iBelieve Foundation hosts 7th annual benefit in Vienna

The iBelieve Foundation will host its 7th annual benefit in Vienna Thursday night, with a goal of raising $20,000 to send high-school students to summer camp.

The foundation puts on five day summer camps to teach high schoolers leadership skills.

Students from across five states are nominated by their teachers to attend, and each student gets to attend for free thanks to iBelieve’s fundraising efforts. It costs approximately $350 to send a student to camp, and last year the Mid-Ohio Valley benefit raised over $22,000.

According Stefani Murray, associate director of programming, the camps are used to teach leadership skills through experiential learning. And the first year helps students find a sense of identity.

“Some of these skills are already being taught in their schools but not every student has that opportunity to learn these types of skills and so it’s a unique opportunity for them to come and just really find out who they are," Murray said. "And i think that’s important for young people today.”

Last year, 133 Mid-Ohio Valley students got to attend a camp on a nearby college campus, including camps on Marietta College, Marshall University and Ohio University.