedicated to the same project, like YPC (Youth Philanthropy Connect).

D: Who influences you in your philanthropy?

S: Again, my parents were the initial push for my interest in the philanthropic field and working with NGOs, etc. but I’ve really been inspired by a multitude of mentors. My social justice teacher at school, Mrs Levine, has been phenomenally helpful and so supportive in planning my trip to Bosnia last summer, where a friend and I conducted a multiethnic summer camp for children. Additionally, Anita Roehrick, my first official advisor/mentor with Positive Impulse (PI), who pushed her daughter Miranda, and then us, to truly take charge of our passions and the work we wanted to complete. Nobody held our hand with PI and I always value those experiences—struggling and failing a few times is much better than getting it right the first try—in terms of a learning process and developing critical thinking and problem solving skills. Lastly, everyone I’ve met through YPC—you, Dana Marcus, Annie Hernandez—continue to push us one step further with our ideas and turning them into concrete, feasible tasks.

D: How have you learned about philanthropy?

S: I didn’t even know what the word philanthropy meant until a couple years ago. I’ve never thought of it as something I needed to dive deeply into defining it or analyzing its role in my life. That would ruin the fun for me and make it feel like a job rather than a free flowing passion. What I’ve learned from philanthropy doesn’t come from a book or a dictionary, rather it’s a cumulative of my experiences so far.

D: Tell me more about your trip to Bosnia last summer.

S: I went to Bosnia with two of my friends to conduct a multiethnic summer camp in a town called Vares. We did it for about 10 days from 8-1 PM every day and had crafts, games, sports—just generic summer camp games, but the important part was that it was multiethnic.

D: What inspired you to go?

S: My friend is Bosnian and fled the war when she was born with her mom as a refugee. Her dad died in the war before she war born, and through her, I learned a lot about the war and thought it would be good to go over summer. Our school set up a summer camp program in Vares, but didn’t go last year so we took the initiative and went instead.

D: What was the most surprising thing about your experience?

S: How comfortable it was. We had our own apartment and met a bunch of kids in the town our age so we had people to hang out with after camp and they even helped us control the hyper little boys. I made friends that I still talk to on Facebook. It was kind of homey in the town.

D: How do you think this opportunity differed from your past philanthropic experiences?

S: It was the first time I was unmoderated. I had no adults, no supervisors. I was by myself in a pretty foreign, poor country. It was my first philanthropic, abroad experience. I loved the independence. I loved being in charge of myself and my decisions. And the camp was a success. It was the first year we had heard back that the local people weren’t annoyed with the Americans, which usually consists of a teacher and a group of students. So we were really excited to hear that.

D: How has this experience inspired your thinking about philanthropy?

S: It emphasized the importance of going out and away from your comfortable space and exploring other parts of the world and cultures. I think philanthropy is more than an act of kindness or a new English school in Africa. I believe it’s more about a curiosity and an openness to learning about how you can benefit the community around you, rather than “knowing” how to fix things. Typically I hear that service projects actually teach you more than you can give them, and I’ve found it to be true.

D: What is your philanthropic dream?

S: I think it would be really great to get teenagers really excited about philanthropy. A lot of my friends are busy with their own day to day lives and have the bigger world as the last thing on their minds, but if philanthropy could become a part of childhood and growing up and learning to channel compassion into action, the world might become a better place.

And this is one of many reasons why I like Sahar…We share the same philanthropic dream! Can you help us make it come true?