Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

Every day at the end of WAV’s summer programming, the kids and coaches all rate our day on a scale of one to ten and talk about our highs and lows. Today, as I write this blog post I am coming off of a day that was a ten for me, so I am very excited to write about it.

We had fewer kids attend the program today, so that would be my low, but the group we had was amazing. My first high was the field trip we took to the Main Columbus Library. We did a scavenger hunt, and I got to go around with the younger kids to find books, play with Legos, and look at the different displays. There were a lot of other camps there today and it was very cool seeing such an important space for the community being utilized. 

My second high was when we filmed a mini music video. Our middle schoolers have been working on an original song, and today they got to teach it to the younger students. All of them performed the song along with the choreography they created today, and their performance was full of energy and very impressive. Since I normally only work with the younger students I had not heard their full song yet, and I loved seeing how proud they were of the product they are creating and how much fun they had teaching it. 

I wanted to write about these moments because no matter where I work I know there are going to be highs and lows, but celebrating the highs and recognizing the growth of the kids in WAV’s program reinforces the reasons I wanted to participate in this fellowship to begin with. I have a direct impact working with these students every day, and I am going to miss them when the program ends in June. However, I am also excited to see the other projects I am doing with WAV this summer begin to develop, and I am ready for the new experience that will come with them.

Another week of absorbing new knowledge and being a part of new experiences at Primary One Health. This week I spent more time getting acclimated to the office and learning the ropes. I got to sit in on a lot of meetings regarding marketing, the ribbon cutting from last week, and other upcoming events. I have now been brought up to speed on how to run the social media accounts for PrimaryOne Health. I am excited to get to learn the ins and outs of how to run the social media, and I am ready to get started on this new project. I will be collaborating with the SBHC BH to create new media to promote the SBHC and the services that it will be providing. I think that it is a great skill to develop, and one that is very important for modern day communication. I like that I will have the creative reigns to create something that will encapsulate the importance of spreading the word of the SBHC to the community of Groveport Madison. I was also able to be a part of a policy and procedures developing meeting which was a very cool experience and very centric to what I am studying in my master’s coursework. It was really great getting to collaborate with my supervisor and the Behavioral Health Clinician at Grove Port Madison’s SBHC. I also got to go back to the SBHC to put up new marketing signage and participated in a planning meeting for the Stuff the Backpack event that will be occurring later in the summer. It is so cool to be working with NBC 4 and Urban One radio personnel. Seeing these connections between community partners is so refreshing, and I love getting to be so actively apart of it. I am excited to continue working with Marketing and Communication projects, attend some community outreach events, and continue to learn from all my wonderful colleagues.

Week 3 of my fellowship at Central Community House has been a great start to a new journey, filled with moments of growth and self-discovery. As I write my Columbus Foundation weekly journal, I can’t help but reflect on the expectations I had coming into this experience and how they have been met beyond my imagination. 

When I initially joined this nonprofit organization, I had high hopes and a clear vision of the impact I wanted to make. I expected to contribute to the community, learn from experienced professionals, and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and rewards of working in the non-profit sector. 

To my advantage, Central Community House has surpassed these expectations in every aspect. From day one, the team welcomed me with open arms, creating an inclusive and collaborative environment where everyone’s contributions are valued. The support and guidance I have received has been great, allowing me to step out of my comfort zone. 

One of the most heart ranching aspects of being at Central Community House is witnessing the difference we make in people’s lives. Through our programs and initiatives, we are empowering individuals and families, providing them with opportunities to thrive. It is incredibly fulfilling to see firsthand how our collective efforts are positively impacting the community we serve. 

This week I was able to attend our TAP (Technology Access Program) that is taught to our Seniors. The experience was great to sit before elders who are very wise but admit that they need help navigating technology. I seen some excel in the process and some who became frustrated with the class. Regardless of what stage someone was at, I seen a community running to help the one person who was frustrated and struggling. Here at Central no one gets left behind! 

I was also able to attend my first Transits Arts open mic performance. When I say the room was filled with support and love, I’m not being dramatic. We kicked the night off by doing water dances in support of acknowledging the water crisis our world is facing. Which led to the performances of some amazing and strong Youth. The youth of Transit Arts showcased their talents in the most beautiful ways, such as rapping, singing, poetry, instruments, and dancing. It was the best concert a person could ever ask for. The cheers for each performer were out the roof, you would see the growth of confidence throughout each and every performance.  

Central Community House has not only met those expectations but has also surpassed them in ways I couldn’t have foreseen. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of this organization and contribute to its mission. I am eager to continue embracing new challenges and opportunities for growth. I aim to further develop my skills, expand my network, and make an even more significant impact on the lives of those we serve.  

Week 3 has been a growing experience, confirming the alignment between my expectations and the reality of working at Central Community House. The dedication, passion, and impact of this organization and its people have truly exceeded my initial hopes. I look forward to the remaining weeks of my fellowship, embracing the journey ahead and continuing to make a difference in the lives of others. 

Invertebrate, soft bodied, parasitic, hermaphroditic, microscopic . . . you might be wondering where I’m going with this, or how it has anything to do with children or trauma or resilience. I’m describing a platyhelminth, or, as you might have heard of them, a flatworm. Here’s a picture of one. I love flatworms, and I probably know more about them now than the average science teacher or even a worm enthusiast. Well, I don’t know about the worm enthusiasts. In fact, I don’t even know a worm enthusiast. Anyway, you’ll probably need some context to understand why flatworms have become my favorite up-and-coming muse.

As I was searching for a craft for the kids to do the first week of July, I had a lot of things to consider. It had to be easy enough for a 3 year old but also engaging enough for a 12 year old, it had to cultivate a somewhat fascinating discussion, and it had to take up at least a half hour. Tough crowd. But then I stumbled upon something perfect: a sock worm. It met 2 of my 3 criteria— it would be easy and engaging for all ages, and it would take at least a half hour. But it still left me wondering how making a stuffed worm out of a sock could possibly spark an interesting conversation. 

My second love, coming right behind flatworms, is the Internet. After a few minutes of Google searching, I came across an article that discussed the flatworm’s incredible ability to regenerate itself. In summary, humans and flatworms both have regeneration abilities. And, though ours are mostly limited to healing cuts and scrapes, flat worms actually retain pluripotent stem cells throughout adulthood that would allow, for example, a flatworm cut down the middle to completely regenerate the other half of its body, eventually forming two worms. It was almost, shall I say, empo-worm-ing.

Not only was cell regeneration just plain interesting, but I also knew exactly how I could make a discussion out of it. If flatworms could regenerate their cells when they got hurt, we could certainly do the same thing. In fact, we sort of do, physically. When we have an open wound, like a cut, our bodies employ tactics that heal it: blood cells clot to stop the bleeding and form a scab, white blood cells fight infection, and collagen forms the foundation for new tissue to grow. But, this isn’t the most pressing issue that the kids at SVFS face (although I did include it in the presentation, I’m a true physiology fanatic at heart). It’s trauma: abuse, neglect, an incarcerated parent, substance abuse or mental illness in the household, the list could continue on. And, when a child experiences these events, it can cause a myriad of problems, including dysregulated stress hormones, increased risk for anxiety, depression and PTSD, physical neurological damage and adverse brain development, and increased risk of cognitive impairment and a lower IQ. 

I can’t fix it all, even though I wish I could. One thing I can do though, is teach kids how we can “regenerate,” so to speak, or regulate, our emotions when we’re feeling hurt, just like our friend the flatworm. Research shows that practices like conscious breathing, yoga, and meditation help regulate both the autonomic and central nervous systems and sometimes help decrease symptoms of anxiety, depression, and anger. When we do the right things, our bodies take care of the rest. And, while the issues the kids face are much too complex to be solved by yoga and deep breathing, they are practices they’ll be able to take into adulthood as a tool for emotional regulation. 

So yeah, flatworms are cool, but our bodies are even cooler. Let me leave you with this quote written in the book The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk: “Beneath the surface of the protective parts of trauma survivors there exists an undamaged essence, a Self that is confident, curious, and calm, a Self that has been sheltered from destruction by the various protectors that have emerged in their efforts to ensure survival. Once those protectors trust that it is safe to separate, the Self will spontaneously emerge, and the parts can be enlisted in the healing process.”

As I clicked my seatbelt into place and switched on the GPS, one of the case managers at Jewish Family Services piped up from behind me.

“You know,” She said. “We may all come from different departments and do different work, but we really are one team.”

The GPS chirped, telling me to turn right and exit the parking lot, as I thought about what she said. She, another case manager, my supervisor, and I were in my car headed off site. A local nonprofit was distributing produce vouchers for seniors and JFS registered over 100 clients to receive them. A team of JFS staff was at that nonprofit trying to collect everything and unexpectedly ran into some logistical issues. We were on our way to be of whatever help was necessary.

I think what she said absolutely rings true. Here we were, the Resource Development Director, two Case Managers, and the Communications and Marketing Intern, putting aside the other work happening that day and driving down the highway to help the senior program managers get fresh food coupons to their clients. After battling traffic and the rain, the endeavor was a success: all vouchers made it back to JFS and into the hands of those that needed them.

The rest of the week continued to be a testimony to that thought. Today I had a meeting with the Business Development Consultant, the Service Navigator, the Communications and Marketing Manager, the Special Projects Manager, the Social Work Intern, and my supervisor to discuss newsletters. Part of my plan involves writing them and I wanted to learn more about the ones people were creating already – did anyone have some tips and tricks? Are there ways to streamline the creation process to optimize effectiveness? Everyone was more than happy to talk with me and share their insights. I appreciated them taking the time to help me along and was reminded again – different departments, one team.

Shortly after that I had another meeting with the Communications and Marketing Manager, the Special Projects Manager, and my supervisor. I presented my research on best practices for social media engagement and shared my recommendations. I went through the social media audit I conducted last week and discussed my thoughts on the findings. Together, we started to discuss goals for each site, metrics for success, and strategies for getting to where we want to be. Everyone absorbed the information and was enthusiastic about going forward. Just like the previous meeting, I was so thankful for everyone taking the time to meet with me and to hear what I had to say. While these managers work together often, they still individual projects to attend to. I couldn’t help but think it again – different departments, one team.

If week one was the 100-meter dash, week two was a 10k trail run. The pace was far more relaxed and steady, but a lot more happened! This week, I felt secure and confident in my role as the summer reading coordinator. My volunteers and I had the process down to a science and we have all learned to work together as a team to make sure the kids get the most out of their time reading. I am beginning to memorize the names of all 61 kids who have attended so far, and a few of them have become good pals of mine! Mohamed is only in it for the prizes, but Reem loves to read Dr. Seuss specifically. Watch out for Massylia, she’ll sneak away with five prizes if you turn your head for one minute! It is so fun seeing them begin to feel comfortable and be themselves around the adults and their peers.

This week, I have started taking on more complex roles within the organization. I have attended two webinars hosted by our donor management software company to learn how to keep our data healthy and clean and develop a plan for building and maintaining recurring donors. I will begin working on a donor welcome series and ways to acquire and maintain a recurring donor community. I am also in charge of organizing a summer literacy camp in partnership with LifeSmart Education. This camp will serve kids K-2 the first week and 3-5 the second week, helping them develop and maintain literacy skills. I am looking forward to taking responsibility for this program and getting the full experience of planning a program, troubleshooting, marketing, and everything else that will be involved! This week, I was also able to apply for a fundraising “grant” of sorts and got to learn a little bit about how to concisely convey the mission, impact, and need of the organization in 300 words or less. I will be working on more grant applications beginning next week and I am looking forward to getting more experience with that kind of research and writing and being able to link organizations to appropriate funding sources in the future.

This week, I also started working on building our 2022 Annual Report. This process is different than my experience with the state, especially since the RIC is a smaller, newer nonprofit. When I interned at the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, I helped with their biennial report and it was a massive undertaking. We had to condense the findings of hundreds of individual institutional reports, records of inmate grievances, and check everything against Ohio Revised Codes and Ohio Administrative Codes that are relevant to the committee and its purpose. Working on the RIC’s Annual Report is very different but many of the skills I learned at the CIIC definitely transfer. While the RIC is a newer nonprofit, it has grown exponentially in the last few years and has received more recognition. This means that data and financial reporting is becoming increasingly important. While we are trying to acquire more data and build structures for keeping it organized and healthy for 2023 and beyond, we are also sifting through older data to find what we need for the 2022 Annual Report. However, it is still interesting to see how we can convey the community-based nature of the RIC and acknowledge that some of the value created by the organization is not necessarily directly measurable. I am enjoying being a part of this process and learning how both qualitative and quantitative data are crucial for nonprofit reporting.

I look forward to each day and am enjoying getting to know my office mates and all of the neighbors – everyone is so kind and welcoming and it is special to see such a wonderful community grow in Columbus!

To begin my blog post, I’ll resume where I left off last week. Last Saturday I traveled to Athens, Ohio to assist with tabling activities as well as to learn and observe the role Equitas occupies at pride events. The parade was small but very fun, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the large turnout of attendees. I took mostly a backseat in observing how Equitas operates at these events – watching how employees and volunteers doled out critical prevention and educational information to those interested.

I found it interesting observing the other tables and organizations present at this pride. They were all local and small, with a significant portion of them being faith and spirituality based. Contrast this with the pride festival in Columbus and the contrast is immediately apparent. Corporations and larger local businesses filled the streets during the parade and lined the festival grounds with their information booths.

The rest of the week was again mostly helping out where I can in terms of pride preparation. I am beginning to understand the scale at which Equitas operates at the state-wide pride festivities. Packing dozens of pride bags each filled with dozens of Equitas branded goodies put into perspective how helpful an additional set of hands can be in terms of preparation. Organizing lines of communication and ensuring people are able to get the information that they need at first seemed mundane and simple, but I now know that it is work that is never quite finished and is essential in terms of executing goals.

I’ve been getting more comfortable with the idea of working from home, now that I have a better lay of the land and idea of what my responsibilities look like. However, it does present another interesting contrast, this time between the real-world work that Equitas does (particularly at events) and the large amount of work that can be done behind a computer screen out of the office.

I went into working for Green Columbus not knowing much about trees or the environment. One of the questions in my interview was, “Are you passionate about sustainability?” And I flat out responded with, “No.” I backed it up with how I have developed passions over time the more I learn about something. It is week two at Green Columbus and I am starting to develop that passion. I have spent this past week researching trees for our giveaway in October, to update our website. It felt like a homework assignment, but it was very impactful for me to read. As I spent this week researching, Green Columbus did a presentation to some high school students in a STEM program Nationwide about the impact of trees.

One of the high school kids taught me that storm runoff water is what creates potholes. Did you know that trees reduce stormwater runoff? When there are more trees, the water from storms is soaked up by the trees, and it hits the leaves of the trees before it hits the ground. Did you know trees reduce air pollution, improve mental health, reduce the heat island effect, improve the market value of properties, and businesses with more trees have customers who spend more time shopping and spend more money? Trees have an environmental, physical, and economic impact. But the most staggering fact I learned about trees: trees reduce crime. It is proven that when there is a 10% increase in trees, crime is decreased by 12%. This fact does not seem real, but there have been multiple studies done that prove that trees can reduce crime.

There is a map that tells you the tree equity score of each neighborhood in Columbus (https://treeequityscore.org/map/#11.82/39.9435/-82.94988). The tree equity score takes into account the tree canopy, the crime rates, unemployment, surface temperature, health risk, and population to produce a score. Neighborhoods in Columbus with fewer trees have high crime rates, higher health risks, and higher unemployment. This is not a coincidence. There are neighborhoods in Columbus that have a 20-point difference in their tree equity score, and they are only five minutes from each other. Trees tell a story. Green Columbus is teaching me how to hear the story, and how to respond.

This week, the theme of our learning session was leadership, and what makes a leader. This is a conversation I’ve had in many spaces before, but I had new takeaways and a perspective on how to apply it to my fellowship at We Amplify Voices. One of the things we talked about was focusing on your “why,” whether that is from an organizational or individual perspective. A lot of the time we start with what we do, maybe get into how we do it, but leave out the why. What we should be doing is starting with our why, or our purpose, and then working out to how and what we do. 

Through this conversation I have started to reflect on why I wanted to apply to the Columbus Foundation Summer Fellowship Project and why I chose We Amplify Voices as my top choice. I am passionate about community building, and have always loved art. I enjoy working for nonprofits because their missions are to better the communities around us, and I applied to this fellowship because I wanted to be in a space where people really care about the work they’re doing and who I would be able to learn from. When I saw the mission of We Amplify Voices, “healing through creative expression,” I knew my love for art would fit perfectly into my learning goals for the summer.

This week at the kid’s camp we got to go on two field trips, one to the library and one to the Columbus Museum of Art. Being able to see the students being inspired by books and art was very cool to see, and by the end of week two I feel like I have a greater connection with each of them and can see how art fits into their lives. I am excited to see their growth throughout the rest of the month, and they continue to remind me why I am interested in this career path. 

There’s nothing quite like fear of the unknown. For some people, maybe it’s venturing out onto a hiking path in a mountain range you’ve never explored. For others, maybe it’s driving to a new destination on a highway you rarely travel. For others still, like babies, maybe it’s as simple as trying peas or green beans. There is even evidence that fear of the unknown can be biological. Regardless of how we’ve experienced this phenomenon, though, the reality is, we probably have. 

I wouldn’t consider myself to be scared of much — I wouldn’t even say that I was scared to start my internship or scared to interact with the kids at SVFS. But, I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to design effective activities or speak to the kids, really speak to them, and say, “I got your back, and I want to help you.” Why? Because it was totally unknown. I had never worked with kids that span such a broad age range, kids that had experienced this level of trauma, or kids that have such severe emotional, social, or behavioral challenges. I had no experience. Yet, here I was, standing in front of a wall that seemed a million miles high and, quite frankly, a little daunting. But Theodore Roosevelt’s words of encouragement rang in my head: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds . . . and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” So, I continued on. 

I figured the first thing I’d need to do was talk to the people I was really there for — the kids. I started in Kindergarten, and to my surprise, after I sat down in the “Adult Chair” in the back of the room, I heard a small voice saying “Ms. Sarah, can I have a hug?” At this moment, my fears began to melt away. I had similar experiences in other classrooms. In third grade, I helped some of the students make their father’s day activity, and they shared with me stories about strong male figures in their life, whether it was their father, grandfather, uncle, or counselor. When I came back to the same classroom the next day, I heard shouts of “Is that Ms. Sarah?” from the hallway, and as I entered the room, more shouts of “Oh my gosh! Ms. Sarah’s back!”, and I felt even more comfortable and at ease. I got a lot of hugs, colored a lot of pictures, and felt a whole lot of love that day. 

As I spent more time with the kids though, I began to notice how casually they spoke about tragedy they had experienced or watched others experience. In the short time I spent in each classroom, I heard students talk about parents who had died, aunts or uncles who were spending time in jail, or even that they felt unloved at home. And they talked so openly. But it wasn’t unknown to them, so they weren’t scared to. In fact, these circumstances are extremely common in the communities that the children come from. It was heartbreaking to hear, but motivated me to continue. 

In addition to spending time in the classrooms, I also began brainstorming activities. I created a list of qualities that I wanted to foster, such as communication, self-confidence, or team building, and started to research activities that fell within these categories. After meeting with some staff, I also learned that in previous summers, SVFS has had vendors from the community come into the facility and teach kids about various topics, such as Local Matters, an organization that helps kids learn how to garden. However, I also learned that SVFS did not have materials for vendors that informed them about the population of children they’d be serving. So, I created a handout that has basic statistics about the organization and the children, why they might exhibit some of the behaviors they do, and some frequently asked questions about the best ways to interact with and care for the kids. 

I came into this week staring at the million-mile-high wall in front of me, with no ideas about how I was going to conquer it. But, I’ve learned this week that the best way to do that is just start. I spent time with the kids in the classroom, and from that I gained a heap of knowledge about what trauma they had experienced, but also how resilient they can be. I spent time meeting with staff, and from that I learned what skills children were lacking, but also of the incredible impact that SVFS has on children. It may be unknown for now, but brick by brick, that wall is coming down, and soon, it won’t be.