Movers and Makers Cincinnati / November 2023
To those who have worked with her, the choice of Darlene Kamine as the 2023 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Fundraising was obvious…

From 2000 to 2010, Kamine led the Cincinnati Public Schools’ Community Learning Center initiative. In 2009, she created the Community Learning Center Institute to further promote this approach to academic reform and community revitalization.

CLCI is a national leader in leveraging public school facilities as hubs of educational, recreational, cultural, health and civic partnerships.

“Darlene started with a few schools, knocked on potential partner doors and got the first ‘yes’ responses to what is now known as a national model for school and district engagement,” said Shauna Murphy, CPS’s chief of student, family and community engagement. “This Lifetime Achievement Award is more than an accolade, it’s a testament to the profound impact she has had on countless students.”

Laine McDonnell, communications manager for ProKids, describes Kamine as a “force multiplier.”

“Without Darlene’s efforts to help many understand the need for advocacy on behalf of children who have been abused and neglected, ProKids might not exist,” McDonnell added…

Kamine also played a key role in Adopt A Class roughly 20 years ago. Working with its founder, Bill Burwinkel, Kamine helped transform it from an under-resourced program in one school to an organization mentoring more than 6,000 students across 32 local schools annually…

Elida Kamine, an attorney and community volunteer, started her fundraising career with a penny drive in elementary school to raise money to start the Children’s Museum, which her mother co-founded.

“My mom’s drive has always been based on justice. Whether it was visiting her courtroom in juvenile court or helping her collate meeting agenda packets for the many organizations she was involved with, I had a front row seat to a person who has always given 100% to fight to make our community better, especially for children,” Elida said.

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