Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

Hello all,

Today was exhausting, but fun!  In addition to finishing bar crawl wrap up, email drafts for the AIDS Walk email campaign, and other housekeeping things, I also was assigned the duty of dropping off all sorts of promotional materials at different businesses throughout Columbus.  This included Short North, Downtown, German Village, Bexley, Upper Arlington, and Clintonville.  Even though I have lived in Columbus for four years, I never had the opportunity to really explore the layout of Columbus.  This is especially true because I am unfamiliar with 670 and 70, so I definitely took some wrong turns and ended up seeing even more than I had planned 🙂

Some of my favorite stops of the day included the Bexley Public Library (beautiful!), The Book Loft in German Village (I didn’t shop, but it was hard to walk away!), Pisticia Vera in German Village (yum!), Press Grill in the Short North (they were so nice), Stauf’s Coffee Roasting House (I bought a drink–so delicious), and Global Gallery in Clintonville.  Even though that much city driving is enough to fray even the strongest of nerves, it was still enjoyable to see the different areas of the city, take in the skyline from the highways, and finally come back home to a comfier seat than my car seat.

It also gave me a lot of time to reflect on my experience this summer.  I immensely enjoyed my time at AIDS Resource Center Ohio.  So much so, I decided to stay in Columbus and continue working there seasonally and part-time until I find whatever is next in my life.  At previous internships, I rarely got to see the full execution of events and long term projects that I was contributing to; this time, I will get to continue working on Art for Life and AIDS Walk, as well as attend them!

Thank you all for reading this summer.  I hope the next Columbus Foundation Summer Fellowship class appreciates their experience as much as I did mine!

–Katie

The memories and the highlights of my 10 weeks with the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio don’t reflect the extra chromosomes, the cognitive delays, the struggles at golf, or anything like that. They reflect the people. They reflect the personalities, the adversity, the positivity, the joviality, and the accomplishments.

It’s not about the struggles, it’s about the growth. And here comes the ultra-highlight of my Summer–the signature moment that still makes my stomach feel all jittery: one of our Summer Learning Academy students had gone through our five week program almost entirely non-responsive. She didn’t enjoy participating, she didn’t feel inclined to communicate much more than to tell us “no” or “later.” She was special though; in fact, behind her stubbornness (which we all had, I mean, really) existed a child who enjoyed learning, who enjoyed celebrating the small things, and who enjoyed goldfish; whose sometimes beautiful if not poorly-timed smile was a sign that every situation has its bright spots. She had scored a zero on our pre-assessment. She had stemmed and remained silent during almost every question we asked her during the program. But the post-assessment was her time to shine. The single-greatest moment of my summer sprang up unexpectedly when this young girl wowed me by answering EVERY QUESTION. Incredible. A miracle. She said more words to me in that 10 minutes than in the previous 5 weeks! I can’t really put it into words, but I almost cried. Coming to terms with the fact that I was never going to know if our five weeks had made an impact in her life, I then had to come to terms that no other first grader could have made more of an impact in my life. Crazy, huh?

I remember the people. Lunch with Scoonie Penn: man, I played it cool in BDubs, but I was calling my mom as soon as I got into the parking lot!

I remember the people: Goofy poses at golf academy. I don’t know how well they shot, but they made pretty good impersonations of Tiger Woods’ photo at least.

I remember the people:

Last Thursday we had the Summer Learning Academy 2012 Graduation Celebration. Kids running everywhere but to their diplomas while this powerpoint with pomp and circumstance played. “When your name is on the screen, walk to Miss Cindy and Miss Shelli [not sprint to your mom’s lap!]” Afterwards, I was picking up and swinging around the kids at every request. I enjoyed talking with the parents, and was so humbled when presented with these:

I mean, I’m not even a teacher!

I remember the people. I worked with the greatest office staff out there. Whether I spent afternoons laughing with Denise, tried hiding my excitement around basketball players with Laura (well she didn’t have as much to hide), sat in the wisdom of our Ex-Exec Nancy,  rivaled Abbey for best make-shift work space, or enjoyed the ups and downs during the Summer Academy with my partner in crime Marge, I remember the people.

Thanks to everyone involved with this. Thank you so very much.

Today’s my last day at the office as a Local Matters fellow! Tomorrow brings the final luncheon and all of our presentations that will enlighten everyone as to the incredible work that’s been going on this summer. I can’t wait to hear what everyone has accomplished.

This morning, the staff gathered at our central meeting table to watch my presentation. I felt silly at first, since all of the people watching me were involved in the project for much longer than I. However, I received warm and receptive feedback after the presentation. I truly feel as though I’m capable of representing this fantastic organization and all that it does. The staff here is welcoming, committed, and truly amazing. I can only hope to make myself a career in an organization like Local Matters.

Speaking of careers, another reason I’m thankful for this experience is that it confirmed my notion that I want to set foot on the non-profit career path. I’ve worked in many settings in the past – schools, government organizations, retail, and non-profit – and hands down, the work that I’ve done with non-profits has been infused with the most excitement and fervor. I’m moving to Minneapolis in October, and I’m using the next month to look for jobs. I definitely know where I’m going to begin my search! If anyone has connections at a food related non-profit in Minnesota, send them my way!

I also have insane amounts of gratitude for the Columbus Foundation. This experience was so much more than summer employment. It was an opportunity to engage in important conversations, expand my horizons, and set the base for what I want to do with the rest of my life. Not to mention that I met some really fun people along the way! Here’s a photo of some of the Fellows at a Columbus Crew game last night: 

The best news is that even though today is my last official day at the Local Matters office as a Fellow, it’s not my last day with Local Matters. The staff is going to a party together on Saturday evening, there are still a bunch of events left for Local Foods Week (check them out and join us – http://local-matters.org/local-foods-week), and I’ve been given the opportunity to continue working at the Food Hub for the rest of my time in Columbus.  What a lucky duck I am. 

Hello all!

Today was a very interesting day.  I represented the development office of AIDS Resource Center Ohio at the Central Ohio HIV Planning Alliance, or COHPA for short.  This is a monthly meeting where agencies that provide health services for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS send representatives to confer with Columbus Public Health.  As one of the largest service providers in the state, ARC Ohio has so many reasons to be there!

Today was particularly interesting because we went over an epidemiology study for Franklin County and a presentation over high risk heterosexual individuals.  The epidemiology study was by far the most relevant part to what I am doing at my fellowship. The stats and trends that we went over showed some very interesting things.  First of which was that the number of people living with HIV/AIDS increased by 9% between 2006-2009 and slowed to 7% these last 2 years.  This is a great thing–it hopefully means that central Ohio is doing all of the right things to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Secondly, for men, male-to male sexual contact is the most common method HIV/AIDS is transmitted.  However, more and more heterosexual men are also contracting HIV/AIDS.   When we discussed this point, there was general agreement that there is a sense of invincibility among straight men when it comes to HIV/AIDS.

Thirdly, the most at risk population is 20-24 years of age.  This is really pertinent to me as most of my friends and me are in this age range.  This really brought the issue back home for me.  In the same vein, while women may overall have a lower rate of infection, African American women are 8 times more likely to contract HIV/AIDS.  I find this interesting because it comes down to the ability to negotiate condom usage.  As an anthropology major with a focus on cultural studies, this is an issue that I find really important.  The ability to negotiate safer sex practices is often viewed as a developing world problem.  It’s surprising to realize it is a problem here as well.

The second part of the COHPA meeting was an assessment of two social intervention programs.  The most best program to listen to was SISTA–Sisters informing Sisters on Topics of AIDS.  As you can guess, it is a program focused on African American women.  It was great to listen to the information about this program after seeing some of the statistics about African American women as a demographic.  This program highlights the holistic approach that is necessary to change behaviors, including negotiating safer sex practices, finding pride in ethnicity, and connecting as women.  The findings of the assessment were also positive in that the SISTA intervention is successful.

Overall, I really enjoyed this meeting.  I also got to share our AIDS Walk updates: 145 registered and more than $7,000 raised!  Also, the building that Columbus Public Health is in has great historic value.  It was a great afternoon with impact.

–Katie

Each summer, the Homeless Families Foundation helps families prepare for their children to go back to school. HFF’s goal is to provide each elementary school student with 2 new outfits and a backpack full of supplies. Middle school and high school students are given a budget, and then staff members and volunteers take these older children shopping for school clothes. This allows the older students more independence in selecting items that they need and that will help them “fit in” with their classmates at school.

This morning, I was very fortunate to to assist a group of middle school & high school boys to shop for their own school clothes. It was really a great experience… the boys were shy at first, but they had such engaging and wonderful personalities. They were very appreciative of the opportunity to get new clothes, and they were very responsible in the use of the money allotted to them. After checking out at the store, the boys were very happy with their purchases, and it was so great to see them smiling and laughing! I know their new clothes will give them additional confidence to achieve success at school.

This was such a rewarding experience… I loved being able to help the kids in finding the items they needed, finding the correct sizes, and finding bargains! Tomorrow, I hope to be able to assist middle school & high school girls with their back to school shopping!

Local Foods Week is off to a great start! I volunteered at two fantastic events this past weekend. First was a large conglomeration of events at the Hills Market: a foodie spelling bee, the Hills farmers’ market, the grilled cheese throwdown, and an auction to benefit Local Matters. It was a ton of fun, and I was honestly surprised by how many people attended the grilled cheese throwdown! Last night was an all-Ohio cookout at the Hoover Y learning garden. There was beautiful music, a tour of the garden, and some fantastic food provided by two caterers. I couldn’t have spent the evening in a more pleasant way! If the remaining line up of events this week is anything like the ones that already happened, then this week will be an incredible success.

Check out what’s left to come this week here: http://local-matters.org/local-foods-week

Whether you’re in the mood for a cooking class, a kid’s activity, a food or beverage tasting, or a suggestion of a fun place to hang out on any given night, you’re in luck. I’ll see you all there!

Our crawl was a great success for our first year!  The weather cooperated, we had wonderful volunteers, and such enthusiastic crawlers!

It began a little rough–we only had 5 people sign up in the first hour at Park Street Patio.  However, two crawlers convinced more people to crawl and soon we were having a great time down Park Street.  The best part about an event or fundraiser for a cause is the stories people tell you.  It was wonderful to hear why each volunteer and crawler was participating.  Whether it was a positive HIV status, a friend or family member living with HIV/AIDS, or a strong connection to the nonprofit or healthcare community, every story was unique and significant.  

In the end, our crawlers had so much fun we had to keep herding them from bar to bar.  I can’t wait to do the raffle on Monday or Tuesday and tell which lucky crawler won a $200 gift card :).  We raised over $300 and registered dozens.  All in all, it was a successful event that I planned.  I also have a lot in my  mind that I would do differently, which is invaluable for the next time I get to plan something like this.  Below are some great pictures.

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then how much is a slideshow? And if a blog is only a few hundred words, then boy, are you in for a treat!

Wrapping up these last few weeks, the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio and I have said goodbye to some new friends. And in the process, we have reflected on some pretty solid memories.  And goodbyes aren’t really goodbyes. They’re like congratulations, appreciations, good luck wish-ations, and see you later-ations. I can honestly say that it’ll be hard not to see those crazy lovable kids every day in our Summer Learning Academy. And I’m still itching to play golf and catch that spirit of learning and care-free excitement of chasing little white balls around vast green expanses of lush green grass and the occasional pond or sand trap that may be more occasional than I’d like. (but really, I love golf).

So here’s cheers to the DSACO Golf  Academy Class of 2012!

Golf Academy 2012 Celebration

And while I’m at it, check out this slide show of Summer Learning Academy!

Summer Learning Academy 2012 Graduation Celebration

These last few days have been so much fun! Seeing the excitement in the kids eyes, seeing how proud they and their parents were during graduation, and witnessing the culmination of all those days of chasing down kids, repeatedly learning counting, telling time, how to spell words with funny spellings (like those ‘gh’ and ‘ei’ combos), writing on mirrors, dancing to variations of bear hunt, and playing tag at recess where Alfred is all-time “it.”

This has been one of the greatest opportunities of my life, and I’ll remember those kids for a very long time.  Thanks to the parents, nannies, nurses, and Bethel International United Methodist Church!  Enjoy the rest of your summers!

With one week left to go, I don’t think I’m ready to say goodbye to DSACO. That’s why I’ll be presenting at their Annual Conference on August 25th, and why you should join me at the Buddy Walk on September 23rd at Crew Stadium! (if you go, not only will you see me, but the amazing kids from Summer Learning Academy!)

Things are starting to resemble a finished product! I’ve been spending a majority of my energy this week focused on formatting my reports and editing content, which is a great opportunity for me to be a little creative. I look forward to making final edits and being able to look at my reports without seeing five things I need to fix. I’ve definitely appreciated having a project this summer that has a meaningful finished product I can show to future employers. With only one week left the pressure is on to finish everything in time, but I am confident that everything will turn out.

This week I have learned that in many instances, less is more, and prioritizing information is key. I wrote the content for my case stories last week, and kept them within a two page limit. However, once you add in graphics and formatting, that two pages no longer actually fits on two pages. That being said I had to go back and cut out some superfluous information or quotes and make my message as clear and concise as possible, while also interesting.

“Kudos” to journalists for making a career of writing in that style, because it pains me to left go of some information and quotes, but I know that it isn’t necessary to present everything in order to make a strong point.

Learning this skill will most certainly help me through the future, especially as I pursue future endeavors in the field of research.

One week left! I look forward to reflecting on the overall experience in my next post.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Melissa