Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

For the past couple of weeks, the institutional advancement team including myself worked on organizing and planning our Marburn Education Collaborative community celebration to recognize and thank all of our incredible donors who made it possible for Marburn to increase access to resources for students who learn differently through the opening of the Columbus West location.

I created a video of compiled photos to play on the TV screens at our Columbus West location during the event. The photos included tutoring sessions in progress and a celebration lunch for the special education intern students who tutored the students. The video also showcased some statistics about the Marburn Education Collaborative success since its soft launch in late February 2022. 

I also created some QR code designs that we printed to fit in 4×6 acrylic displays that linked to videos about Marburn and news articles about the Marburn Education Collaborative. The two articles were from The Columbus Dispatch and ABC 6. We placed the displays throughout the event space to give attendees the chance to learn more about Marburn. 

The celebration was a success and it was nice to see so many community members and donor representatives connecting. I also enjoyed listening to a few of our board members speak and give a toast during the celebration.

The donors who helped make the Columbus West location possible include:

• Discover
• Safelite Auto Glass
• Scotts Miracle Grow
• The Columbus Foundation
• Big Lots
• White Castle
• AEP
• Daimler
• Jollay Family Foundation
• Mortiz Family Foundation
• Reinberger Foundation
• Siemer Family Foundation
• Harry C. Moores Foundation

The MY Project USA team has worked very hard this week. We had the opportunity to meet Governor and Lady DeWine at the Ohio State Fair this year. It was a great opportunity for the governor to meet the young leaders of the Hilltop area and understand what MY Project USA is doing for the community. It was also a great opportunity for members of Hilltop to have fun at the fair, engage in activities, and meet an influential figure in Ohio. Three hundred bus passes and state fair passes were donated to the center to be distributed across the Hilltop area. They were able to go kayaking, fishing, ride rides, and have a good time. The individuals that participated were very excited to meet Governor DeWine, ask him questions, and read with Lady DeWine.

My task was to find food donations for this event. Out of the three hundred tickets distributed, we expected one hundred and fifty people to come to the space where the celebration would be held. I was able to get two donations from restaurant chains that would feed seventy-five people. The operations and programming director also secured sixty-four sandwiches and a taco bar for the event. There were about one hundred people at the event over the course of the day. I considered this event a success because we were able to serve the community, meet the governor, and create a unique experience for the Hilltop community. We were also able to collect items from different vendors at the fair and make bags for the families that came. The families seemed to enjoy the experience they had. The staff members also networked with the volunteers and the Governor’s liaisons. Overall, it was a fantastic event, and I am glad that I was able to help organize this event.

As this internship comes to an end, I would like to use this opportunity to reflect on what I have done well and what I should improve on. Except for every other Monday meeting, our team worked from home. Working virtually has its pros and cons, and while I love the increased freedom I have to work in whatever way I deem most efficient, my home is filled with distractions. I’ve spent a lot of time at various libraries trying to get work done because I know that if I stay home nothing will be completed. I’m proud of myself for recognizing this early on and taking steps to physically separate my working hours from the rest of my life. 

An area for improvement includes setting unrealistic deadlines for myself. When I began my literature review for the best practices report, I planned on completing it within a week. This seemed like a completely attainable goal at first, but after reading my 5th research paper in a row, I knew that I had set myself up for failure. Next time, instead of immediately choosing a deadline for myself, I’d like to wait and see how quickly I can get through a couple of articles and choose a range of dates that I expect to be done based on that progress. Related to this issue of unrealistic deadlines includes overscheduling myself. I have this tendency to fill up any blank spaces on my schedule. I never really allow myself to have free time, which can be dangerous. Looking forward, I’m going to set restrictions on how many activities I can plan for one week. I will continue to remind myself that just because I can accomplish x amount of tasks in a day doesn’t mean I should. I am not a machine and taking a break is just as efficient as any other task on my to-do list.

This past week I had my last facilitation at the Ethiopian Tawahedo Social Services’ (ETSS) Youth Summit held at Ohio Dominican University. This was a bittersweet moment, as I’ve seen many of these kids at their host sites since the beginning of the summer. While I was slightly nervous to facilitate at such a big event, I believe they were a success. Since many of the kids saw my regular items with the Museums in a Box, I brought new (old) items for them to explore with. The Summit groups were the largest groups I’ve had the pleasure of talking with, with about 50 kids in the room at once it with me. With the group size so large, I aimed to make sure that every kid was engaged with some type of toy or conversation about the games or items they were surrounded with. I set up multiple stations filled with toys such as an Etch a Sketch, Jacob’s ladder, and dominoes. In addition, I also brought a mini wheelbarrow, butter churner, and wooden boats. The great part about seeing the students was the fact that most of them remembered me and some of the things we talked about! Even if some called me the “teacher who liked anime and showed old stuff”, the memories were very appreciated! All in all, I really enjoyed my time serving the students through the Ohio History Connection. At the end, I have successfully completed 50 facilitations at more than 15 nonprofit organizations in Columbus. With the end of the internship drawing near, I’m proud of this accomplishment for a multitude of reasons. Having this opportunity was a blessing that allowed me to grow in more ways than one, opening my eyes and mind to the communities all around me. Even though I’ve lived here for 10 years, I felt out of touch with Columbus and did not see how I “fit in”. Now, after integrating myself at sites all over the city, I realized so much more about the environments around me and how I can continue to plant seeds. I can’t wait to see what the next two weeks have in store!

This week at Equality has been more melancholy than most. Most of our legal aid interns, and Jaya, the intern from the Cleveland foundation I worked with had their last weeks. Most of the major meetings were saying goodbye to the interns which made me feel a little out of place. It was sad seeing some people go because I had grown to know them this summer. At the advocacy meeting this week I got to present my power maps of cities that I researched. It felt great showing all my heard work (despite my WIFI struggles that made it difficult to call). While this was not a total wrap up week it truly does feel like the beginning of the end of a wonderful experience. This next week I am continuing to dive into some cities for power mapping, just to brush it up, as well as wrapping up some other ongoing projects.

This last week was also fun as I got to bond more with the fellows. It was really nice getting to know them better and hear about their awesome summer experiences. Going to my first crew game was also a lot of fun (even though we left early due to weather). I can’t believe the summer is almost over, this has flown by. I know I have said that in previous blog posts and I will say it in next weeks but I really cannot emphasize how quickly this summer has gone by.

Lastly a random question from someone who isn’t from the area. Why do y’all drive so aggressive? What is the rush? I get we have places to be but the most stressful thing I have done this summer has been rush our driving into and out of the city. However,  have fallen in love with Columbus and can’t wait to explore it more.

This week was the week of Communities and Schools annual Summit which was a three day workshop where different staff members presented on topics such as branding, data, and planning for the year. These topics were catered to Site Coordinators for them to prepare for the school year with their students so that they could have a successful school year that would not allow for them to fall behind on their schedule and to make sure students have a great support system. I learned a great deal about the work that CIS do and also the work that Site Coordinators and Program Managers do as well. It was an informative summit and everyone enjoyed my power point as well. It was a little intimidating at first because I was the only one who was in college presenting but it also was great to get feedback from those who were engaged. I was asked if I present a lot because I did such a great job and that made me feel like I did my best. I had the opportunity to network with many individuals who are in schools in Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Cleveland. People traveled from these areas to get training and information on how they can better tomorrow and student’s that they will serve.

Some of the highlights from the summit were the ice breaker and team building activities that we did as a group. One thing about working in nonprofits is that there will always be some sort of hands on activity to engage the audience because especially working in schools, you have to have some skill of being able to do program development. One of the activities that we did was having to build a figure out of spaghetti noodles, tape, small/medium marshmallows, and string. The objective was to make a sturdy and tall object that will be able to hold the bigger marshmallow.

I had a great time being able to participate in this summit. I plan on taking many of the things that I learned to further my experience and provide feedback in my last week of my internship.

This week’s post is simply a brainstorming session on programming ideas and/or social media post ideas.

Cultivate member spotlights:

• Name and brief insight into why working at Cultivate or what Cultivate means to them
• How Cultivate has helped.
• A day in the life of…
• Staff
• Board Members
• Volunteers
• Community members served

Before and After photos/vids of garden

• Short video or boomerang of someone working the area in the before
• A before and after reel video or slideshow

Nutritional/wellness benefits and ways to use plants harvested from gardens.

Other facts about plants:

• Non-traditional uses
• Cultural uses
• Where the plant comes from vs. it is native to the area
• Recipes

Garden How-Tos:

• How to plant
• When to plant
• When to harvest
• Land prep
• Water needs
• Tools and how to use them
• Recipes
• Revive plants/ noticing deficiencies 

Milo history

• Historical facts
• “This day in Milo”
• Historical building photos and facts
• Achievements/successes and what’s happenings of residents
  • Student presentations/projects, graduation posts
  • Sports milestones
  • Local business highlights/spotlights, startups
  • Birthdays
  • Birth announcements
  • Overcoming barriers
  • Activists activating, advocates advocating
  • Job postings/hirings, congratulatory posts for getting hired
  • Fashion/style stunting posts
  • Neighborhood events

Resource sharing, self-advocacy, general wellness

• Resource of the month
• Job postings

• Advocacy & self-advocacy
  • How to say no
    • Why say no
  • Bystander Intervention
  • How to ask for help
    • Why ask for help
  • How to set boundaries
    • Why set boundaries
  • How to ask for a raise
  • How to use 311
    • What 311 does
  • How to contact your gov representatives
    • Why contact representatives
      • What reps do for us/are supposed to do for us
  • Emailing and letter writing campaigns to govt reps, local and national businesses and organizations that affect Milo and Columbus community
    • Partner with other instagram accounts to get the thing circling online
  • How to sign up for government resources you are entitled to
  • Mutual Aid

• Self-Care Tips
  • Events/businesses offering wellness classes/workshops
  • How-to/informational Reels and regular posts
    • Meditation/breathing exercises
    • Journaling
    • Exercise
    • Boundaries
      • Familial, work, religious, school, friends, partners
    • Sleep hygiene
    • Nutrition
    • Doctor appointments
    • Vaccines
    • Biking
    • Yoga
    • Therapy
    • Safe drug use (including alcohol)

During this week, I had been nearing the end of my internship and took on three projects this week. Upon completion of the camp, my focus had narrowed down to specific task in which I have been excited to do. The first project I have been working on is working with the Parent Engagement Coordinator to create a document with a list of low cost and free activities that families can do in the Columbus area. This was an eye opening experience because I got the opportunity to see some events and activities that I wanted to do on my own to further experience what Columbus have to offer. The second project I was working on was alongside the Chief of Programs and Partnerships in which I had to go through CIS inventory to gather some items for the Columbus City Schools back to school rally. Communities in schools will be having a booth that day and we wanted to showcase some items and have different templates out that will talk about the work that Site Coordinators do and the different schools that CIS was in. My role was to create a budget for different items that we will have for example some CIS sun glasses and sunscreen, a spinning wheel that will attract children and their families to the table for them to win prizes from the table. I plan on getting items for different age ranges so that there was a variety. Lastly, I worked on a power point that I needed to present to the CIS staff about Parent and Family Engagement activities during the school year for Site Coordinators. This was amazing to work on because I was able to be as creative as I wanted to give SC various ways on how they can engage with families and parents. Some of these included muffins and mittens where SC will give muffins to families and mittens during the winter to spark up conversation with parents about their child. Another one was FAFSA nights for those working with Highschool students because not every student’s parents graduated high school or went to college, so it gives them an opportunity for those who want to attend college to have someone go through the FAFSA process.

The stress is beginning to pile on as I work towards a finalized form of my draft, but for some reason, it feels as if it can never be completed. I know that in order for a draft to be “done” in the sense that I am envisioning, the document would have to be the final product. Therefore it is impossible for my draft to ever be done, which is both infuriating and freeing. My assignment was to create a draft. The end product will be sent out weeks after I have left, which saddens me because I have connected with this project in so many ways thus far. 

But as of right now I’m proud of how much I’ve grown. I am looking forward to reaching a conclusion and reflecting on everything that I’ve done so far. There have been many ups and downs for me in these past few weeks. An area of improvement I’ve recognized for myself includes my scheduling of assignments. I believed that after three years of college, I finally had it figured out. But for some reason, especially in the summer, important tasks that are a priority for me to complete are unintentionally abandoned on my to-do list. These blog posts are a great example. I have had a surprising amount of trouble keeping up with these weekly deadlines and I’ve recognized the problem as the way I schedule them. Instead of scheduling them on Fridays, days where I usually have to work my night shift position immediately after my internship is over, it would have been more beneficial if I made them a task for myself on Wednesday. This way I would have a two-day buffer to work on them. It’s unfortunate that I’ve noticed this during my last week of internship, but as they say, better late than never.

As I wrap up my time with Speak! for the Unspoken, I am working on getting their orientation and trainings in a presentable state. Last week we determined an outline for the orientation and this week I was focused on implementing the content into a presentation format. This is something that I particularly love doing! Creating presentations is such a fun activity for me, even when it can be tedious or time-consuming at times. It has been a lot of fun going through all of the event photos and connecting with some volunteers for aspects of the presentation. The orientation just has a couple things left and then it will be ready for our new volunteers!

Next week, I will be making some outlines for training presentations for the individual roles offered at Speak!. The goal is to get a training of some sort in place for each role, and something that will be easy to reference for volunteers, but also leads. There are documents in place for trainings currently, but we want the trainings to be more consistent, and formatted so that training new volunteers is an easy task for anyone, rather than needing a specific individual to train new volunteers.

Also this week, I attended a Columbus Crew game for the first time with some other fellows from the Columbus Foundation! It was really exciting to experience something new, as I had never been to a professional soccer game. We did end up leaving early because the game stopped for lightning and we all had work in the morning. Overall we all had a lot of fun and the excursion was a success. It was nice to be able to get to know some of the fellows better, and I had a great time! Crazy to think next week is the last week of the fellowship, and I am really looking forward to seeing everyone’s presentations!