Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

I genuinely cannot believe how fast this summer is going! More importantly though I don’t think I can yet fully comprehend the immense feeling of accomplishment that I feel at the end of my days working at NSI.  While the fact that the pantry is open for service Mondays through Thursdays 10am-1pm enables my days to have a certain level of predictability to them, my interactions with NSI’s diverse group of volunteers, community partners and most importantly our neighbors has ensured that no two days are the same.

There are so many highlights from this past week I really don’t know where to begin! The level of engagement at our first Fellow Learning Circle on Tuesday definitely set the tone not only for my own personal week, but I think for what we can expect to be on the horizon for this unparalleled group of fellows.  The opportunity to hear from trailblazing leaders in the non-profit sector who have a specific focus on policy was incredible! Participating in a discussion about the school-to-prision pipeline with these leaders from two highly esteemed organizations (The Children’s Defense Fund and Voice’s for Ohio’s Children) only further fueled my desire to be apart of this work.  I cannot adequately express my gratitude for The Columbus Foundation and their efforts to create spaces where we can realize our fullest potential.

My big focus of the week was finishing the design and then beginning the implementation of my summer-long project for NSI. My role at NSI is to help them develop a research tool to better evaluate the needs of our neighbors. While in the design phase over the last two weeks I spent a lot of time researching past surveys/reports that other food pantries have used to inform the design of their services.  On Wednesday of last week after having the survey be reviewed by my supervisors and even a board member we hit the ground running! Though the day wasn’t without a few setbacks.  For instance, I learned that having neighbors participate in the survey while they wait to be served may inadvertently slow down service. Also, I realized that while the questions I had created could offer valuable insight, it seemed more important to gather the information requested on NSI’s existing recording system, PantryTrak. Lastly, just after one day it became apparent to me that while our goal was to survey as many neighbors as possible, our neighbors want nothing more than for someone to show genuine interest in hearing their story and taking the time to sit down and “interview” them could create a space for that. Needless to say, Wednesday night when I got home and was reflecting on the day I started drafting up a second version.

I am excited to share more about the progress of the project later this week!

-Sylvie Durlacher

Hey everyone. Just to remind you guys, my name is Jake Humphrey; and I am a current Columbus Foundation Summer Fellow working with Green Columbus. As part of my duties at Green Columbus, I will be collaborating with another non-profit, Godman Guild Association, to provide environmental education to a select group of 14 and 15 year old students. My role at the Guild will consist of leading the program twice a week. Last week I was able to begin the orientation for the summer program with the children, as well as starting the educational aspect yesterday.

The orientation with the children unfolded just as any other orientation does: a lot of paperwork and icebreakers. While all of us dread the idea of icebreakers, it was actually quite enjoyable to facilitate some of the activities. It was amazing to see some people break out of their shells and to see how groups work both efficiently and inefficiently together. I was not able to participate fully in the orientation because it spanned the entire week; however, it went very well on the days that I was in attendance.

After the orientation week, the students started the program in full this week. So far, I have only met with them one day, but things seem to be going well. Yesterday, I was able to teach the students about the three pillars of sustainability (environmental conservation, social development, and economic development), and how those three pillars can be related back to our lives in Columbus.

In addition to the first day of the program, I was able to sit in on a meeting regarding the planning of the rest of the program. We discussed different educational areas of interest, possible field trips, and activities all related to sustainability and the environment. All in all, I think that the youth program and collaboration with the Godman Guild will be a great learning experience for me, and I am extremely excited to continue working with the association throughout the summer.

Until next time,

Jake

I grew up in a small town in southwestern Ohio. I lived on 6 acres of land that backed up into our local metro park filled with deer, coyotes, rabbits, birds, wildflowers and trees. My parents live on a small farm so I grew up surrounded by chickens, turkeys, rabbits and other various animals. This green environment filled with life was all I really knew until I left for college at The Ohio State University. Ohio State is located in Columbus, Ohio—the 14th largest city in the US. I have always loved the idea of living in city where there are things to do and places to go but it was a difficult adjustment from the lush nature that I was surrounded by at home. Everything felt man-made and artificial, even the sad little trees that lived in between the slabs of concrete. There was a point where I literally downloaded a nature sounds app to listen to sometimes when I felt like I was suffocating in big buildings and streetlights. For me, a girl who has always loved the idea of city living, it took losing trees, nature and wildlife to realize how much I loved them. And as I learned more about life outside my small hometown, I understood just how endangered those precious resources are today.

This is a photo I took this week of a recovering turtle in our wildlife hospital that was hit by a car (see the small cracks towards the back of his shell).

Wildlife is not just about cute fuzzy baby animals that look cute on Facebook. Wildlife is a representation of a healthy ecosystem and a healthy planet. We can see direct impacts of our actions as a society laid out in endangered species and threatened habitats and our deer, possums, raccoons, coyotes, rabbits are crucial to the balance of our home. One of my favorite aspects of Ohio Wildlife Center is the educational component. I can distinctly remember my mom taking me to nature centers and sanctuaries for educational programs when I was young to learn about the life cycle of a monarch butterfly, calls of songbirds and species of local wildflowers—the miracles of the world, especially in the eyes of a five year old. I would sit like a pretzel in a semi-circle, enraptured by the box turtle in the hands of a park ranger or making fallen leaf tracings in the fall. I believe these small experiences shaped the way that I value nature today and the way I hope to protect nature in the future. In our wildlife hospital, we care for orphaned wood ducks in the hopes that they will mature and repopulate the next spring. In our summer camps and educational programs, we care for children in the hopes that they will appreciate and protect our environment many springs from now.

This is another photo that I took this past week of a baby duckling in our wildlife hospital. We have many ducklings brought in to us that were found orphaned in the spring and summer.

Olivia Adkins

Hello again! Week 2 of my fellowship experience has been INCREDIBLE and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store.

To begin, I’ll introduce myself further than I did last week… My name is Natalie Gilbert and I just graduated from THE Ohio State University in May with my Bachelor’s of Science degree in Public Health with a minor degree in Spanish. I have lived in and around Columbus my whole life and I am so enjoying my time spent giving back to this community.

This week has been incredibly busy but this week I’ve really learned the importance of community and networking. To start off, my supervisor Kelly and I started our week with some communication with a local Kroger that had reached out to us regarding some extra produce. I was mostly surprised that a Kroger had casually thought of our humble food pantry to donate to, but then I learned that we have many strong relationships with Kroger’s in and around Worthington. I also learned that the donation Round Up Program that collects money from customers rounding up their bills at Kroger, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to us in years past! Keep rounding up, Columbus!

The donated produce in the back of my car heading to the pantry!

Another exciting part of my week was being apart of the Worthington community’s CoHatch meeting on Friday morning. This was a meeting filled to the brim with women from non-profits around Columbus sharing ideas and lending advice to others and it was inspiring, to say the least. It was so exciting to hear women speak so passionately about their organizations, all of the successes they are seeing through their hard work, and then helping each other out instead of being in competition with each other. The most inspiring was hearing Amber from Legacy speak about her successes with her organization that leads former human trafficking victims through rehabilitation towards redemption through her for-profit company Eleventh Candle Co.

I absolutely loved being apart of this brainstorm session and look forward to moving forward in this community with these hard-working and successful neighbors!

Until next week,

Natalie

After my first day at Central Community House, I knew this place was special. But, I thought to myself, “That’s just the first-day high. This is just the honeymoon phase. By next week, I will view this place as just work.”

However, yesterday marked the completion of my second week at Central Community House and I still very much like it. It is work. But, its special environment and the different tasks I get to do make it enjoyable. Central Community House is just as much a place where leaders come together to provide services to the community as it is a place that serves the community.

What I mean is that at my desk, while I am planning fundraising events and trying to figure out how to write a grant, I say hello to and smile at the children who pass by me on their way to the Center’s daycare and computer room. When I enter the lunch room to heat up my food, I am greeted by a dozen Po-ke-no playing elderly women as if I am their own granddaughter. When it nears 6 o’clock and I am finishing up my tasks for the day I hear children from the summer camp playing the piano downstairs and singing. And they sound good! I love not only serving the community of which Central Community House is located but getting to know the community– both original and new community members.

Nevertheless, getting to know the community does not always leave you with the best impression. On Tuesday, I got the chance to sit in on a meeting with a neighborhood association who shall not be named. I am censoring the full name because I do not want my blog to affect my organization’s future relationship with the neighborhood association. However! I was at the meeting because one of their events takes place on the same day and time as our fundraiser. So, our goal is to work together and support one another. One of the association’s members asked whether one of the locations of their event was handicap accessible, a question that should always be asked. I was shocked, though, that instead of a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response, one of the association’s members made a comment to the effect that handicapped people would not attend the tour, anyhow. He thought it was funny, but I was really turned off. Fortunately, some board members corrected him because isn’t that what community is? Holding each other accountable for our actions and words?

I had a better experience though on Thursday, when I visited some of the local businesses that I was trying to recruit as sponsors for the fundraising event. I took a quick trip to Parsons Ave (which is a 3 minute drive from Central Community House) to meet personally with them. I visited 39Below Frozen Yogurt and met the owner Carolyn about preparing mini-sundae samples as well as coupons for the event. Then, I walked down to Corner Stone Craft Beer and Wine to discuss with Theresa about donating a growler gift set to the fundraiser’s raffle. I definitely enjoyed meeting with them in person rather than the constant email and phone call communication, especially when their establishments are a 3 minute drive from Central Community House! In my past event planning experiences, i rarely get to meet personally with the people behind the businesses I am collaborating with. So, meeting Carolyn and Theresa was refreshing and reminded me that business transactions don’t have to be absent of human connection and community.

Another week full of learning at Homeport!

I am really starting to see first hand how housing plays a key role in all aspects of a person’s life. Housing stability can ensure job stability, higher school performance, better health, and more. Each day I learn more about the importance of providing stable and supportive housing, and grow in my passion for alleviating this pressing issue.

I started the week with a meeting with one of Homeport’s property management partners. Homeport builds affordable housing developments, but then passes on the day-to-day management duties to three different companies. The meeting was focused on collecting the necessary data from the management company to conduct the eviction analysis, but I learned much more outside of that. The manager we met with explained how the company tries their best to not evict tenants, but are often forced to. Evictions can happen for many reasons; some of the primary being non-payment, property damage, crime, drugs, over occupancy, and health code violations. In many of these cases, the property manager or landlord is required by law to evict a tenant. There are also many circumstances where a tenant isn’t actually evicted, but is still forced move out. Affordability issues often arise, and a tenant will leave before they receive an eviction notice. A resident may become a victim of a violent crime, pushing them out of the property with nowhere else to go. A woman and her children may flee their home to escape domestic violence. Hearing from the property manager changed how I understood home stability. Preventing an eviction is merely one facet of creating stable housing, and understanding the other reasons people leave their homes is crucial to understanding how to support permanent housing.

I also had the opportunity to attend eviction court hearings with one of Homeport’s property managers. Each case was roughly 5 minutes or less, and in those few minutes people lost their homes. Seeing eviction court proceedings gave even more meaning to the work Homeport does and the work that I am doing analyzing eviction prevention strategies. I can read statistics on how many people are evicted each year or how many children live without a home, but it’s hard to truly grasp those figures until seeing an exhausted mother in the court room with her three kids, awaiting a decision that will ultimately leave them homeless.

I’m learning more and more about these tragic situations, and the incredible work Homeport does to help. While learning about and facing these issues can be tough, there is hope. There is hope in the passion that drives everyone who works with Homeport, and there is hope in the difference that Homeport makes in someone’s life each day. I’m excited to be contributing to this work and to continue learning about what all of us can do to help.

Until next week,

-Caroline Corona

Greetings! My second week at the Hoover YMCA Park has flown by and I feel like I’m really in the swing of things as it comes to close. I’ll just share a few of the highlights from this week.

I was able to help out with a field day organized for Enchanted Care camp kids at the park. It was great to be outside and active, and several other YMCA employees came out to assist with the kids. I enjoyed getting to meet them and hear about their experiences at different branches of the Y. Early in the morning, during the setup, we encountered a huge rat snake (we think) in the middle of one of the pathways. We were concerned about having kids in the area with a snake nearby, but luckily our resident snake whisperer, Kevin, was around to coax it into the woods and to safety.

On Thursday we had about 30 volunteers come out to the garden and I got my first experience with volunteer coordination. This mostly involves helping to check people in, documenting their work in the garden, and keeping track of their hours via the Mid-Ohio Foodbank’s Volunteer Hub. The Volunteer Hub is an amazing resource for nonprofits working within their network, so I’ve been familiarizing myself with all of its functions and tools as well as keeping track of new volunteer sign ups.

I’m in the beginning stages of planning a fundraiser for the Learning Garden involving the soon to be finished kitchen space in the Hoover Haven, a cabin structure near the greenhouse. The renovation is scheduled to be done by the end of June and the product will be a great community space for bringing the produce from the garden to meals on a table. I’m hoping to bring a local chef out to Hoover to give a cooking demonstration to participants who will also get to tour the garden. Below are a few photos of the Hoover Haven in its current state. I’ll be posting photos of the progress on our social media and in our weekly newsletter.

I am nearing the end of my second week at CMA and while I reflect on the last five days, I have learned most about the people I am working with and the places I am working in. My workplace is in the CMA studio – a room filled with paper covered tables, endless supplies, and creative people. Rachel Silva, Studio Programs and Outreach Coordinator, has spoken to me this week about the role that the studio plays here at the museum. It is a space where outrageous ideas are welcomed and where, “Yeah! Let’s try it” is encouraged.

One of the mantras recited here is that creativity is like a muscle and therefore it needs exercised and practiced. Everyone has creativity and it comes in many forms. To think like an artist, one must: play, reflect, collaborate, experiment, observe, accept ambiguity, imagine, and be curious.

One of my favorite programs run in the studio is, Open Studio. All ages are welcome and participants join on a drop-in basis free of charge with admission to the museum. In Open Studio, a big idea is explored by participants by creating work from a group of curated materials. I think it is very important for families to have a space to work through problem and develop solutions with one another.

This Monday is my first Summer Art Workshop (SAW) and I cannot wait. I will be coordinating for teaching artist, Mark Ebarhardt for his workshop titled, “Marvelous Beasts and How to Make Them”. He has exciting activities planned for the fourth and fifth graders who have signed up such as block printing, creating moving images, and creating artwork of monsters based on written or spoken descriptions. Stay tuned to hear about how my first week coordinating SAW goes! I anticipate fun photos documenting the week of exploring, learning, and creating.

See ya next week,

Chloe

Hey, you. Welcome to my second weekly update on my Summer Fellowship experience at DSC.

This week has included a lot of necessary moments of pause *heavy, deep breathing.* Being the Type-A poster child that I am, work tasks can become overwhelming. I like planners and lists. I especially like when things get crossed off in an orderly fashion. Well, the real world doesn’t have polished deadlines. Things change. Task A needs finished by 5 PM but OH NO! what about Task B that really should be finished by Noon? *heavier, deeper breathing.*

During our Fellow’s Learning Session this week, we discussed the importance of prioritizing. Advice was given on how to enter into each day assessing the important tasks that must be done first. With this in mind, I approached this week rolling with the punches. I made my schedule and hoped for the best.

On my drive to work one morning, I wanted to prepare myself for crossing off all the final to-dos of the week. I listened to an episode on the Getting Things Done podcast. I figured that should rally me up. The episode was called “Making Changes Stick” by David Allen. Allen discussed visualization techniques as a form of goal setting. He gave an example of a person going into a meeting envisioning it being unproductive, which causes the outcome to be unproductive. If the same person goes into the same meeting envisioning productivity, the outcome will be productive. Nothing can become reality unless it is first envisioned. This method was even applied to train Olympic athletes. Research showed the ultimate ratio of success being 70% visual training and only 30% physical training (Allen).

Ever heard of fake it til’ you make it? Yeah, it really works. Things didn’t happen this week in the order I had hoped. Arrows were drawn all over my weekly schedule. I even had to work from home one day due to illness. But you know what? That is okay. Everything got done. I envisioned the result, and it became the outcome.

– Karlee H.

Allen, David. (Producer). (2017, June 16). GTD [Audio podcast].
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