Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

There has been so much rain, I can’t believe it! However, no amount of rain or mud is going to stop me from getting outside and exploring the land… although the mosquitoes can be a bit much to handle. I never leave the barn without my bug spray!

This week I had the pleasure of exploring nature by the side of Dan Boone, a retired arbologist and current botanist. He works for MAD Scientists, and knows so much about plants! I was in awe the whole time that we were out walking! For every plant that we came across, he had something to share about it. For example, there are many different species of clovers at Shephrd’s Corner, such as white clover, and red clover. Dan told me about the time that the saw Buffalo Clover and Running buffalo clover (an endangered specie of clover in the U.S.) in the same place at the same time. This is a really big deal because there is such a small window where these two clovers bloom at the same time, and there is an even smaller chance of seeing them in the same area in bloom at the same time! I am sharing this because Dan reminded me about the importance of looking carefully at my surroundings. It might be inconvenient at times to spend the five extra minutes looking at a patch of grass, but that spot may hold valuable information about the conditions of that land. Since the Running buffalo clover is endangered, Dan’s find reveals a spot that it is thriving, and could continue to thrive with the proper care. And this all goes back to caring for the Earth. We now know where this endangered species is, and we can take efforts to preserve that land and keep the clover in existence because it is connected with the existence of other forms of life.

There is one plant, inparticular, at Shepherd’s Corner that is facing threats of being wiped out. It is the Ash tree. The Emerald Ash Borer is a pest, native to Eastern Asia, that is threatening the further existence of the Ash Trees all across Ohio. It is a green jewel beetle that burrows into the tree trunks, taking away the tree’s nutrients and weakening its internal structure. Eventually the tree becomes too weak to support itself and it falls over and dies. It is sad to see so many trees dying, but on my walk with Dan we came across a patch of baby Ash trees deep in the mature woods! This was an instance where taking the time to look around revealed a patch of new life that can bring hope to the Ash tree! Shepherd’s Corner is all about caring for the earth, and with constant surveillance there might be a chance for these trees to be protected and surviving!

This past week with the Fellowship has been full of great fun! Monday started at the Columbus Nonprofit Foundation, which was awesome. All of the Columbus Nonprofit Fellows met at the foundation for lunch. This was not just any regularly catered lunch though! We were joined at noon by our fellowship partners from The Ohio State University. We were not able to chat too much with our fellow partners because we were in training for lunch. This was a special training, an etiquette training! There were approximately thirty fellows and advisors who all got to enjoy a four-course lunch and learned how to properly eat a meal!

Obviously Monday was a great start to the week, but the programmed kids time for the week was very exciting! The first program was done on Tuesday at the Gahanna YMCA. The theme was Beach Day. A typical beach is hot and sandy with the water hitting your feet! Well that was not exactly how our beach day went! We had a lot of rain or cold weather, so we brought the beach inside! The first activity that we did was making giant popsicle masks- isn’t that the first thing a kid wants when it’s hot anyway? They were a huge hit among our kids at Gahanna. We then made homemade ice cream. This was an adventure for sure, but so simple! All we did was use ice, salt, half-and-half, sugar and vanilla extract. The kids had to shake the bags for about 10 minutes and ice cream formed! It was the perfect snack to go along with our beach day. We then played a basic water game with our kids indoors. I was very pleased with the results at Gahanna! At the North Branch YMCA, we did all of the same activities. Unfortunately, the Ohio weather struck again! Thus, we were inside. Surprisingly, the activities did not go as well with the kids. Every week I take data ratings from the kids to see what activities are good to repeat. What I have noticed over the past 6 weeks is that the Gahanna Branch kids love crafts and playing indoor games. The North Branch loves to play outside and athletic activities!

Stay tuned for next week as we “Bring the Farm to the City”!

Living Beautifully,

Erika Nigh

Week 5 was a full week and a big one for Make A Wish. We had been pushing for the budget to be passed for Ohio because it includes a wish granting fund. I helped do a little lobbying on behalf of MAW. It was so out of my usual routine that I was kind of giddy doing it. It was fun to leave passionate phone calls about a mission I care about and I almost felt like I was playing a different person because I’m usually allergic to politicking. It was suspenseful to wait for the results. It passed the house and the senate, leaving it all up to Kasich. MAW made one finally push and it paid off. The budget was successfully passed and the fund will help wish granting organizations in Ohio grant many more wishes to children with life threatening and debilitating diseases. I’m impressed by MAW for branching into advocating on behalf of the cause. So any non profits that are service based and c3’s are afraid of advocacy work, but it’s so necessary.

A personal accomplishment this week was finishing my cost analysis, except for the Theme Parks, Excursions, Activties, etc. expense category. It’s a relatively difficult category to examine because it’s so diverse in the type of expenses it covers. It really could just be labeled as “Fun” because I think that defines it better. I wrote up my conclusions and passed it along to my boss. Our costs are down 9% for the first three quarters from last year. We implemented cost saving strategies in January of this year. My goal was to tease out what decreases were from things we implemented and things beyond our control.  It’s hard to determine exact numbers, but I could determine that our strategies with regards to airfare definitely affected by our strategies. This is important because airfare makes up the majority of our costs. It’s great to be able to confirm that our strategies are working in such an important category. I look forward to getting feedback and questions from our Program Managers and my boss.

I started off Monday morning by continuing to research some dental clinics for our project exploring different models of safety net clinics. I found this project to be a great learning experience because I can see how different organizations accomplish a similar mission through different approaches.

For lunch, I attended a business etiquette learning lunch at the Columbus Foundation with the other Fellows and the Ohio State Advancement Career Exploration (ACE) interns. The ACE interns are undergraduate and graduate students from Ohio State that have been selected to work with different organizations with Ohio State Advancement, which is “a university-wide initiative that integrates alumni relations, communications and marketing and fundraising.” It was cool to meet the ACE interns and learn about the projects and organizations within Ohio State they were working on, such as University Communications, Medical Center, and the university’s Annual Giving Campaign.

Dana Booth, the Assistant Vice President, Constituency Fundraising, at Ohio State led the etiquette session through a fun and humorous approach! It was great to remember the basics about etiquette. I also learned about what to do in some specific situations I had never thought about or experienced before, such as proper etiquette and advice for a lunch interview. I finished up the day with a check in meeting with Laura to go over all of my assigned projects and determine a plan for the rest of the week.

On Tuesday, I looked online for different volunteer recognition programs at other non-profits that we could integrate into our volunteer program. I didn’t find much, but I was surprised that there are a few private, for-profit organizations out there that consult non-profits and other organizations on their volunteer programs. Some sites had quite a few comprehensive resources about all aspects of volunteer, including Energize, Inc. which had a lot of resources. I called a principal from each school district to see if I could set up meetings to discuss our outreach program and possible expansion to their school and school district. Most schools were out of the office until late July or early August, however, a Columbus City Schools high school just down the street from our clinic is still open. Their principal was out of the office, but I will be giving them a call later this week.

We visited a WARM Summer Lunch Program event at Northetown Park in Westerville on Wednesday. It was a very similar site to the other WARM events. We had about 30 kids throughout the day and we played our usual activities with the kids. The kids loved it! It was great seeing the kids have fun and learn a lot. Since the weather was not some kids did not come the day we were there. We also left 40 extra goodie bags at the site for the next few days so the WARM staff at the site would be able to hand out bags to the rest of the kids.

Starting our games and activities with the WARM Summer Lunch Program kids

Brushing Bob the Dragon!

Thursday morning, I prepped for our visit to Pheasant Run, a housing development that Homeport Ohio works with. This was our second visit with Homeport, but we saw a lot more kids this time around! This event was also unique because it was hosted at the housing development’s community center, where Homeport set up a produce market with fresh fruits and vegetables, financial planning and financial counseling workshops, and tables with books the kids could take. We had the children of the families at the event visit our table outside the community center. The Boys and Girls Club also had a summer program hosted at the community center, which many of the children of the families living the housing development attend. In addition to the children at the event, we also got to see all of the children at the Boys and Girls Club event. We had two new volunteers, Ivanna and Cybill, join us, and Eric took pictures and recorded extensive video at this event! I’ve included several of Eric’s pictures in this post! I’m excited that we’ll be able to use these photos for our outreach materials.

Two of our outreach volunteers, Cybill and Ivanna at our Homeport Ohio visit outside the Community Center at Phesant Run housing development in Renyoldsburg, Ohio

Me getting really fired up about those stained eggs

A small portion of the free produce market provided by Homeport Ohio at their event, in addition to the financial literacy workshops

Pheasant Run Community Center

Today, I have been at the clinic all day finishing up some projects I started. For the rest of the day, I’m planning on finalizing the research project and outreach brochure. I’ll be giving a call to the Centennial High School principal this afternoon and also be taking a look at our volunteer and site surveys. It’s been a great week, but it went by way too quickly! Today will be a great day to get the work I’ve been doing since the beginning of the summer done, and then move on to some more projects!

Whew! This has been a busy week to be sure, as we are now in the thick of the summer Junior Docent program and the ball is rolling. I believe it is rolling in the right direction, but we will find out shortly!

Before I get started into this post, first things first. We have a group picture! Yay!

Me and my JDs!

We hear a great deal in the nonprofit world about the importance of being able to tell our story. It is a line I have heard over and over again this past year of my studies, and I always tended to brush it off thinking “well, sure, I guess…”. I didn’t quite get it, but after this week I am truly understanding the depth needed in an organization’s story and the importance of being able to tell your story effectively. One of a nonprofit’s most important (if not the most important) assets is its story. It’s what makes an organization unique, and this story is what is used to gain buy-in from the community (Literally. We use them all the time when seeking funding). It seems today that everything about stories, especially effective telling of stories is an extremely valuable, but often overlooked skill. Stories are all around us and we encounter stories daily. Take Facebook for example. Your Facebook is your personal narrative. Everything you add becomes part of the story that you tell and present to the world. Storytelling is nothing new to us, but there is an art behind it that takes practice to ensure that this is done well.

Everything, and I truly mean EVERYTHING that I have done this week, whether the storytelling was intentional or unintentional, has been coming back to the concept of the story and how we tell it. On our Family Day this past Sunday, I was interviewed by Channel 6 news about the importance of our Family Days, and I had to explain the short story behind the significance of us offering this free admission day to the Columbus Community (next one is August 2nd in case you’re curious). Tuesday with my Junior Docents was spent creating stories about some of the pieces that we have on display at the Collection. I gave them free reign to come up with their own story about what was happening in a piece or create a story about how or why it might have been created. They loved this exercise! From there, I started preparing them to give their first “mini-tour” of one painting. This is a process that requires looking at the artwork, gathering their own questions, and anticipating questions that tour groups might ask. From there, the JDs use the resources of our artist files and books in our library to gather the information that they will need and then put together a story about the piece to tell their tour group. We literally have stories hanging on our walls here at the Collection. Wednesday, they had a chance to present their stories on their mini-tour of their pieces to their COWIC supervisors. The COWIC team was very helpful and talked with the kids about the importance of presenting information about yourself and being able to talk about yourself and (tell stories) to a group of people, which happens often when interviewing for a job. Additionally, the JDs watched a series of videos that told the story of Ron Pizzuti and the Pizzuti Collection. With this information, they are beginning to create their own versions of the Pizzuti Collection story that they will be able to use when giving their tours.

Additionally, on my personal work load has been crafting a narrative for a grant, working alongside my colleagues to create a written document to present to a foundation to seek funding to support our educational programming. This story has been extremely challenging due to a word limit in the application, so conciseness is key (which I’m sure you can tell is not one of my strongest skills).

And last but not least, my own story that I just recorded for you and have been recording for you here is my narrative of my experience this summer. I will likely use these stories in the future, whether it be for more grant writing with this organization, using the story and my experience on a future job interview, and even when I just call my mom every week and catch her up on what is going on. Stories are all around us, and it is up to us to determine which stories are told. It also takes a good storyteller to make sure that a message is relayed effectively. I cannot stress the importance of storytelling enough.

This week was full of etiquette, design, and collaboration. I’ve been taking a break from my main research on our information management system and been working on some design projects with help from some coworkers.

On Monday, the fellows connected with the Advancement Career Exploration interns for a lunch to learn about proper business etiquette in dining situations. We were some refreshed with some classic tips about which fork to use and learned some new tidbits such as keeping your wrists on the table (wrist check!). Besides the obvious of learning etiquette, it was an afternoon filled with catching up the fellows, networking, and some pretty good food.

Tuesday, I’ve started working on a comprehensive design for a new website for GroundWork group. It’s something that I never really thought I would do, but after crafting a report about ways the site could be improved, I thought I would spend some effort trying to visualize what I writing about. I created a initial layout and design based on other website templates that offered the visual characteristics I was looking for, and am now aiming to create a page organization structure that is intuitive for the visitor. I probably won’t be there for when any website redesign becomes reality, but I hope the template I’m working on will help them when they finally do.

On Wednesday, I met with our website designer to go over my ideas as well as collaborate on new ideas for the website and beyond. I kept working on the website design and did some research for some other projects. In my personal life, my roommate and I are now dogsitting!

Thursday, I met with our Marketing director to talk about the brochure and flyer designs I’ve been working on. I just have some rough drafts right now, but I’m hoping to craft final products that can be used for their outreach efforts.

Friday isn’t over yet, but I’ve been putting the final touches on everything I’ve been working on this week. This week has flown by because I’ve been working on some really engaging things. I love embracing my creative side, especially when it comes to marketing. I’m looking forward to seeing how this last month of the fellowship turns out!

Also, check out this week’s GroundWork group blog post, I’m featured for the work I’ve been doing with them.

So far, this week has been jam-packed with valuable learning experiences.

Monday, the Columbus Foundation hosted an etiquette lunch for fellows and for students interning with The Ohio State University. I’ve never been to an etiquette lunch before and, to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. I was imagining that scene in The Princess Diaries where Julie Andrews corrects all of Anne Hathaway’s little idiosyncrasies. But I’m happy to say it was nothing like that. Turns out the meaning of etiquette is not necessarily perfect posture or royal refinement, but rather putting those around you at ease. Our etiquette lunch was truly fine etiquette because we all felt comfortable enough to make mistakes and ask hard questions, like “What is the proper response when a table mate has something in his/her teeth?” I was surprised by the things I learned on Monday, many of which overturned my idea of what “proper etiquette” was (wrist check, anyone?). And so began a week of challenging misconceptions.

On Wednesday I was able to sit in on a Per Scholas board meeting. I’d been looking forward to this experience since arriving at Per Scholas because in non-profits, board members are a pretty big deal. In school, I had a non-profit business minor so in many of my classes we discussed what it’s like to work with an advisory board. My impression from my coursework was that boards can be difficult to work with because members may not know the daily ins and outs of the business or be as invested in the business because they have their own careers to focus on. I’m happy to say that is not the case at Per Scholas. The board members I’ve met have all brought valuable and informed perspectives to the table. They care deeply about the work being done here and are committed to helping us do it better. I was impressed with how willing board members were to offer their networks, talents, and resources for the betterment of Per Scholas Columbus. I think that working with a board can be difficult if you don’t know how to utilize the talents offered, but the meeting this week showed me that board members are truly an invaluable resource for non-profit businesses.

These experiences and a hundred others this week reminded me that I don’t know much at all. I’m continually being challenged to see things in a new way. As I round out the sixth week of my fellowship, I am overwhelmingly thankful for the ways this experience has shaped and re-shaped my view of the world.

With camp over, this has been a pretty mellow week at Shepherd’s Corner. It has given me time to work on other projects for Ask the Land, and do some reflecting on my time here so far.

I made a brochure this won the birds of Shepherd’s Corner. After the birding excursions with Jim McCormac and another group from Sharon Woods Metro Parks, we have added six new birds to the list since the 1997 Ask the Land survey! The new birds are the Green heron, Ring-billed gull, Eastern towhee (pictured below on left), wild turkey, Cape may warbler (pictured below on right), and an Orange-crowned warbler.

On the inside page of the brochure there is a checklist of all the birds on the land, and it gives visitors the opportunity to go out and find as many of the birds as they can. This mini challenge gets people engaged and connected with the creatures that have made Shepherd’s Corner their home. People are able to see, up close, the habitats that support these birds, and many other animals, which makes preserving the land a more personal experience. The brochure also emphasizes the global impact of our actions. These birds are not only having effects on this environment, but also on the environments to which they migrate. An example is the Scarlet tanager (pictured on right), which summers in Eastern North America and winters in Costa Rica. We rely on birds for the seed disperal and the survival of many plants, and these plants are a food source and home to many other creatures. Therefore it is important to protect each piece of the web of life in order to keep life going!

This week has also allowed me to do some reflecting on how the land is being affected by the introduction of the surrounding housing developments. There is a lot of construction that is taking place around shepherd’s Corner, and I can only imagine the daily stress that it puts on our wildlife. Since this land is one of the only large forest areas for many animals to go, there is increased competition for food, resources, and shelter. This means that many animals have to put even more time and energy into either foraging, defending territory, or raising their young which leaves less focus on two of the others. This could mean less seed dispersal of plants, eventually leading to less food for humans. And this isn’t just an issue of Shepherd’s Corner. It is occuring world wide.

As humans, we rely so heavily, whether many know it or not, on so many other life forms for our existence. It is imperative that we gather our resources and knowledge to protect this earth. It is the only home that we have.

Two weeks ago, my boss, Gina, called me into her office to provide me with some additional work for the week. Among several other tasks, Gina wanted me to start the process of hiring additional teachers. Specifically, Gina wanted me to post the jobs externally, collect resumes, screen the candidates via a phone interview, schedule in person interviews with the top candidates, and sit in on the interviews. At this initial meeting, Gina warned me that hiring staff is a difficult, time consuming, and expensive process. Although I usually take Gina’s words and advice seriously, I remember brushing them aside this time. These words seemed to go against my preconceived notions about the nature of hiring. In the hiring process, employers are the ones with the power and the applicants are the ones trying to impress the company or organization. Hiring is difficult and stressful for the applicants – not employers – right? Wrong. Throughout the past two weeks, I have learned that Gina was correct when she warned me about the challenges that lay ahead. Although I have faced several challenges during this process, the biggest challenge has been finding qualified, but no overqualified, candidates for the position.

Before starting this process, I always thought that we lived in an employer’s market: an economy with limitless qualified candidates and a scarcity of job openings. Although this may have been true during the Great Recession, this is not the state of the current employment market for early childhood educators. Although I have probably received over one hundred resumes for four positions, I easily eliminated about forty percent of them for either not having the minimum qualifications or for having red flags on their resume. After attempting to call the remaining sixty, about half of them never returned my calls or responded to my emails. Another ten I was able to eliminate for lack of professionalism or lack of interest on the phone. This left me with twenty candidates. Another five asked to be removed from consideration after finding another job, or discovering that we were hiring for full time, rather than part time or seasonal, employment. Therefore, in the end, a field of about one hundred applicants was dwindled down to about fifteen before we even got to meet them in person.

Even with fifteen candidates remaining, I suspect that additional challenges remain ahead. First, I cannot help but suspect that several of the candidates are overqualified. Although I work at an outstanding four-star facility that has to be a draw for any candidate, many of our candidates have held jobs more senior to the positions for which they applied. This wealth of overqualified candidates has led to an interesting situation in which we have appeared to be doing more of the “selling” than the candidates. During interviews, they have been the ones asking us questions, and we were the ones that felt the pressure to inform them of all of the exciting things happening at the CELC. This was not the dynamic that I was expecting and certainly did not make the process any less difficult.

In the end, between trying to stay organized with one hundred resumes floating around my desk and trying to find suitable candidates, hiring staff is shaping up to be one of the greatest challenges of my fellowship. At the same time, it has also led me to my biggest surprises. Although finding a job is not an easy or stress-free process by any means, it is not necessarily as easy as it appears for the employers across the table either.

(Note: The postings on this site are of my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Columbus Early Learning Centers)