Day 331: Katie Boehm
“… things that inspire me are little things in life such as seeing friends, comfort from friends, or a stranger returning a wallet they found, because these are reminders of our basic humanity and understanding for each other.”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Katie, for agreeing to be part of this Project, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?
Katie Boehm: Thank you for asking me to be a part of it. My name is Katie Boehm, and right now I am a college student. I’ve also been involved with organizations World Peace Through Sports and Girl Child Network. That is mostly what I am involved in right now.
Toni: Well, Katie, when you think of that word inspiration, who do you think you inspire, and how does it happen?
Katie: Well, I try to inspire young people such as myself and my soccer team. We were approached by World Peace Through Sports, an organization that gives us an opportunity to play soccer to help other people. We would earn points for different goals we achieve, such as completed passes or shots on goals, and then these points would coincide with a money amount that we would donate to a charity of our choice.
The charity that we chose was Girl Child Network, which is based in Kenya, that helps children in bad situations. And the reason we chose that is because I personally had visited it and I told all my friends about it on the team, and they got behind it and just were so excited about it.
So I try and inspire the girls on my soccer team as well as other young people that they can get involved, because most people in this day and age, like the young people think, “Oh, philanthropy is for old people with money” kind of thing – put that in quotes because I don’t mean to insult anyone – but they don’t know that it can apply to them just because they can help anyone by giving money if they want to. Or, my personal favorite is donating time. They can go help out at a shelter in their own town or walk dogs for the Humane Society or something like that.
I try and inspire people by getting involved at the level of people I am actually helping with, but I don’t like to just send money off and hope it gets there, but I like to talk to the people that I’m helping and get to know them and make connections on a personal level.
Toni: And what is the name of the organization in Kenya again?
Katie: The organization in Kenya is called Girl Child Network.
Toni: Girl Child?
Katie: Yes. Girl Child.
Toni: Okay. Thank you for that; I want to make sure that we get that correctly. So by inspiring people your age … and you said you’re 18, correct?
Katie: Yes.
Toni: And so by inspiring college students all over the world, I would imagine, to really step up and donate their time — because I know, having college students myself, that there isn’t a whole lot of money to give — but to donate time is very, very precious. So how do you think that helps someone to explore their potential by doing that type of work?
Katie: Well, they learn so much more about themselves and the world around them. They’re not just in their own little world full of homework and just hanging out with friends at the mall kind of thing, but they realize that they can be connected to people all around the world.
We got to talk to the girls that we were helping with our team, and we made signs for them and sent them jerseys, and they sent us pictures back and talked to us. My soccer team was amazed that they could talk to these girls in Kenya that they would have previously, you know, wouldn’t have thought about, and they became more conscious in their own lives about people elsewhere.
Toni: Oh, and to be able to actually communicate … and in today’s times, that communication is so much easier than it used to be, you know … to be able to do that and actually hear the feedback and the admiration and acknowledgment of the work that you’ve done, that must be pretty exciting.
Katie: It is very exciting, especially because with all the technology there is more access, but there is also less because people get all wrapped up on their computers and emails and such. But the fact that we were able to see photos and talk to the girls personally was really amazing.
Toni: I can only imagine. So Katie, what inspires you?
Katie: Oh well, there’s a lot of things. My family is one of my big inspirations. They try and help out whoever they can, whenever, donating time or sometimes financial loans and such. But other things that inspire me are little things in life such as seeing friends, comfort from friends, or a stranger returning a wallet they found, because these are reminders of our basic humanity and understanding for each other. That’s often forgotten in this fast-paced world.
Toni: Absolutely. So it’s those acts of kindness that inspire you.
Katie: And then also when I personally visited the Girl Child Network in Kenya, just the smiles of everyone we were helping. They were so happy to see people and talk to us, and every moment was filled with love and laughter. They had told us that a year before a group of people had come that had donated to Girl Child Network, but they did not engage with them. And so the children said they had so much fun with us because we were able to talk and laugh and play some soccer – and they beat us really badly – it was a lot of fun making the personal connection.
Toni: Oh, that is fantastic. Katie, what are you doing to explore your own potential?
Katie: Well, I’m dreaming. I try and know my dreams. It doesn’t matter if they are big or small, but I own them. One example is that I’d like to work with athletes at Real Madrid Soccer Club in Spain. Every day I try and remind myself of my goals and not try and be sidetracked by just being lazy and not doing anything. I have to be my own motivator to accomplish what I want to accomplish.
Another way I explore my own potential is I try new things, and I learn new things. You can learn new things every day just by observing the world around you. It makes so much difference in my life. I’m trying to learn Spanish right now just because I want to.
Toni: How’s it going?
Katie: It’s going … slowly.
Toni: And so do you see yourself following in your parents’ footsteps as far as doing the philanthropy work?
Katie: Well, I do want to help other people. I don’t know if I can be involved at the level that they are, but maybe if I make enough money in my future career then I can help more on that level. But I’m definitely planning on being involved at the personal level with the ones I’ve chosen.
Toni: That’s fantastic. Katie, you really are serving as a great role model for young adults everywhere, and I appreciate you bringing awareness to the organizations actually that you’ve spoken about, and also I love the word engagement. It’s one of my favorite words, and the fact that you said that these girls were not used to having someone come over and engage, and you did, that’s incredibly powerful. It’s one thing to donate your time, but it’s another thing to engage while you’re donating your time.
Katie: Yeah, it was a lot of fun, and then these girls — actually it surprised me and inspired me — is that they wanted to do a similar program to help people less fortunate than they are, which I don’t understand how they can because they’re living in mud huts and have barely any access to food or water. But it’s just such a ripple effect that you can find … and if you know what your actions are, then your actions can inspire others. A lot of people don’t realize that.
Toni: What a fantastic way to leave the interview. We so appreciate you being with us on this grand finale of the Get Inspired! Project, and we can’t thank you enough, Katie. It’s been a wonderful interview.
Katie: Thank you so much.
Toni: Take care of yourself.
Katie: You too.
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For more information about Katie Boehm: World Peace Through Sports, Girl Child Network
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