Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

I intended to get my final blog post up on August 4 – my final day at The Center for Balanced Living. However, with many goodbyes to say and good luck conversations with those who I have worked alongside for the past ten weeks, I didn’t want to place this task before these relationships.

So then I intended to get this blog post up yesterday on August 5 – my final day as a Summer Fellow where we each presented in front of our co-workers, supervisors, Summer Fellowship advisors, a few selection committee members and other staff members from The Columbus Foundation.

But here I am, on August 6 (I am obviously having a hard time letting go (:) and can no longer call myself a Summer Fellow. As sad as that sounds and as sad as I am that this summer rapidly flew by, yesterday was as sweet as an ending as it could be. Waking up this morning in the period between that send-off and life’s next adventures, I am feeling thankful, confident and excited with a hefty dose of nostalgia.

We sat in the room where it all began but this time, the introductions between us fellows turned into introductions between us and leaders at their nonprofits as well as those at The Columbus Foundation who took time out of their day to listen to our summer journey. Being able to watch and laugh with (I may be referring to Demi and Kathleen’s selfies) these ladies as they shared their growth and achievements made me so thankful to have been surrounded by brilliant, hard working and encouraging women. This may sound overly cheesy but I was truly proud of each fellow, especially as I had a bit more insight on the challenges they faced and their day-to-day success stories from our learning sessions and excursions together.

In my presentation, I discussed a bit of history from the date I learned that I made it to the “second round”, my interview in January and the day when I found out I had been selected.   Looking back, I can only laugh at myself who thought I had a good grasp on what I wanted to do with my life after graduating from Otterbein. The 19th slide on my Pecha Kucha was dedicated to my (still pending) next step ahead. I am completing my majors in Health Communication and Public Relations but am highly considering getting my master’s in dietetics to become a registered dietitian.

If you told me that ten weeks ago, I wouldn’t have believed you. But ten action-packed weeks of personal and professional growth and new friends and mentors can truly change a person. Thank you to The Columbus Foundation and The Center for Balanced Living for instilling this change in me! This summer has easily been one of the best experiences of my life and the nonprofit sector and Columbus have stole my heart yet again.

It feels as if I blinked and the ten weeks passed. To try and sum up my fellowship would be impossible, but if I could use one word to describe my experience it would be nourishing. According to Merriam-Webster, nourish can be defined as “providing the things that are needed for health, growth, etc.” This is fitting in multiple ways; first being that LifeCare’s mission is to nourish the human spirit. Second being the way in which those at LifeCare and the Columbus Foundation have given us fellows an array of opportunities that have cultivated growth and development. Our host organizations and the Columbus Foundation have nourished us; shaping, guiding, and providing us with the tools to be successful leaders in our community. Although not without challenges, the past ten weeks have been filled with enlightenment, discovery, and mainly nourishment as each day brought new opportunities for learning and growth.

As I stated in my final presentation today, reflecting on my time at LifeCare leaves me with four main points, which I feel have been most significant in my fellowship. These skills will prove indispensable as I enter my senior year of college and begin my career.

The first is collaboration. Each and every day, I collaborated with different people to get tasks done. I communicated and worked with multiple people at LifeCare to craft the newsletter, coordinate events, and establish different procedures that can be utilized after my time at Carrie’s. I was challenged to venture out of my comfort zone talking to so many people each day, but realized that it is in collaboration with others that gets the job done. I used and continued to improve skills such as organization, brainstorming, and communication, which were extremely beneficial in collaborating with different people.

The second is job enlargement or the ability to ‘wear multiple hats’, as us fellows would say. All of us concluded that working at a nonprofit requires the ability to perform multiple duties. LifeCare really kept me on my toes, as I was usually given a new task almost every day. I learned the importance of going with the flow, completing one task at a time, being open to new things, and challenging myself to learn from something I may not have expected to learn from.

The third is the importance of volunteers. I was opened up to a whole new world of volunteering and all the different facets that come along with it. LifeCare has shown me the importance of volunteers and how necessary they are in an organization like theirs. Volunteers are truly the heart and center, and how an organization creates and sustains relationships is so important. Volunteers often lead to becoming donors, and donors also are at the heart and center of an organization in a different way. Both are needed for the success of a nonprofit. I was able to learn about and witness the cultivation of relationships with volunteers at LifeCare.

The fourth, final, and most important (in my eyes) is relationships. I found as if the environment at LifeCare nourished and cultivated the ways in which I was able to meet and build all kinds of relationships. From the first day at LifeCare, I found myself engaging with many people. I was able to meet with different staff members from LifeCare, sit with clients at Carrie’s Café for lunch, play bingo with the seniors every 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday of the month, talk to people at meal tastings, welcome volunteers from all over the city, engage with a countless amount of people at coupon distributions, and chat with people at fan distributions. Being able to build relationships with those who benefit from LifeCare’s services was extremely beneficial and really aided in motivating me to complete all my projects to the best of my ability, because I knew in the long run they would benefit these people with whom I encountered daily. In addition, I have been able to get to know and learn from the other fellows who have filled me with motivation and passion to truly make a difference in Columbus and the world.

I feel extremely and truly blessed to have been able to meet so many people throughout the past ten weeks, from all walks of life. I have taken in great amounts of wisdom from a countless amount of people. I feel grateful for all of those at LifeCare, especially my supervisors who have taken me under their wing and have seen the potential in me to complete tasks I wasn’t really sure I could myself. As it’s hard to believe that August 5^th is here, and the fellowship is coming to a close, I feel as if my time at LifeCare has filled me with knowledge that will benefit me for the rest of my life. Thank you to LifeCare Alliance and the Columbus Foundation for this opportunity!

At our community carnival this past Tuesday, I was responsible for doing the face painting. I grossly underestimated how popular this activity would be, and over the course of a couple hours painted the face of what seemed like almost every child who lived in a five-mile radius. As I painted spiders and hearts and turtles and peace signs I got to talk to almost every kid I’ve worked with this summer. It felt so good to experience in my final week having so many of the families together in one place, enjoying an event that I helped to put on.

At the end of this week I’ll start recharging my batteries until my final year of grad school gets into full swing on August 23^rd. This fellowship has helped me to think with more nuance about what I see in my future career as a social worker. My second year field placement (fancy term for internship) will be at The Buckeye Ranch, an agency that is near and dear to my heart. I will be in their community based programs, learning a best practice model for family therapy. With the training I received in my first year, I’ll be looking at having my own clients as early as late fall.

Part of the reason I chose social work over other disciplines is its holistic focus on the person in their environment. Working with the teens and families at Southpoint has reminded me that helping any individual requires not just considering them, not just considering their family, but considering their whole community. My fellowship experience as reminded me that the field I am in is very diverse and there are a lot of avenues to create change. After graduate school my goal is work as a community based therapist, but long term I think I want to broaden my vision.

I’m so thankful to Concord Counseling and The Columbus Foundation for giving me this opportunity. At the moment I am preparing for our final presentations in a couple hours. I’ve run through my Pecha Kucha presentation so many times I feel like I could recite it in my sleep. But we’ll see how it goes in front of a big group. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the other ladies in my cohort, and can’t wait to see them shine today.

Dear incoming fellows,

Greetings from the past!!! Congratulations on your admittance to what is in my humble opinion, the most rewarding and transformative nonprofit internship opportunity in the state of Ohio! All those countless hours laboring over your application and interview paid off and you have hopefully accepted a fellowship with the nonprofit of your dreams.

Before the summer begins and life gets moving, I wanted to take some time to provide you with a few tips for success at your chosen nonprofit. This is by no means a definitive list of advice, but choose the elements that speak to you and go into the summer with an open mind and a friendly smile. Good luck!

1. Get to Know the Other Fellows

Searching for a support system to get you through the summer? Look no further! The individuals surrounding you are some of the best and brightest in Columbus and lucky you, you have access to them 24/7! Start a GroupMe, meet up for a happy hour after work, and generally, go out of your way to introduce yourself and make your desire for friendship known! These are the individuals that will understand you the best and provide endless support throughout the summer, so utilize the first fellows meeting to make some introductions and become acquainted with your newest workplace confidants!

2. Speak Up and Self-Advocate

It might seem daunting, but it is important to remember you got this fellowship for a reason: you earned it! After years of classes, work commitments, and extracurriculars, you are more than qualified to work in your specific position and it is vital that you use this confidence to your advantage! If you feel underutilized in the office, speak up! If you’re unsure of how to complete a task, don’t be afraid to ask for help! The program’s mutual selection process means that as much as you wanted to work with your nonprofit, it similarly wanted to work with you, so don’t be afraid to have a voice in the organization! To put it simply, know yourself, know what you need, and be confident in your ability to go get it.

3. Practice Gratitude

While it is important to be confident at your job site, it is of equal importance to remain grateful and humble within your operations. Out of all of this year’s applicants, you are the chosen ones! Be gracious for this amazing opportunity and do not take it lightly! Thank your supervisors for placing their trust in you, be appreciative of the amazing events hosted for you by the Foundation, and take advantage of everything the program has to offer. Remember, gratitude is the open door to abundance.

Well, there you have it! Three easy tricks for the best summer experience of your life! Keep these tips in mind as you inspire change and excellence in your nonprofits and I have no doubt you will do amazing. This fellowship has the capacity to change your life if you let it, so go in to the experience open-minded, enthusiastic, and ready for anything and I know you will do great. Now go forth and be fabulous! 

All my best,

Demi Levitch

Last Thursday I was given the opportunity to attend Huntington Banks’s Seeds For Growth workshop held at the Columbus Museum of Art. Seeds for Growth is a professional development opportunity for executive directors, presidents/CEOs, board leaders and development directors of local nonprofit organizations–therefore the invite I received from my supervisor was extremely generous. The half-day event, which is free to attend, was first held in Columbus, Ohio, in 2002. This year’s event was central around the theme of diversity, with educational sessions discussing the following topics:

Diversifying Your Staff and/or Audience

Diverse Ways in Which Funders Can Impact Your Programs & Mission

Sharing Your Agency’s Message through Media Diversification

and finally the keynote presentation…

Diversity Through Art: A case study

All in all, the community workshop was amazing. The panelists were fantastic; they were engaging, knowledgeable, and inspiring. In my role as a Columbus Foundation fellow, I am constantly trying to learn more about the non-profit environment in Columbus and more about the leaders who commit their time and talents to serving our community. So as you can imagine, sitting and networking with the CEOs and development directors of familiar and notable Columbus organizations while receiving and processing the very same workshop information as they were was pretty darn cool. I left the event with pages of notes, a few business cards, and a whole new outlook on my role as a member of the Columbus community.

The keynote presentation was truly my favorite part. It included a distinguished panel that stressed the importance and value of diversity in art–and the responsibility of the consumer to diversify the products that they purchase. It led to a reflection of my own purchasing practices and the ways in which I decide to use my buying power as a consumer. It brought back memories of that really awesome Ethiopian restaurant where I ate with my older brothers last New Year’s Eve, Lalibela, or the cool art show I visited with my friend a few months ago. It reminded me that there is so much culture to explore and plentiful opportunities for us to engage with the rich culture that Columbus provides. My $5 admissions fee to a show at the Lincoln can make a difference, as does my support of the local Taqueria instead of Chipotle. Overall, it was a refreshing afternoon that invited truly necessary and important conversations about diversity, and how every little bit of support counts when celebrating at that Columbus has to offer.

A little something to know about me: I hate endings. When I was younger, I used to always read the end of a book first–that way I wouldn’t be surprised by anything. I tend to avoid watching the finales of TV shows because they just make me too emotional. And when I first listened to the “Hamilton” soundtrack, I refused to continue on to Act 2 for weeks because I didn’t want to (spoiler alert! …can history be spoiled?) listen to the songs about Alexander Hamilton’s death.

So it should come as no surprise that I’m not looking forward to the end of this summer and the end of my fellowship through the Foundation. But as week 9 sailed by, I couldn’t help but feel content with the work I’ve been doing at KIPP. My fantastic supervisor left to take her dream job (best of luck, Ann!), but before she left she made sure that her new replacement and I were able to take over. This week, we were knee-deep in creating new and exciting data spreadsheets. What really struck me during this ninth week was just how comfortable I’ve become in my work at KIPP. From being the quiet intern who kept her head down in the office, slightly afraid of making too much eye contact, I’ve now become a member of the team. I feel confident in the reports that I create, and I’m not scared to ask for individual meetings with my coworkers to go over what they’d like to see in new data trackers. Not only have my spreadsheets improved greatly, but so has my confidence and my ability to function efficiently in the workplace. My penultimate week was incredibly busy, from attending meetings on future KIPP practices to coming up with new formulas for some spreadsheets–and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

I love the feeling of running around the office and being constantly handed new assignments. To be honest, I work way better under pressure. With the school year rapidly approaching (and my continuing internship with KIPP in the fall!), week 9 flew by in a blur of furious typing, e-mailing, and chatting with my coworkers–and I had a blast.

I can hardly believe that the days left in my fellowship are in the single digits.I mentioned earlier on in the summer that we were exploring doing a mural in the room we are shifting into a teen center at Southpoint. I had looked at techniques using a projector to get a mural design traced on the wall and painted. I started to become concerned that trying to DIY the mural was beyond my capabilities, and after some discussion Concord agreed to commission an artist to work on the project. Linda, the Clinical Director at Southpoint, connected me with Eliza Ho to pick her brain about the process she uses to create murals. Eliza is the creative director at ALTernative, an agency whose mission is to utilize the power of art and design to improve Columbus neighborhoods and improve the life of its community members. Eliza has led many community mural projects in Columbus in different communities including the Near East side and Franklinton.

Eliza and I spoke about the intent behind the mural project, and I was impressed that she understood right away that the process of creating the mural is as much or more important than the end product. She shared with me the process that she usually goes through when working with a community, and we discussed how this could be adapted with the teens. This week Eliza will meet with the teens for the first time to start the process of brainstorming and coming up with a vision for the mural’s design. I will be continuing to stay involved in the project past my fellowship time, and am very excited to see what it becomes.

This weekend I am getting ready for our Back to School Carnival, tying up loose ends and working on my final presentation. I am also thinking about what I am going to do to recharge after my fellowship ends, and I have a short break before my final year of grad school begins.

As taxing as it is, I truly love exercising. After a long (and rather sedentary) day at the office, there really is nothing better than breaking a sweat, moving your body, and exhausting yourself to the point of satisfaction.

Well, as my time in the program comes to a close, I have come to discover that my summer has been rather comparable to that of an extremely challenging workout. I started the program eager with anticipation, unsure of what my time would bring, but fairly certain my efforts would pay off in the end. As the weeks progressed, I became increasingly focused on form and output, working to improve my existing skills and hone new ones. Finally, at the fellowship’s conclusion, I find myself reflecting on my time with OANO and perfecting my final project, tired from my performance, but stronger as a result.

This summer has been a grueling workout, a plethora of highs, lows, and moments for growth. My summer project, which initially began as an unorganized collection of thoughts and ideas, has transformed into an innovative and revamped initiative for OANO’s Standards for Excellence program. The other summer fellows, who I first greeted awkwardly as strangers, have quickly become some of my closest professional confidants. My coworkers, terrifyingly intimidating in the beginning, are now my favorite faces to see in the morning. Lastly, my fellowship, once a temporary summer position, has now transformed into a part-time position with OANO in the fall (say hello to the organization’s newest Administrative Assistant!)

Through the ups and downs, I have been able to witness myself transform into a better version of me- one that is confident in my professional endeavors and eager for the days that have yet to come. Although the journey has not always been easy, the results have made it well worth the chase. After all, nothing worth having comes easy.

As week 10 is quickly approaching, my heart has been filled with lots of lasts. As I reflect on the past ten weeks, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all of those who have invested in me to maximize my fellowship. LifeCare has proven to be an exceptional experience because of the way in which each and every person has collaborated with me during my time here. Whether it was a co-worker at the office, my supervisor, a senior at Carrie’s, or someone coming to receive a fan, each person had their own distinguishing way of providing me with an opportunity for growth and learning that I can take forward in both my professional and personal life.

The routine events I held at Carrie’s this past week became more meaningful as I realized that these were the last I would be hosting. It was the last ‘smoothie day’ in Carrie’s; the last time I would offer someone a smoothie, receive a confused look, be questioned about the ingredients, and then reluctantly, they take the smoothie, smile, and say something to the sorts of “Wow, this is delicious!” (BTW, it was delicious. Here’s the recipe.) It was the last time I called BINGO and the last time I had to hesitantly say clear your cards, trying not to make any participants angry who were close to a BINGO. It was the last time I would participate in a fan distribution, with 130+ people coming to receive a fan on a ninety-degree day. It was the last time I collaborated with those around the office to make sure the August newsletter got out on time. And of course, It was the last time I greeted a new group at Carrie’s, welcoming them and showing them what Carrie’s Cafe can offer them.

While this week was filled with lots of lasts, it only begins a new chapter with new knowledge and new opportunity. The past ten weeks have proven to me what happens when you invest yourself into your work and into building relationships with those around you. I have found these seemingly simple events I hosted and participated in to be extremely meaningful. It was through these events that I was able to get to know people at the café and create a memorable experience for those coming to Carrie’s, as well. The diligence and hard work that my projects presented certainly comes to mind when reflecting on the previous nine weeks, but what most stands out are the people I met and friends I acquired. The people at Carrie’s have continuously showed me the significance of a kind word and a simple smile, and what an impact these small gestures can have on one’s day. As I approach the last days of my fellowship, I plan to stay busy by spending time in the café, wrapping up my projects, and preparing for my presentation, to hopefully forget that the goodbyes are upcoming soon. Here’s to week ten!