Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

This week there were no cultural orientation classes at CRIS, so I spent some of my free time speaking to different employees to get a sense of the other tasks CRIS performs. I spoke to Nathan Szabados who works in resettlement as a program coordinator applying for benefits for clients through the county and coordinating with Church World Service (CWS) and Episcopal Migration Ministries to create case files before refugees arrive in the U.S. Nathan sat me down and explained to me the long and complicated AOR (Affidavit Of Relation) sponsorship program designed to help bring family members of refugees already resettled to the US who were left behind for one reason or another, or their cases were lost in the camps. Up until 2008, the AOR process was easy to apply for and CRIS was resettling upwards of 1000-1500 people a year. However, the government realized that some former refugees were committing fraud by claiming non-family members and so the whole program was nixed. Now CRIS resettles around 600 people a year and ZERO through the AOR program. Nathan attempted to explain the complex processes behind the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and their new form process. To explain the entire thing would mean writing a novel, but the main lesson I learned was that although it is necessary for immigrant and refugee resettlement to be determined at the national level, the bureaucracy and ambiguity of the AOR forms means a whole lot of wasted time with no results for refugee families in America or people living in the camps abroad. Of the hundreds of AOR’s the CRIS staff have completed, none of have resulted in refugees being resettled in the U.S., and this is true for all other non-profit refugee organizations in America. I feel like the AOR’s represent the frustration some of the CRIS employees feel with government bureaucracy, its size, complexity, and murky guidelines that makes reuniting refugee families extremely difficult and time consuming and result in wasted resources and overflowing refugee camps.

Another issue talked about around the office deals with President Obama and his asking for close to $4 billion from congress to deal with the Central American child immigration dilemma on the U.S.’s border with Mexico. The main concern for CRIS and other organizations like CRIS, is that the Office of Refugee Resettlement plans to reprogram $94 million from their budget for refugee services to deal with the child migrant dilemma which would mean a drastic cut to many of the services CRIS and other non-profits offer to their clients and the reduction in CRIS’s staff size. I realize funding and the loss of funding are problems all non-profits face, but in my mind this not only affects the non-profit employees and the people they serve in central Ohio, but also people abroad. Refugees living in camps who have been waiting to be resettled in the US or to be reunited with their family but are now told they have to wait because there just isn’t enough money for them, for their needs, their lives.

Below is a link with more information on the budget dilemma and below that are the numbers to Ohio’s senators. If you can call them and ask to approve the emergency funds President Obama has proposed, you would be helping to improve the lives of child migrants at our border and refugees abroad:

http://www.rcusa.org/www.rcusa.org/stop-cuts-to-refugee-services

Sen. Brown – (202) 224-2315   Sen. Portman – (202) 224-3353

History of Clinton Como Park

Olentangy Park Roller Coaster

In 1893 the Villa opened on what is now the Olentangy Village Apartments, and Clinton-Como Park. The Villa was a picnic space that was connected to the rest of Columbus by the High Street trolley line. The park began changing hands and its name likewise changed to Olentangy Amusement Park and grew into the largest in the United States. Gradually the park added thrills like a carousel, merry-go-round, and one of the largest swimming pools in the country. There also was an open air amphitheater, pony track, and arcade. The park continued to trade hands and in 1938 L.L. LeVeque purchased the park and sold off many of its rides, including the carousel which is now at the Columbus Zoo. The swimming pool was at first used by the apartments, but was eventually filled in. The area not used as part of the apartments became a wooded lot that was used as an illegal dumpsite for years until its cleanup.

Cleanup and Recovery
Starting around 2002 the first significant cleanups were held to remove debris that had been left over from the amusement park, and that had been illegally dumped over the last 50+ years. To this day the park still has occasional cases of dumping, but the community keeps a close watch over its park.
Cleaning up debris was just the first step in the restoration of this space. After the debris had been cleared invasive species were removed, and native trees and shrubs were planted in the newly created space. In 2012 some of the recently planted trees were threatened by the addition of a buried Columbia Gas pipeline. Though some of the trees were lost Columbia Gas invested more than $50,000 back into the park with larger replacement trees, native tall grasses and butterfly gardens.
Similar efforts have also been undertake at the neighboring Olentangy Village Apartments. There pesticides have been reduced, no mow zones instituted and 100s of trees have been planted to help protect the nearby Olentangy.
The community sponsors frequent cleanups and is home to many dog walkers who can enjoy the wild growing mulberries and black raspberries when they are in season. A search on Facebook reveals several group and event pages revolving around the park, and an independent community web page also exists which includes links for what to do if you notice illegal dumping. The park also has a printed natural resources management plan that should guide future management practices.

Timeline
1880-Robert Turner purchased the area that became the Villa and turned it into a picnic area
1893-Opened the park and named it the Villa
1895-The Villa is purchased by Columbus Railway, Power, and Lights
1899-Purchased by Dusenbury brothers, renamed Olentangy Park. “Figure Eight” rollercoaster installed.
1904-Park purchases the “Japanese Gardens” from the St. Louis World’s Fair.
1910-Park Zoo added with monkeys, elephants, and bears. Also arcade added.
C.1914-Grand Carousel installed.
1920-World’s largest swimming pool built.
1923-Park bought by Olentangy Amusement Company.
1929-Heanlein brothers begin to lease park.
1937-L.L. Leveque Company purchases park and begins to liquidate its amusements.
1938-Olentany Park closes.
1939-Park begins to be levelled for Olentangy Village apartments
1950s-Parklands not developed begin to be used as an illegal dumping site.
2002-First major park cleanups begin.
2007-Most major debris is cleared from wooded areas.
2008-1450 trees planted in park.
2009-Major honeysuckle removal, 240 native shrubs planted and 100 more native trees.
2010-507 trees planted, numerous litter cleanups and honeysuckle removals, $3000 donated between FLOW and Columbus Parks for Clinton-Como improvements.
2011-270 trees planted.
2012-Columbia Gas pipeline goes in through park. To help restore and repair the park, Columbia Gas spends more than $50,000 on trees, and native prairie plants.
2012-Various entities come together to make a Clinton-Como natural resources management plan. Julie Smiley, Jan Jacobs, and Laura Fay of FLOW are key resources.
2013-268 trees are planted.
2014-Experimental wild flower plantings done, tree planting continues to nearby Olentangy Village Apartments.

“Be an Apprentice” the theme of camp this week, but it really describes my experience for the whole summer.  At the Ohio Craft Museum and at the Columbus Foundation, I have learned so many new skills from the masters  around me, whether they be artists, local leaders, educators, or experienced non-profit professionals.  I am learning organization and planning skills from my boss, how non-profits function and operate from those at the Columbus Foundation, and new art techniques and ways of thinking from all the artists that I am meeting.

Additionally, I am trying to be a master in my own position, particularly by modeling good behavior and skills to the campers and the teen volunteers.  Managing the teen volunteers is one of my tasks for the summer, and this week it was definitely a challenge.  Some of the volunteers are pretty close in age to the older campers, so sometimes they forget that they are supposed to be classroom helpers and instead are goofing off with the kids or working on their own projects instead of assisting the campers.  Getting them back on track with little nudges and positive reinforcement instead of getting frustrated at them is the goal, but it is hard to be supportive and positive when there is so much else going on.  But good classroom skills and management are learned by experience, so I have to remind myself that they are learning by doing and watching, and make sure that when they are watching me, they are seeing useful and positive things. This is especially important to remember as I think about my future career, especially because I want to work in museums where people are constantly on display.

Being both the apprentice and the master is exhausting, but totally worth it!  This week there have been a lot of multi-day projects that require a lot of steps and supplies, so getting all of that ready wiped me out!  But, as usual, we have a great group of campers who are excited and ready to make amazing art, so it all pays off in the end!

Answering machines have always terrified me. They’re composed of the pressure to fill an empty space that we feel during an awkward pause in conversation or when staring at a blank Word document with an assignment due, but instead with limited time to do it in. I’m sure a lot of my fellow introverts will understand the other component: once you’ve said it into the answering machine, it can’t be erased. Your ums and uhs and awkward ramblings are preserved and floating in the ether, inaccessible to you but available for your professional acquaintance or the person you want to date (or whoever else, as long as you’re trying to impress them) to play again, and again, and again.

They probably don’t, rationally speaking, but we aren’t talking about rationality here. I put off making calls not because I’m worried about talking to the person, but because I’m afraid of going to voicemail.

I have to leave a lot of voicemails right now because I’ve moved on from the planning stage and into the preparation stage of the loan closet program overhaul. I find it hard to believe that I’m about to finish up week 6, but I feel like I’m exactly where I should be, answering machines aside. A lot of my time now involves feeling other organizations out and a lot of educated guesswork – are they open to a partnership? what would this business charge us for space? what do they want from us? what will this change, and will everyone at the ALSA go for it or will there be resistance?

This is much more cerebral work than what I’ve done in my previous jobs and for my social work field placement. I’m getting experience with cost-benefit analysis, with accounting and with data interpretation and customer satisfaction. It’s a grounding in business that my education has lacked so far, and I’m not terrible at it even if it doesn’t come as intuitively to me as knowing what to say to a patient (and even if there’s a little more anxiety involved). My accountant dad would be proud.

Just to give a little update on what I have been up to. I am receiving RSVP’s to my Food Insecurity and Community Gardens Workshop that I will also, now that I remember, send to the Summer Fellows list serve. We are getting a great response of academics, volunteers, civic organizations, and public and private companies. People seem to be forwarding on the flier which is promoting the event even more. I am in the process of the logistics and gathering information on different aspects of food security as well as organizing that information and some resources for those who attend the workshop to get involved in alleviating food insecurity in whatever capacity they so desire.

The garden is doing well too. My eggplants are finally sprouting fruit and I found out that when the soil is too hot for broccoli they actually start to bolt which means they flower. That is right. The little buds on broccoli that we eat are actually baby flowers. I had no idea. I thinned out the carrots because they were too cluttered and we got a donation of about 12 pallets worth of different peppers, tomatoes, and herbs to plant. I took some for our garden but the agencies and pantries that come to our warehouse were able to take what they wanted and plant them back at their locations too. I have gypsy peppers, Hungarian, hot peppers, banana peppers (sweet and spicy), and then many other varieties that I can’t recall. My favorite name so far is the hillbilly tomato. The picture looks like it will be multicolored and huge so I am very excited to see those fruit.

We recently changed our pantry rules and operations, expanding the access to many more clients. This new system just started Tuesday this week and we had at least a 3 hour wait for the clients to shop in our pantry. We almost doubled the amount of families we normally serve. It is a HUGE adjustment but I think that we are accessing more people in need of the food and services we provide so in all it is a positive.

For this weeks Tuesday volunteer shift we received a kit to make a new storage shed that the volunteers and I started on. We had a great turn out so it went pretty quickly. We also harvested the onions which had to have been about 100 pounds worth. They are gorgeous and many different colors. I also thought it necessary to post a picture of the mammoth of what I am sure now is a weed growing in my carrot bed. It is absurd and so huge that I am intimidated to try and cut it down. That is all of the updates for this week. I am remaining very busy and productive so needless to say I am really enjoying the work!

Not even a third of the onions

the monster

It’s official! We’re more than half-way through our full but fleeting summer with the Columbus Foundation. However, I have very little time for nostalgia as there is still so much ahead!  One of the most exciting aspects of the non-profit sector is that there is always more work to be done. True, some days that realization is overwhelming, but most days it is a worthwhile challenge. But, finding fulfilment in non-profit work isn’t as simple as most people probably believe.

When I tell others about my work at the pantry this summer and my interest in the non-profit sector, I am often met with a chorus of “Wow! You must feel so good about the work you do!” I think many experienced professionals in the non-profit field would respond affirmatively, but like any other job, it takes finding your niche to truly feel like your efforts make a difference.

If you are interested in exploring the non-profit world, there are a lot of “would you rather” scenarios to consider to find your fit. Do you want to reach out to large groups of people and help create positive but small changes in their lives? Or, would you rather work closely with just a few people but significantly alter their experience in the world? Would you find fulfilment in working with young people and sustain hope that the seeds you plant with them grow and thrive after you’re gone? Or, would you rest easier working with more mature individuals who may have more liberty and wisdom in their position but shorter, narrower futures ahead? Would you rather work directly with people or with policies? Would you rather change a physical space or an emotional one? How will you feel like what you do actually matters?

One of the hardest lessons I seem to learn over and over in life is that you’re not going to win every battle, even if you’re one of the good guys. This is more apparent than ever when working with disadvantaged communities. Before you enter that battlefield, really understand which victories would mean the most to you. It helps you feel like you are working, improving, changing, growing, supporting, etc. rather than just fighting.

A short week is both a blessing and a curse! While I was greatly looking forward to the fourth of July, I had a lot of work I needed and wanted to complete before I headed northward to spend the holiday in Michigan.

I can’t believe five weeks has already passed.  We are all now half-way through our summer fellowship and I have no idea where the time has gone.  It feels like I just arrived yesterday and yet when I pause to reflect on everything I’ve done and experienced so far I can’t help but be amazed.  I have participated in mass produce distributions, I have volunteered building coffee tables, and I have inventoried and sorted over 800 backpacks.  I have attended meetings, created supply budgets, and learned which fork to use at an etiquette lunch at the Columbus Foundation.  I have done and experienced so many things so far, and yet the summer is only half over.  In this mid-point reflection I am realizing that my summer is simultaneously already and only half over.

This week I find myself knee deep in my overall project for the summer as well as preparation for Homeport’s Backpack Drives in August.  I have spent countless hours writing and revising, and then revising again, a large document outlining the Business Process Management (an newer model for Standard Operating Procedures) of the major Homeport Volunteer Initiatives.  So far I have completed about thirty pages of process description, photos, and diagrams for our monthly summer produce distributions.  I am also about 20 pages into the process description and spreadsheets for our backpack drives.  Realizing that this is my half-way point reminds me of where I’m headed.  Before this summer is over I will have created probably at least an 80 page document that can be referenced by any employee to understand major processes in the Volunteer Engagement department.

Writing about the Backpack drive has been a challenge.  Each year Homeport provides over 1500 backpacks stuffed with school supplies for students in each of our communities.  Unlike the produce fairs, backpack drives are held once a year and require a lot of preparation.  As such I have not experienced any of the events surrounding the backpack distribution, nor has my boss, who started in the position in January.  This has allowed me to get a lot more involved in the strategizing and planning for this particular volunteer initiative.  I have inventoried backpacks, helped create supply budgets, helped plan our backpack stuffing events, and now find myself buried in boxes of school supplies and backpacks.  There is not a hallway in the office that is not lined with backpacks or school supplies.  This coming week we will hold our first backpack stuffing event and I will get to help plan and coordinate this effort.    More importantly I’ll have another five pages to add to my business process management document.  This summer is both already halfway over and only halfway over, so bring on the second half!

The past week has been pretty much business as usual. I taught my cultural orientation class to the newly arrived Bhutanese/Nepali clients on Monday and Wednesday and both days went very well. What I have enjoyed most about the cultural orientation classes are the feedback I get from the case workers who translate while I teach the class. The case workers spend the most time with the clients and are a testament to what information in the cultural orientation are relevant to their clients and what needs to be better tailored to their cultural group. Each group of refugees comes with their own experiences from their home countries, possessing their own cultural values, living standards, regulations on renting apartments, and using public transpiration. Each time I teach the class I try to orient the class towards each cultural groups experiences and needs. The case workers prove to be a valuable resources as their personal knowledge with their own cultural groups gives me a better idea about how to structure my class, and their interaction with Franklin county and landlords gives them the most up-to-date information about policies and concerns so that I may refine the information I present in class.

Overall the climate in the office has been that of tiredness and adjustment. Many of the staff and clients are practicing Muslims and so the adjustment for the fast of the month of Ramadan proves challenging for most, especially the clients who are attending English and employability classes. I cannot imagine sitting in a class for 8 hours, learning new skills and a new language on an empty stomach. I was told by a coworker that the first week of Ramadan is the hardest for adjusting to daily fasting, but after that it becomes a standard routine. Working at CRIS has given me a new respect for my coworkers who choose to fast and continue to work at the same level of intensity and determination of those not fasting.