The approaching holidays are a time of giving.
For Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin, it’s gifting time 365 days of the year.
They were honored with the Outstanding Philanthropists award for their generosity by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Western Pennsylvania Chapter at a dinner on Thursday at The Power Center on the campus of Duquesne University, Uptown.
It was the 38th celebration of National Philanthropy Day, which was Friday.
“This is so exciting,” Carole Kamin said.
The couple, of Shadyside, has donated to 175 smaller non-profits and organizations as well as larger ones, which amounts to more than 200 monetary gifts over the course of the year, said Dennis Reist, CFO and COO for Kamin Realty Management. The couple also has a family foundation.
They’ve given to animal rescue causes and other places around the country as well as local organizations such as the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Pittsburgh Symphony, the Senator John Heinz History Center and Family House, where Carole’s brother was a patient.
The mission of Family House is to provide a safe, comforting, and affordable “home away from home” for patients and their families who travel to Pittsburgh hospitals for medical care.
“Family House helped my brother, so I wanted to do something to help Family House,” Carole said.
The Kamins have been supporters of the Carnegie museums for decades. Carole is an emeritus member of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History advisory board and longtime member of the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Women’s Committee. She worked as a buyer and manager for the Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History gift shops.
Although not a native Pittsburgher, Carole, who grew up in Michigan, said Pittsburgh has become home. She is president of the National Society of Arts and Letters in Pittsburgh and the Ladies Hospital Aid Society. The latter is having a 125th anniversary gala on Dec. 4 at the science center to raise money for a kosher kitchen and a spiritual room at UPMC Presbyterian hospital.
One of their largest gifts was given in January when they donated $65 million to the Carnegie Science Center on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.
The Carnegie Science Center will change the signage to read: The Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Science Center.
As a child, Dan visited the Buhl Planetarium and the Institute of Popular Science, the precursor to the Carnegie Science Center.
“This gift tells a great story — a young boy from Pittsburgh is inspired by his time spent exploring the regions beloved science museum and, decades later, now makes a history-making gift to that very organization to inspire future generations in the same way he was,” said Jason Brown, Henry Buhl Jr. director of the Science Center and vice president of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, in the program from the event.
Dan, who was wearing a planets-patterned necktie that his wife bought, became emotional reading a quote from the program as he recalled making his first telescope at the age of 13. It reads: “Giving young minds the opportunities to explore and wonder what else is out there, just as I did, creates a lifetime of memories.”
His telescope will be displayed at the science center, said Carole, who found the telescope looking through holiday decorations last year.
The couple said they know the transition process will take time.
“Jason has been keeping us informed,” Carole said. “It’s a big project. There is signage and so many other things that need to be done.”
Dan said he loves that the science center will be expanding its programming with their donation and updating the exhibits because that creates more possibilities for everyone.
Some of the money has been used for free admission days at the museum.
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“All of this takes time,” said Dan, who donated for the Kamin Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied. “It could take years.”
The Kamins give back to the community in a big way, said Reist, the longtime Kamin Realty executive.
“Their legacy is important and everything they do reflects on the generosity of the Kamins,” Reist said. “They treat us well. This is a great recognition.”
It is the largest monetary gift in the history of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh — the largest, that is, since the original contribution of founder Andrew Carnegie.
Daniel Kamin, a commercial real estate entrepreneur, has sold real estate in 44 U.S. cities.
“I just want to make a difference,” said Kamin, a Shady Side Academy graduate. “I just want to make a difference. I will continue to donate as long as I am here and I will continue to visit the science center as long as I am here.”