MEQUON, Wis. – You could say that James Kacmarcik, president of Kapco Inc., a metal stamping and fabrications operation in Grafton, has been inspired by Oprah’s Big Give.

Just how inspired? Well, on Monday, April 14, at 10 a.m. the president will be having his own “Big Give of sorts” only he’s calling it the “Kapco Charitable Give.”

Kacmarcik will be meeting with 6 groups of students at Concordia University Wisconsin in the Siebert Dining Hall to provide each group with $1,000 and a challenge. The groups will then have until Friday, April 25, to see which of them can make the biggest impact with the money he has donated to them.

The rules are simple you cannot give the money to anyone you know. You must seek out and find someone in need and the giving must stay within Ozaukee, Washington, Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine counties.

According to Kacmarcik, “I wanted to do this because our company enjoys helping other people, and we think that more corporations should be stepping forward to help our community and serve as role models in this capacity.”

I picked Concordia to help with this idea because our company was the first recipient of their Business Ethics Award in 2005, and because one of our vice presidents has a son who is enrolled at Concordia. I know that Concordia works hard to develop students in body, mind and spirit so I thought this concept would blend well with their mission.”

“My hope is that the Concordia students will embrace this opportunity to go beyond a lesson plan to give money away in a creative way. I hope this will take some time researching those who are really in need and then finding creative ways to multiply the money and make the most of it.”

The student groups will be required to make a presentation highlighting their efforts to give big to a panel of judges who will then decide which two of the six groups have made best use of their donated money.

The two most deserving groups will move onto a second round where they will each receive an additional $2,000 that they will have another week to do good with. Then during the last week of classes the winner will be announced during a chapel service.

The student groups selected to participate in the effort include a Liberal Arts 105 Freshman Seminar Class consisting of six students; A Communications 333 class made up of nine students; Campus Ministry consisting of nine students; Resident Assistants; VISTA student ambassador group; and a Campus Activities Board.

Concordia’s President Ferry is thrilled that Kacmarcik approached university officials with the idea. “This is a wonderful opportunity to reinforce to our students the importance of giving back to the community. My hope is that each of the students will rise to this challenge to make truly memorable impact on those less fortunate.”

According to Gabe Kasper, a senior involved in Communications 333 class, “I am really excited to be a part of this because as a Christian I have been called to care for the poor and this is a great opportunity to give back to those in need of help.”

Kapco will also be sponsoring a similar project with members of the Salvation Army. They will be launching their program on Monday, April 14 at 2 p.m.