Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

     Week 9 was was spent mostly working on our annual impact report. I love this project, because it’s all about organization and creativity. On Tuesday I then go to accompany our program coordinator to a meeting with other Columbus nonprofits. This meeting was so interesting because I had the opportunity to learn more about the work of other nonprofits. They were all really  inspiring and passionate about the community. 

    On Wednesday I was finalizing a lot of projects, and gearing up for upcoming meetings next week. The research I’ve been compiling has been a lot of random notes , so it’s refreshing to see it all come together. Later in the afternoon worked on improving our social media platforms and calendar. 

      Thursday was spent organizing our warehouse. We got a shipment in of new food, and I got to learn how to operate a Pallet Jack; Definitely a random life skill.

When Friday rolled around I was given the task to create individual impact reports for our corporate sponsors. This seemed simple, but then I soon realized how much google documents and I despise each other. Very glad I completed the project before the weekend. I also handled deliveries, and updated  our upcoming calendar for the next two weeks. Like every week, week nine flew by. It’s crazy that just nine weeks ago Family Mentor Foundation was completely foreign to me. Now I feel as though it’s mission and staff are such a huge part of my life. I’m looking forward to continuing working with them after the fellowship period, and continuing to help feed kids! 

ONE MORE WEEK!? What? How? 

It is crazy to think how quickly this summer is gone. It makes me sad to leave, but it is exciting to see all the great things my team and I have accomplished over these ten weeks. My supervisor at Netcare went through a checklist of all the tasks she hoped I could complete. She mentioned that the list was somewhat ambitious, butI have completed or nearly completed everyone on the list. I am happy to see that I was able to help, even if my part was small, make progress for this great place during my fellowship. 

My week was busy, and I enjoyed every moment of it. The beginning of the week consisted of pretty similar work to the weeks previous: more grant research, social media designing, and updating the donor database. The end of the week threw some new events and activities into the mix. Firstly, this week, Netcare had to be evaluated by the Commission of Accreditation and Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) to continue to be a CARF accredited facility – an essentially necessary accretiation to continue work in the human service field like Netcare does. Of the almost 2,000 points for which CARF reviewed, there were only 10 which they recommended that Netcare work to improve, all of which were very minor. This is an impressive feat! Furthermore, the review board is encouraged to give personal feedback, both positive and negative, on the company which they address. However, the committee was awestruck by how thorough of a job Netcare does to give its clients the best care. In these moments listening to the CARF committee’s review sessions, I myself felt stress and prayed that the review would go as smoothly as it did. The pit in my stomach, though uncomfortable, reminded me how personally invested I now am in the success of this organization. Though my summer is coming to a close, I hope to stay connected in some way to this organization and desire to hopefully return to volunteer with my supervisor when I have time over breaks in my academic schedule. 

Netcare’s senior staff hosted three “Townhalls” this week to address any and all uncertainty and concerns that the staff was having. This was especially important since the staff has recently the news that ADAMH did not choose Netcare to staff the new Franklin County Mental Health Crisis Center that is set to open in 2024. Much of the staff, especially that in the Crisis Center, was uncertain of the future of Netcare and thus the future of their position. However, I was in awe at how effectively and transparently the CEO communicated with the staff to address the issues at hand. He truly is an exceptional and dedicated leader. In these meetings, staff was notified that most workers at Netcare will see raises in the coming months. This comes as a result of the fact that Netcare wants to invest in its workers the way they invest in them. The CEO has a thought that the more the staff can invest in Netcare, the more Netcare can invest in them. This raise comes as evidence of this ideology. Of the about 250 members of the staff, only 5 members did not get raises, the CEO included. I think this speaks volumes about the type of leader that the CEO is. 

Of all the moments this week, my favorite part, however, was the conversations I had with my supervisor. It felt like every day this week I learned an important life lesson from her just through our daily conversations. I feel lucky to have had such a great supervisor this summer and developed such a great relationship with her. I compare my first week to now and see how much I have gotten to learn about her family, her career path, and her overall outlook on life. I will miss listening to her hilarious stories about her goofy children, her adorable puppy, and bad-at-cooking husband. 

One more week… It is sad, exciting, emotional, overwhelming, fulfilling, and unreal all in one. I remember my shaky hand clicking the submit button for my fellowship application this past December. I would have never imagined that I would be lucky enough to get this position, let alone learn and accomplish so much in this short amount of time. So, thank you Dr. Lomax, Ms. Lilly, the Columbus Foundation, Netcare, and most importantly this great city for all that this summer has been. 

One of my favorite parts of working with FLOW has been the weekend events! This may sound surprising since work on Saturday and Sunday isn’t always appealing, but the volunteer events are a blast every time. This past weekend, we had two great events at Highbanks Metro Park. The first event was MacroFest where dozens of families walked down to the river to see what macro-invertebrates we could pull from the water. Stream quality monitoring experts used nets, ice trays, petri dishes, and other equipment to pull bugs and some crayfish from the river. This was such a fun way to educate locals about the status of our rivers and how to tell if the habitat is healthy. Later, we walked a trail to clean-up litter, but we ended up getting more of an adventure than we planned for! We trudged through thick brush to get down to a creek littered with plastics, and we were surprised by a few snakes! One even coiled around a plastic water bottle. While the volunteers could have been upset that we went a bit off the trail, they were excited and good-sports all the way through. I have no doubt that attending these events will be a regular activity for me even after our fellowship is complete!

I had the opportunity to attend another Science Committee meeting this week. We finally have the details of FLOW’s first ever Milkweed Mania fundraiser planned out. I’m hoping to launch the details on Monday, so follow FLOW on Facebook or Instagram if you want to purchase some milkweed plants to help the butterflies! In addition to talking about the milkweed fundraiser, I was able to present some of the findings from a survey I conducted earlier in the summer. It felt good to be able to contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way, when just a couple months ago it was all brand new to me. Based on my findings, FLOW will be able to adapt and make future tree giveaways more accessible and successful. One thing that really gets people excited about FLOW’s mission is trees, so to hear feedback that trees survived after being planted in yard around the watershsed is super encouraging!

This weekend, I will be attending an invasive species removal at Hudson Prairie. We will be removing Canadian Thistle and Purple Crownvetch to make sure the native species have the space and nutrients they need to thrive. Wish me luck in our last week! -Shelly

It is hard to believe there is only one week left of work as a Summer Fellow! The past couple of days I have been working on finishing up some of my major projects for the library. I put the finishing touches on the donor journey stewardship plan that has been one of my main efforts. The rest of the team will take it from here as they move forward in implementing stewardship and cultivation actions to engage donors. I’ve also almost completed all of my interviews with library staff to gather information for an impact report I am preparing. These interviews have given me so many insights into the library’s services. I will spend most of next week making sure that the true impact of these services is reflected in my written storytelling.

The other highlight of this week was on Wednesday, when the Fellows were able to gather outside of work at the Columbus Crew soccer game against D.C. United. It was the first time we were able to get together in-person, and for most of us it was our first time attending a Crew game. We had a beautiful evening to enjoy the new stadium and each other’s company. And, despite the Crew’s loss, we all appreciated the chance to experience another great thing our Columbus community has to offer.

We all are preparing for our next steps now. For some of this means a return to school, but several others will be moving on to jobs. Some will even remain with the host organizations they’ve been working at this summer. Personally, I will be back at Ohio State in just two weeks for my final year of graduate school. But I am so grateful for this summer and the people in Columbus I have connected with through this Fellowship. We all share a passion for “social profit” (as termed by Elizabeth Martinez, President & CEO of Big Brother Big Sisters of Central Ohio) work, and I look forward to seeing where everyone makes an impact in the future.

Amy

With one week to go, the work that originally seemed far away is slowly wrapping up. Last week, I reflected on some of the professional lessons that I have learned throughout my time with Hope Hollow. This week, I want to focus on how my time with Hope Hollow has altered my personal life and approach to life. 

#1 – Value the seemingly routine moments. Recently, Hope Hollow’s co-founder, Jane, told me a story that illustrates this idea. The story surrounds a cancer patient/Hope Hollow recipient who was struggling to eat following her cancer treatment. She had requested a bowl of her mother’s potato soup, but her mother did not have access to a kitchen as they were staying in a hotel during the patient’s cancer treatment. Upon hearing this, Hope Hollow’s co-founder, Jane, immediately went to the grocery store, with the mother’s potato soup recipe in hand, and purchased the necessary ingredients. At that moment, it appeared that a bowl of potato soup was only meaningful because the cancer patient had a meal that she was willing to eat. But, years later, that bowl of potato soup is held dear by the cancer patient, her mother, Jane, and others who have heard the story. Jane’s generosity, towards an individual she had never met, provided comfort for an individual who was going through the toughest battle of her life. 

While this particular story is remarkable, it is customary for Hope Hollow. On a daily basis, Hope Hollow finds a way to provide the requested support for its patients. The lodging, meals, transportation assistance, and emotional support provided by Hope Hollow are really avenues for Hope Hollow to provide meaningful, personal support for cancer patients throughout their journey. Hope Hollow really grows to know the people that they are supporting, which makes it easy to form lasting friendships and impressions.

I have learned so much at Central over the past 9 weeks, and I am so grateful for this opportunity. I am happy to announce that after the conclusion of my fellowship, I will not be leaving, but staying on part-time as a Development Associate as I move into my second year of Grad School! I can’t wait to continue learning and growing in this new role, and I am so thankful to the Columbus Foundation for linking me to Central Community House, and to my supervisor Alex, for giving me this opportunity.  

This week I worked on a couple more small grants, but the craziness of grant writing seems to have slowed down for now. At least, I am told, until September. One project that I am having a lot of fun working on this week is compiling a history of Central Community House for the upcoming Village Maker Festival, which will celebrate 85 years of service to the community! I was given a box of extremely old documents and pictures to sift through, and I am slowly writing down important tidbits of information to create a timeline of events for the organization. I am turning through pages of annual reports and profit & loss statements like they are the pages of a best-selling novel, confirming that I am, indeed, a giant dork. 

Below are a few pictures of people at Central throughout the years! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! (It’s the fashion for me!)

This week I mostly focused on the operations manual for Zora’s House. The operations manual is a guide for Zora’s House volunteers on what their work entails in the space and with the people who use it. This document is more dated compared to the employee handbook, but the revision process is going a lot easier compared to the employee handbook, since the revision process for the handbook brought out a lot of things that I could apply towards revising the operations manual. 

For the past few weeks, my supervisor and I were also collecting frequently asked questions from the volunteers to incorporate into the manual so that the document would be as useful as possible for its intended audience. The questions that stood out to me the most were about whether non-women of color are allowed in the space. When I first saw these questions, I thought that since Zora’s House is a space specifically for women of color, why would non-women of color be allowed to be a part of it, or would even want to be in the space? During my time in Zora’s House and in college when I was running a group for women of color, I have seen how important these types of spaces are for the communities they are serving, and how good it feels for people to have a space to call their own. 

However, Zora’s House’s policy on non-women of color accessing the space is the following: 

“Non-women of color are allowed to be in Zora’s House. However, as an organization that centers women of color, all those who do not identify should be aware and comfortable operating as guests within a space that centers women of color” (Zora’s House Operations Manual FAQs). 

I thought this statement was interesting, because it embodies the mission and values of the organization very well. Zora’s House is not interested in “excluding” people from their space, but rather their work is focused on helping women of color thrive and create spaces where their needs are validated and their work is celebrated; focusing on who’s “out” doesn’t really help much in advancing the goals of the organization. This reminds me of our discussions throughout our learning sessions about a “deficit mindset” and how we need to move past that way of thinking. Here, Zora’s House is pushing against that by showing that you can center a group’s needs and create an overall positive environment for everyone. This is just one instance (out of many) of how I’ve seen Zora’s House put into practice what we’ve discussed in our learning sessions about changing our way of thinking around helping others and being servants to our communities. I am grateful for having the chance to be a part of this organization for the summer, and to help them during this exciting period of growth and transition for them.

This week kicked off with a few intense cases; we discovered a missing child was a runaway, we helped a cancer patient who is struggling with divorce, and spoke with a dear client who is transitioning to a new job. I am always amazed by the tenacity of the social workers at Muslim Family Services of Ohio for guiding clients through these tough situations. I am also finding that my ability to care for the people who come through the door comes more naturally. Earlier this summer, I worried about finding the boundary between helping a client and overextending myself. I now understand my capabilities for serving this community, and am excited about continuing my work in this area.

Every Thursday this summer has been rainy. I made note of this because on Thursdays, our produce days begin at 11:00 A.M. Nicol explained to me my first week that when it is rainy, less clients attend these days. This week it was completely clear as families poured into our office seeking bags of grapes, kiwis, cherries, Girl Scout cookies and more. While the produce drive is similar each week, I have seen the gradual changes over the past 9 weeks in organization and flow. Our regular volunteers are no longer disoriented when they arrive. Everyone takes position and the steady flow of filling the Kroger bags with produce begins.

The slight changes in the office this summer have extended beyond myself and the produce days. With old social workers gone, and new social workers onboarding, I am impressed by the flexibility this organization has to implement change. One of the things I appreciate most about the nonprofit space is my own ability to suggest new ideas and see them occur rapidly. Nicol, my manager, empowers everyone in the office to be proactive about their clients, workflow, and space. She welcomed two new volunteers who have radically remodeled the office over the course of this singular week.

While I am going to be sad about leaving MFS and starting a new chapter, I am ultimately grateful for the growth I have experienced this summer and hope to return to MFS as a regular volunteer.

It is my second-to-last week at Equitas Health and the art is arriving! We have been working all day Friday and Saturday as everyone brings in their art donations that were accepted by the jury. It has been super interesting to see the work in person and up close; after working with digital submissions for the last 8 weeks, seeing the work in person was super rewarding. Some of my favorite pieces we’ve gotten so far have been work by Laura Alexander, AJ Oishi, and Jimbo Tamoro! I have been super grateful to get to see these artists work up close and get to learn a lot more about the art scene in and around Columbus. I have also gotten to see a lot more about the gallery process, with how artists partner with them and get to show their work.

In addition to helping with artwork drop-off at our offices, I have also spent a lot of time filling spreadsheet details and cataloging information about the artists and galleries.  It has certainty kept me busy, as we work to get all our ducks in a row, so to say, and get ready for the auction. I have been doing a good deal of data entry, as we get caught up on changes to submissions, receive some last minute donations, and get ready to host an in person event, with covid restrictions ever changing.

As we start to wrap up the summer, I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to work at Equitas Health. I have learned a ton so far about the non-profit world, and professional work environments more broadly, like getting used to 9-5 work days, working at an in person office skills, etc. The art knowledge and exposure to the Columbus Art Scene that I have received has also been so fantastic.

Wow! I can’t believe that this week has arrived, the last week of camp. I know it sounds cliche but, it truly feels like just yesterday when I started working at the craft museum. My time here has flown by! With it being our last week of camp, it has been very different from the previous weeks that we’ve had. This week instead of having our usual full day with a morning and afternoon session, we have reduced our days down to just a morning session. Considering the projects that we are doing, I am very thankful for this fact. They are very hands-on and require quite a lot of teacher assistance. On Thursdays and Fridays since I teach solo, I am very grateful to the teen helpers that we have to come in and help us. Without their assistance, I truly would not get through a day of camp!

I was the lead for a three day lesson that involved the making of a sort of quilted banner. It involves a lot of stitching and ironing of fabric. This project really challenges the fine motor skills of not just the younger students, but also the older students’ capabilities. It has been such a pleasure to see them accomplish things they never before had. It has been very rewarding!