Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

Hello all! I’m in the midst of another busy and exciting week here at Per Scholas, but I just wanted to share a little bit more about this great organization and the work I’ll be doing here this summer. I’ve become much better acquainted with Per Scholas this week and let me tell you, the work being done here is GOOD! Per Scholas is, as I mentioned last week, a national organization, with offices in New York, Dallas, Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., and right here in our fair city of Columbus, Ohio. What Per Scholas does is meet needs. The folks at Per Scholas meet the needs of unemployed or underemployed individuals in the Columbus area and they meet the needs of countless employers in the area.

Since I arrived at Per Scholas I’ve been learning about something called the skills gap. Essentially this means that the needs of the employer and the skills of job candidates aren’t matching up. People looking for jobs are either under-qualified or over-qualified. Columbus has a huge market for what are called “middle-skill” job opportunities. Middle-skill careers require a high school diploma and some additional training or certification, but do not call for a college degree. Middle-skill careers pay well above the living wage and guess what?! There are ample opportunities. So the work that Per Scholas does each and every day is beginning to close that skills gap, giving job seekers the skills employers are looking for. It’s been so awesome to see alumni come in the office and share about their promising interviews and job offers. It’s almost a revolving door of exciting news around here. The education Per Scholas provides is really changing lives.

Per Scholas specializes in IT training and development. Students who come through the program graduate in eight weeks with a CompTIA A+ certification and hundreds of hours of experience. This program is intensive. Students are in class all day Monday through Friday and there is plenty of studying going on outside of class. The very best part about Per Scholas is that they provide all of this education at no cost to the student. Coming from a girl who just graduated with her fair share of student loans, this is huge!

So, what exactly am I doing here? I graduated with a degree in literary studies and know next-to-nothing about how to put a computer together, so what am I going to do all summer at an IT workforce development center? Well, my main goal is to assess the Columbus middle-skill job market, conducting surveys, interviewing employers and doing some independent research, and to offer recommendations to Per Scholas as to ways that they can better meet needs in this market. But in addition to that, I have just jumped in where needed, from contacting prospective students to grading exams to finding partner organizations…and just about anything else I’m asked to do, and I am loving every minute of it! Stay tuned for more!

-Ashley

Wow! Shepherd’s Corner is such a delightful place to be! I would like to give thanks to Shepherd’s Corner and the Columbus Fellowship Foundation for providing me with this incredible oportunity!

In 1997 Mark Dilley, founder of MAD Scientists, did a complete Ask the Land survey of Shepherd’s Corner’s 160 acres. Experts were invited out to explore and collect specie counts of all the diverse life forms that are inhabitants of the land. This summer I will be joining experts from the many fields of biology to do a re-surveying of the land. For example, Mark Dilley will be focusing on flora, Jim McCormac will be focusing on birds, Aaron Laver will be focusing on amphibians and aquatic life, etc. After the counts are compete, the data will be compiled, comared to the findings from the 1997 survey, and then further elaborated on in the 2015 Ask the Land survey booklet.

My main focus for the summer will be to evaluate the big-picture question: How has the increased number of surrounding housing developments and a commerical strip mall impacted the diverse inhabitants of Shepherd’s Corner?

To find the answer to this important question I shall ask the land!

Purpose. It is what every team, organization, and person has. What makes a team, organization, or person a stand out is if they live out their purpose. The Central Ohio YMCA’s have a very clear purpose and constantly keep that purpose in front of them. I mentioned purpose in my last blog briefly and I definitely want to give the topic the attention it deserves today.

My supervisor and I were chatting on my first day about how important it will be to get an authentic acclimation with all of the Central Ohio YMCA’s throughout my time serving the organizations. We decided that a great way to get an authentic look at the organizations would be to do a “Secret Shop”. I went to five different branches of YMCA’s in Central Ohio and found that there are definitely differences. I focused on the differences and similarities in Kid’s Time. For the sake of privacy, I will briefly explain two of the branches and call them Branch A and Branch B. Branch A allows children to be without a parent in the facility as long as they are at least nine years old. Because of this, the numbers for tradition Kid’s Time is low. They have very high numbers with their teens camp, which averages thirty teens a day. The demographic at Branch A is younger, more indigent population. Branch B requires children under the age of 12 to attend Kid’s Time unless they are supervised by a guardian. Thus, the numbers are very high for Kid’s time. Their day camp is completely book for the summer for their younger kids.

Obviously, Branch A and Branch B are different, very different. That is plain to see, but what is also plain to see is the similarity. The similarity being the purpose, which is: To serve the whole community through programs expressing Judeo-Chrisitan principles that build a healthy spirit, mind, and body. In my own words, I observed that their purpose is to be a hub for the community that fulfills needs and provides education that is seen fit for that specific community.

The YMCA’s of Central Ohio does an outstanding job of fulfilling their purpose. The amount of time, effort, and care that I see the staff put in on a day to day basis is absolutely incredible. Even more so, the leaders of the YMCA’s put so much thought into constantly keeping their purpose in front of their employees through a positive atmosphere and great communication. Regardless of the location and demographic, it is so encouraging to see a purpose uniting Central Ohio one community after another!

My journey into the Summer Fellowship has begun and I can already see that the path laid out in front of me will be full of twist and turns.  I am headed into a thick forrest with branches of responsibility and high expectations hanging just above my head.  I consider myself the protagonist on this exciting adventure, so allow me to tell you my story one chapter at a time.

Once upon a time, on the North Side of Columbus, there sat a large warehouse filled with wonderful people who were prepared to make a difference in the world.  In the front of this magical warehouse was a store, which they referred to as a “ReStore”.  In this ReStore, the employees of Habitat for Humanity worked diligently to provide low-income families with solid products to furnish their home at an affordable price.  From couches, to cabinets, to washers and driers, this ReStore took donations from people who had too much, and sold them to people who had too little.

In the back of this warehouse sat even more Habitat for Humanity employees that devoted their lives to helping low-income families afford proper housing.  Whether that meant helping them fix their current house or building them a new one from the ground up, these incredible individuals were ready and willing to do what they could for those in need.

In this very same warehouse sat an ambitious college student name Oliver who had one simple job: to tell the story of this selfless organization.  With a camera in his hand and a hard hat on his head, he set was prepared to document amazing people doing amazing things.

Before he could capture the essence of this non-profit organization on camera, he had to put in the ground work to set a foundation for his findings.  In order to do this he met with each one of the departments within Habitat for Humanity (MidOhio) to ask them what they thought was important to share with the world.  He took in their thoughts and opinions and tried his best to put them all on paper.  Just from listening to them talk he could hear their passion and optimism for a world where everyone could live in a house they deserved.

At the end of the week he studied what everyone had discussed with him and began planning interviews and video shoots.  This organization trusted Oliver to deliver a message to its audience that was both emotional and informative.  He was excited for what was to come in the next few weeks and quickly realized he was blessed with a fantastic opportunity at Habitat for Humanity.

Friday concluded my first week as a fellow at the Columbus Early Learning Centers.  While I am just beginning my journey here, there is another group that is finishing their journey.  Friday morning, I had the opportunity to witness the graduation of seventeen four and five year old children, who will be moving on to Kindergarten this fall.  It was moving to see the smiles of the children and their family members as they received their diplomas, marking one of the earliest of many milestones on their educational journey.  At the conclusion of the ceremony, I found myself in tears of laughter as the children looked with distress as their family members encouraged them to throw their caps in the air.  It was clear from their expressions that the seventeen four and five year olds found this to be a ridiculous request.  Nevertheless, some of the caps did go flying, and the ceremony way a success.

Before I go any further, I should introduce myself.  My name is Alex Downie and I am going to be a fourth year student at the Ohio State University majoring in Political Science.  After graduation, I plan to attend law school and hope to go on to do legal work for an interest group or nonprofit organization.  For this reason, I am incredibly excited to be working at the Columbus Early Learning Centers (CELC) this summer as a fellow, where one of my overarching projects will be to create a volunteer program.  The CELC is an organization committed to providing affordable child care and education with a focus on responsive caregiving, intentional teaching, community collaboration, and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle.  Although I have considerable experience volunteering and coordinating volunteer opportunities through my university, I have never had the opportunity to work with volunteers on the side of the service organization, and am thankful that the Columbus Foundation and The CELC is proving me with this opportunity.

Over the past week, in addition to working on and witnessing the graduation ceremony, I have been able to sit in on several of the classrooms to learn more about the organization and the people that it serves.  In addition, I have started developing the volunteer program.  I am now in the process of drafting a volunteer manual, researching legal requirements for bringing volunteers into a childcare facility, and have been gathering information on methods of recruiting volunteers and ideas for possible service projects at the facility.  I hope to have much of this initial preliminary work finished over the next few weeks so that we can begin to bring in volunteers by mid summer.   Please stay tuned to this site as I provide weekly updates into my journey at the CELC.

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

Hi, my name is Bryn Webster, and I think economic development is neat. I know, that probably sounds kind of nerdy, but when I heard about the Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI), which supports small businesses right here in Columbus, I knew it was my kind of place. Their mission of achieving economic growth and equality through education and affordable microloans is right up my alley, and it doesn’t hurt that they’re located in a gorgeously renovated brick schoolhouse that’s equal parts industrial and charming. From their Food Fort, which provides incubation space for local food trucks, to their Women’s Business Center, which offers training and assistance for female entrepreneurs, ECDI is on the front lines of the battle against poverty and economic inequality and I’m excited to be a part of it.

Home sweet home!

For the next ten weeks, I’m going to be working for the Development Department as an assistant researcher and grant writer. Our department, which is located on the “Garden Level” aka the basement, is responsible for securing all of the money that ECDI uses to fund its various loans and programs. As I learned by starting my fellowship in the middle of one of Development’s busiest weeks, grant writing is a face-paced, high-pressure job where creativity is key and the details can make or break you. Because this was such a big week for the Development Team, I was expected to jump right in and start laying the groundwork for future projects, which was scary at times but ultimately very rewarding. Working for Development is like being on the ground floor (or in this case the Garden Level) of real social and economic change.

Because who needs windows anyways?

Now, I know a lot of people wouldn’t relish the idea of sitting in a basement for the next ten weeks, sifting through economic literature and writing papers. In fact, when I excitedly told one friend that I’d be researching and writing grants all summer, they noticeably cringed. While it’s not everyone’s idea of a good time, I can honestly say that it couldn’t be a better fit for me. The feeling I get when I find the perfect source to cite for one of our proposals or sit in on a marketing class to learn how our programs are impacting the lives of women in our community, it’s indescribable. As I walk down the stairs to the Garden Level every morning, I know I have the chance to help people achieve their dreams and create economic prosperity for those least advantaged in our society. I think that’s pretty neat.

One week as a Columbus Foundation Summer Fellow is officially in the books, and I could not be any more satisfied with my match at the Vineyard Community Center as a legal intern with their Immigration Counseling Services. I have wanted to become an attorney since eighth grade social studies, and there are few opportunities I could be taking advantage of during the summer in between graduating from the best damn university in the land—The Ohio State University—and matriculating to law school in the fall that will help make this longtime aspiration a reality.

I was immediately immersed into Vineyard’s framework, and I have spent the past week learning the fundamentals of a pertinent legal software, immigration law jargon, the filing of relevant paperwork, and more importantly, the immigrants themselves. Many times, especially from an academic standpoint, emphasis is designated to documents and numbers, forgetting, or even disregarding, the people that are actually impacted. At Vineyard, our focus is, and rightfully so, with the actual refugees and immigrants in need of legal and pragmatic assistance. On my second day, I spent the better part of the morning and afternoon completing the paperwork for a client; later that day I got to meet her and sit in on the counseling session she had with our lawyer, Elizabeth Watkins, who is a wonderful mentor, effectively putting a face and story to the name in the documents.

The welcome balloon my coworkers gifted me with on my first day.

The entire staff at Vineyard has been incredibly congenial, welcoming, and just extraordinarily nice. I am greeted every morning with a myriad of wide smiles and exuberant, passionate chatter. I have never had the good fortune of being in a work place that is dominated by such sincere and kind individuals, and for that I am truly grateful.

I earnestly look forward to the new experiences, skills, and relationships I will gain over the next nine weeks, so stay tuned!

-Abdulrahman Alwattar