Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

Hi all,

I apologize for the delay in writing!  Since I last blogged, we attended an inspiring, impressive, and affirming learning session about careers in nonprofit.  There, a statement was made that success results from patience, persistence, and a willingness to change.  The past week at work proved this advice to be true!  The Kids Lunch Club is wrapping up (Friday, August 10 is our last program day before the kids return to school on August 15), and various staff members have been finishing their terms with AmeriCorps.  This means I’ve been out in the field for a couple of days, getting to see the true fruits of our labor.  Occasionally, it can be a challenge to focus on precision of paperwork, meal counts, demographic information, etc. when my desired focus is feeding and engaging the kids.  The direct contact with children and families in the field fuels my energy to continue the other, less direct but essential work. 

Also this week, Deb and I had a deadline for a grant application for next year.  Working on it numerous days – we gathered needed information and data, wrote narratives and needs statements, and met with W.A.R.M.’s executive director to discuss potential additions and changes.  Since I never experienced the grant proposal process before, it was an intriguing and enlightening event.  Later in the week, several W.A.R.M. staff and I had a meeting with a few individuals from the Ohio Association of Food Banks in reference to advocacy about childhood hunger and specifically about a possible continuation of the backpack weekend meals. 

The evaluation I am collaborating with Otterbein University to complete is in its final stages.  The focus groups are finalized and we will administer individual surveys all of next week to both volunteers and participants (adults as well as children).  As the lunch club program ends on August 10, I will follow up by compiling and analyzing the findings the following week (and amazingly the last week of the Fellowship already!).  I am anxious to finish up this aspect of the evaluation project. 

Reflecting on my time at W.A.R.M. and the Kids Lunch Club, I have had a varied and broad perspective on work in a nonprofit organization, witnessed and participated in meetings and assignments I was surprised to encounter, and grew from these experiences. 

In closing, in today’s Columbus Dispatch I read about the loss of the past president of The Columbus Foundation.  I feel inspired by the life of James Luck.  He was a passionate man that used his resources and intelligence to help those in need, and you can understand how The Columbus Foundation has grown to be an organization in its giving. 

The chaos has calmed the last few days at the KAC. After 3 weeks of preparation, the kids put on their final performance this Wednesday at the Pythian Theatre. It was an AMAZING show! There was everything from spoken word to acting, singing and drumming, Latin dance, African dance, and hip hop! It was exciting to see all of the kids displaying their talents and getting enthusiastic and nervous for the show.  I enjoyed being able to connect with local artistic masterminds, like Sister Yvetta, Malik A. Willoughby, Adrienne Bailey and Kaipai. I love seeing their artistic endeavors and how they contributed to the performance.

Hopefully in the next few weeks Kaipai and I will be able to do some collaborative work. I know earlier this week I mentioned that I was excited to start painting again after all of the inspiration that has come my way this summer. I started pulling together some of my inspirations and I decided to pick up performance painting.

My first encounter with performance painting was in 2008 when I found David Garbaldi’s art online. I was originally captivated by his fine art: I came across a piece called “Lounge Smoke” that was in the style I was trying to create, until I realized that I was only imitating! After I found that, I discovered that he is also a performance painter, and I would spend much of my time in art classes watching his videos with friends in high school.

http://www.avisca.com/Html/Avisca_2178.htm

Recently, I found out he will be in Toledo on August 7th to perform for a Gala Dinner, but tickets are over $200! I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t make it but maybe I will see him perform some day!

As I was researching him recently I discovered that the original performance painter was Denny Dent! Some other big names in the performance painting world are Frenchy, Brian Olsen, Rock Demarco, Dan Dunn, Michael Potts, and VOKA, who refers to his paintings as “spontaneous realism”.

VOKA’s work:

http://weheartit.com/entry/25839282
I stumbled across my second inspiration in 2010, when I worked on an independent research project about immigration in Italy. I found recordings of the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio, and was inspired not only by their art but by their mission. They work in the Esquilino district in Rome with the Apollo 11 Cultural Association “in order to enhance the intercultural characteristics of an area where Italians are the ethnic minority.”

Having been in Italy and having both seen and experienced the frustrations of immigration there, (including but not limited to harsh treatment, racism, unspoken segregation, unemployment and financial difficulties) I was overjoyed at the existence of an orchestra in which immigrants can freely express themselves and demonstrate their positive cultural contributions to the community.  I hope one day to be able to see them perform, or maybe even be a part of the orchestra!

The same issues that I encountered in Italy also happen here in Columbus as well. Throughout college I had an interest in improving the life quality of immigrants to Columbus, and now I have an opportunity to do this through my art! I am hoping to make it into the performance realm at some point in the future, but for now I will be collaborating with local immigrant musicians to create large-scale paintings to create a more tight-knit and community among Columbus natives, immigrants, and refugees.

Here is some of the Kids Gallery artwork from the past few weeks:

Painted Chair!

Also…if you remember the turtle table from a few weeks ago, here is the finished product:

-Jamie

I can’t believe we only have two more weeks to go. I can’t believe that in two weeks I will no longer be an intern with the one and only Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio. I can’t believe that in six days our first graduating class for the DSACO Summer Learning Academy will be recieveing their diplomas. I can’t believe that two days ago we celebrated the final outing for our Golf Academy. I can’t believe it’s August. What happened to Summer?

It seemed like just yesterday I was googling Down syndrome just hoping to figure out what it was. Now I’m sharing with everybody just how awesome it is working with DSACO and the members and families it serves. It seemed like just yesterday I was overwhelmed by the youngsters in our learning academy. Now, I’m just slightly-overwhelmed occasionally by the kids, and primarily fascinated by there strong personalities, inspired by their love for family, friends, and learning, and appreciative of the opportunity to work with them. It seems like just yesterday we were enduring the scorching heat of June and July. Now it seems like we are enduring the slightly-less-scorching heat of August. But I digress.

But it’s been real. It’s been fun. And it’s been really fun. Time flew by this Summer, and I really owe it to the office staff for making every day in the office enjoyable and full of laughter and to the persons with Down syndrome who participated in our Golf Academy and Learning Academy. With Down syndrome, it’s all about having fun. Everything is fun, because what is life if it isn’t enjoyable? Even the hard stuff. And they remind me of this every day, and I will surely never forget.

If we can’t learn something right away, let’s make a game out of it. If it’s not interesting enough right away, let’s make a competition out of it. If I miss my mom, I’m going to climb all over Alfred with the other kids in my class and that will make everything all better [true story]. If a book isn’t exciting, let’s put it on a cd and sing it with funky hand motions.

To build upon a favorite quote of mine by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

Basically, anyone can be great because anyone can love. And of those, these kids with Down syndrome are the greatest.

Do you ever have those weeks that seem to last FOREVER? I hope I’m not the only one, but I’ll confess that this week was one of those for me. Could it be that fifteen minutes of writer’s block feels like five hours? Or that  spending hours at a time trying to make sense of information, present it in to a meaningful way,  and oh yeah, figure out how to cram into two pages, takes a lot out of you? Exhausting to say the least. But either way, the first thing I felt this morning was gratitude- it was Friday!

This thankfulness for Friday could also have to do with the fact that I have some personally exciting events coming up,  a few of which start this weekend. Tomorrow I’ll be moving some of my stuff into my new place (out of my parent’s house at last!), and this summer I  have the pleasure of being a bride’s maid for the first time, with the bachelorette party tonight :-)!  I’ll also be starting a new job at the end of the month; I can already feel the anticipation and anxiety growing inside of me.

But getting back to the work week, I do want to point out how wonderful this experience has been overall. All jobs have hills and valleys, and while I would not by any means consider this last week a low point, I would say it was  a challenge and at times less than riveting (try spending 40 hours writing, editing, rewriting, editing, and trying to overcome writers block). I’m sure a lot of people LOVE writing all the time. And I enjoy my fair share, but after working on the same document for six hours straight, I can start to feel my eyes crossing.

Despite the challenges and pesky writer’s block I’m proud to say that I reached my goal of having the first drafts of all five case stories written, allowing me to start on my four-page executive summary today, and hopefully spend next week finishing that up, making final edits to the case stories, and start the fun stuff: report design. I want to try and work on the design and layout of the report, so that I feel ownership and also because I want to stretch my creativity skills a bit.

Reflecting on the challenging week I’ve had this past week, I immediately think of the Olympics since I have watched it every night and is on the forefront of my mind. Now, granted, I do not consider typing to be a sport by any means, but I think of the mental concentration required for winning gold medals, and this week I definitely worked out my ‘concentration muscle’. I think keeping my eyes on the prize, and knowing that as I work through this challenge, concentrate, and keep practicing my skills, I can achieve ‘gold’ by having a valuable finished product at the end of my fellowship.

So while I am thankful it is Friday, I’m also thankful for the opportunity to pursue a goal, and preserver through the challenges of data analysis and report writing. It will make me stronger, and a better ‘competitor’ in the future. And if I win, you could say I’ll have a ‘gold medal’ of a report to show for it.

I had a Coalition membership meeting at Salvation Army this week.  While all the stakeholders (i.e. Faith Mission, faith-based communities, Community Shelter Board, Salvation Army, Open Shelter, etc.) present wanted to help solve the waitlist for individuals seeking shelter, they wanted to do it in different ways.  Some stakeholders believe we need to house the individuals first while others believe we need to change the political climate of homelessness/meet their other needs first.  This difference in opinions created for a meeting where people were unable to create concrete solutions to the issue.

A woman who wrote an editorial entitled “Homeless Folks Spoil Santa Maria Visit” in the Columbus Dispatch received a lot of criticism from Columbus organizations addressing homelessness.  The article discussed how the writer was upset that there were homeless people sleeping in front of the Santa Maria boat when she was on an outing with her grandchildren.  As an advocacy group for homeless issues we felt it was imperative to respond to this woman’s editorial.  On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, an intern and I traveled down to the Santa Maria and talked with two homeless individuals.  We talked to one individual who was half-asleep on the cement.  He told us about his recent brain injury and how no shelters have been able to address his health care needs.  I would recommend the writer talk to more individuals down at the Santa Maria like this man.  This will show her that homelessness is not as easy as, in her words, “direct the homeless to the shelters that are available for sleeping.”

Today I had a humbling experience when I went through the “Sandwich Line,” a church that provides free vending machine food (sandwiches, salads) and bread/desserts.  They provide food to everyone regardless of state ID/income level every weekday.  Walking through the line and taking free food made me really appreciate my food security.   

David

Hello all!

It is a nice change to finally have a week that isn’t full to bursting of tasks, events, and meetings!  Just to include a little update, we had our jury come through our submissions for Art for Life and determine the entries in the live and silent auctions.  It’s really exciting to know which pieces will be sold, but also really surprising.  I am by no means an artist, but some pieces that I loved and some that I did not love were rejected and selected, respectively.  It was an interesting process none-the-less!

This week I am focusing on my email campaign for AIDS Walk, including making a schedule of emails, determining the subject matter, selecting the audience, etc. etc.  It’s a surprising amount of work!  For many people, these emails may be the only chance we at AIDS Resource Center Ohio have to interact with them and cause excitement for AIDS Walk, so every email counts.  Additionally, these emails need to be drafted by the time my fellowship ends, so I have my work cut out for me.

However, I have really enjoyed writing them in many respects.  For example, I like to include small updates about the infection rate, new breakthroughs, and other current events surrounding HIV/AIDS.  It has been an enlightening exercise to be sure!  It also has me researching and brainstorming all types of fundraising tips, events, and incentives to pass along to team captains and team members.  Many of these pieces of information and ideas are just generally useful for development and fundraising and have left my brain pumping with all sorts of great ideas.

I have also learned how to navigate our Blackbaud/Convio software that allows us to manage email campaigns and other aspects of our fundraising events online.  There is a lot of work that goes into configuring these emails–I will probably think twice before just deleting emails from now on!  The software is pretty helpful and user friendly though, which is great for me :)!

Look for more posts to come this week–I will do my best to update you all on the weeks I missed posting because I was drowning in art work!

–Katie

Recently in one of our Summer Fellowship meetings at the Columbus Foundation, we discussed how many of us were unaware of the vibrant Columbus community until we were out of school and involved in the working world. I couldn’t agree enough with this statement. Even though I am a Columbus (Dublin) native and grew up going to the Short North with friends on weekends, I still had no idea what this city was like until I graduated from OSU and became involved in the under-workings of our city’s culture.  Since I have started working at the King Arts Complex, I have become acutely aware of how unaware I am of the vast cultural opportunities available here.
I think the first time that I realized this was during my a tour of the building where I work. I saw a picture of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, an American jazz instrumentalist who mastered circular breathing and could solo on multiple wind instruments at once! I remember in high school watching his videos online when I was aspiring to be a jazz bassoonist, and I was amazed and inspired by his unique contribution to the jazz community. I discovered on my first day at the KAC that not only was he a Columbus native, but he performed at the KAC! Creative sparks were flying in my brain after that. I was introduced to the artwork of Aminah Robinson and Elijah Pierce, and now without fail I see their names all over the city! On my way to the North Market last week, I noticed signs about Elijah Pierce posted on High Street. I also just recently participated in the Urban Dare Race, where I was able to visit the statue of Elijah Pierce at Columbus State Community College. Here is a picture of me and my mother next to the statue:

On our way to CSCC, we also passed one of Aminah Robinson’s paintings on E. Broad St:

Photo credit: http://tgsmuralproject.blogspot.com/2009/01/aminah-robinson.html

Now that I recognize her work, I see it everywhere I go! She has work displayed at The Columbus Foundation, The King Arts Complex, and the Columbus Public Library! Those are just the places I have seen, I can’t imagine that exhausts the list.

As the KAC summer camp is preparing for a big dance performance this Wednesday, I have been thinking a lot about the role that my generation and the generation below me has to play in the Columbus art scene. Our city has the potential to be a huge artistic haven, and I think past generations have proven that it is! It is now becoming important to me to not only maintain but expand upon the rich artistic culture that is here in Columbus. I haven’t painted in quite some time, but I am certainly inspired by everything that is going on around me, and I can’t wait to pick up the brushes again!

-Jamie

Last week was the week of shadowing. I had the opportunity to leave the office every morning to shadow a different Local Matters program. The most hands-on experience, by far, was shadowing the Growing Matters program on Thursday.

Growing Matters’ mission is to help people grow food themselves and thereby increase the supply of local food. The program has multiple avenues by which it achieves this goal, but on Thursday morning we installed raised bed gardens in peoples’ front yards.  Growing Matters has helped to install countless yard gardens in the Weinland Park and Near East Side areas of Columbus. The residents receiving the garden help with the installation, and they receive education on how to care for the garden long-term. This way, residents can increase the likelihood of a steady food supply and perhaps even install more gardens by themselves.

It was incredible to witness how quickly a raised bed garden can be installed. We loaded up the truck with supplies and drove to the house receiving the garden. The people who lived there, a woman and her teenage son, came out to assist us, and we proceeded to unload 15 bags of soil, 4 wooden planks, and various tools from the back of the truck. In less than an hour, we fastened the boards together to form a box, we placed it against their front porch, and we filled it up with soil. Then, the mother and her son planted a variety of vegetables in the plot. They were particularly excited about the sweet potato and pepper plants! Below is a photo of the completed raised bed garden:

After installing this garden, we drove around the Weinland Park area and marveled at the success of some of the yard gardens installed in the past. The residents have done awesome things with their plots, as evidenced in the photo below:

It was inspirational to watch Growing Matters in action. Everyone worked without complaint in 95 degree heat, smeared in soil, lifting heaving loads. The Growing Matters team labors every day to increase local foods in Columbus, and from what I saw during my couple hours of shadowing, they’re doing an incredible job.