Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

With the end of July in sight, I am beginning to transition into a new stage of life along many dimensions. I will move over 500 miles south to North Carolina to begin law school in August. I will also complete my fellowship placement at Local Matters. The upcoming change has certainly brought new stressors into my life along with new excitement. This week, I have largely begun preparing both physically and mentally for these changes. 

At Local Matters, my week followed the same routine I’ve discussed in my prior posts. I was feeling worried that I am running behind deadlines, and while I still have a lot of work to complete, I realized I have drafted over 20 pages of the manual. I developed some of the sections outlining processes and procedures for technology use this week. Within my first few weeks, I noticed that lack of access to documents and confusion over where to find information in digital folders frequently arose. This problem often stymied the efficiency of meetings. Thus, I attempted to draft a thorough section on how to best upload files to the cloud. I also created a mockup folder for the team that better organizes files. Next week, I will meet with team members working on the food access team to identify areas of improvement for the operations of their team.

A highlight of this week was the Wednesday Fellows Learning Session. Elizabeth Martinez, the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Dani Robbins, a seasoned veteran in the non-profit sector and Director of the Masters of Nonprofit Administration programs at John Carroll University, spoke to the fellows. I really enjoyed Director Robbins’ presentation in particular. As someone who is solutions-oriented and prioritizes outcomes, learning about program evaluation was extremely helpful. I plan on incorporating material from this lesson into my work by formulating an evaluation process for the operations of my host site once the operations manual is put into practice. I am excited to use this knowledge to hopefully improve my organization’s capacity to serve the community.

It has been a journey since my first day at My Project USA. I have had a wonderful experience and learned so much about this organization over the past five weeks. I have learned the importance of communication, teamwork, and the delegation of roles. I also understand the importance of relationships in the community. We have created a network of individuals who are advocating and building a better future for our youth. Without these individuals, we could not have as big of an impact.

On Monday, we had a staff meeting that helped all summer employees understand the progress we have made with the students. We talked about the strengths and weaknesses of the program, gave praise to employees and teams, and also made suggestions for the future. One important asset we found was the social-emotional growth within the students. We saw a dramatic change in the students’ attitudes towards adults and their peers. With positive reinforcement, appropriate language, and modeling, we were able to remind the students what a positive environment looks like. We used phrases such as “Remember to be in control of your body’” and “Show respect for yourself and others” to give them a choice to do the right thing. They gradually understood that they can be in control of their behavior. I am proud of them for working out their problems, developing teamwork skills, and creating a climate that we can all benefit from.

Our team does an excellent job giving feedback so we can make improvements when needed. We had an open conversation with each other that helps us look at areas we need to improve and areas in which we are excelling. Our goals are to have clear communication with each other, be adaptable, and continue to build relationships with the students. When we are successful with these goals, we will be able to have a larger influence on the community. As an organization, we hope to be a safe haven for people in the community on the west side of Columbus, Ohio.

Although I did not mention it in previous blogs, there was a great achievement with the soccer team. A week ago, they went to Kentucky for a soccer tournament and won. Our soccer coaches worked hard to train the students, and this challenging work paid off. They represented Columbus, Ohio very well and were praised by other teams for their teamwork, agility, and spirit. I am proud of the soccer team because they earned their spot as champions of the tournament. They also worked hard academically so they could go to soccer practice and play. The partnership between the summer program and the soccer team created a space where the students can flourish while also having fun. We receive praise and gratitude from our high schoolers for creating an environment where they feel welcome.

My fifth week at the McConnell Arts Center consisted of post-Arts Festival tasks and front desk clerical work, as well as beginning a new project for the remainder of the summer. The MAC hosted three rental camps this week, so a full-time staff member needed to be stationed at the front desk at all times, due to check-in and check-out procedures, as well as in case of emergency. In addition to assisting with the rental camps and completing other front desk-related tasks, the MAC Programming Director assigned me to a task of revamping the MAC surveys and evaluation techniques. I began to analyze previous surveys which had been administered to MAC patrons after class or summer camp attendance, noting the format and characteristics of the questions, as well as the content of the questions. After my initial analysis, I began my project by beginning my research on survey techniques which could possibly elicit higher response rates. 

In addition to beginning research on our survey and evaluation practices, I began to look toward the second session of Camp Creativity. This involved surveying current supplies and looking for new counselors to replace the June counselors who were unavailable to work the second session. I met with the other team members responsible for programming and camps, and we analyzed what practices worked for the first session of camps and brainstormed what we can do to prepare for better practices for the second session.

This week was a time for My Project USA to reflect on the successful session that we had over the last four weeks. We are very proud of the students for their insight into what they want in their community and the diverse community they created. The students served as educators, teaching us how to be servant leaders in their community. I am proud of the students we worked with, and I hope they are going to join us for the second session. In that particular session, we will be cultivating a mural for our project-based learning activity. This will be a four-week activity that will also be presented to people at MY Project USA. We will also use Khan Academy and have a Technology class where students will be learning how to code and use drones. The mural will be based on what the students see in their community and what they want to see in the future. We are excited to have new and returning students experience our summer program.

As I continue working at MY Project USA I also had to reflect on my experience with this fellowship. This is the most challenging fellowship that I have experienced. I am having a wonderful experience thus far because of the team that I work with and the opportunities that are given to me. I have had positive feedback from the directors that helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses. When reflecting on my own, I knew that there were a few areas that I was good at while I needed to improve in others. I am adaptable at my job, which is a skill you need at any nonprofit. There were times that I needed to improvise so that everyone could get what they needed to be done. I also am an analytical person that was able to plan under time constraints so that we could operate smoothly.

As a fellow, I notice that this organization created a team that works hard so that things can run smoothly. We all contribute to the organization so that the ultimate goal can be met. We want to be effective in the West side community one family at a time. I have enjoyed this experience and I am excited to see how successful the next session will be. My Project USA has influenced my life over the past five weeks. I have learned the art of patience and networking to create new opportunities for the community.

It’s hard to believe that I am already halfway done with the summer fellowship! Following the timeline I formulated during my first week at Local Matters, I planned to begin drafting the operations manual in greater detail by this point. I have stuck to this timeline even with the numerous obstacles in my personal life—namely, a covid infection. 

Last week, I created a survey to send out to the members of my team to gain further insight into my site’s operations. The survey sought to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. I inquired about the training and onboarding experience, how often employees find themselves confused, processes regarding technology, and allowed respondents to share their suggestions on how to improve the organization. Within minutes of sending the survey out this week, I received numerous helpful responses. As I read through these responses, I decided to first focus on those concerning the training and onboarding experience. 

Because I majored in political science and public management, I feared that my skills would not transfer easily to the nonprofit sector. Analyzing the survey responses showed me that this was not the case. Later this week, I compiled a memo to be shared with the leadership at my host site outlining the information gathered on the training and onboarding process and presenting recommendations for improving the process. The memo was structured similarly to the countless memos I wrote in undergrad analyzing public policy problems. Getting to use the skills I acquired through my studies and apply them to the workplace setting felt exciting and rewarding. 

Reflecting on the fellowship at the halfway point, I have enjoyed my experience greatly. Working in a new environment has pushed me to better understand what my skills are and how I can use them in a variety of workplaces. I have also developed a greater understanding of nonprofit organizations and how they operate. Seeing the passion for helping the community access healthy food exuded by everyone at Local Matters has reignited my interest in the field. I look forward to seeing what the next half of the fellowship brings!

This week presented a very different pace than any of the previous weeks, given that the only two full workdays for us were Tuesday and Wednesday. On these days, I finished up making thank you phone calls to past donors of Ohio Humanities in an act of stewardship, which is incredibly important for fundraising. I’ve learned very effectively during this fellowship that making donors feel valued as a result of the gifts they’ve given an organization, whether that be by a thank you, sharing the work that has resulted from the funds they’ve given, or inviting them to take part directly in events of the organization. I had the opportunity on Wednesday to attend a grant meeting, in which grant applications are reviewed by the team to determine whether the project of the applying organization will receive the grant based on the guidelines of Ohio Humanities grant application. Seeing how this process takes place will be incredibly valuable for me at a future nonprofit organization whether I’m on the grant making or grant writing side.

On Thursday, I got to travel with Rebecca, the Executive Director, and Kiley, the Communications Manager, to Portsmouth, Ohio for a cheque presentation at the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center. Checks for grants that were recently given by Ohio Humanities to this museum, Scioto Literary, and Shawnee State University for either COVID relief or project funding were presented, which was also in an act of stewardship toward this specific area of Appalachian Ohio so that our organization can ideally obtain state funding for the first time and build capacity, as opposed to just federal funding.

Lastly, yesterday (Friday, July 8th) was the Over-the-Rhine Film Festival in Cincinnati! We have been finishing up preparations for it this week, and I think that the collective efforts of the team, the volunteers at the festival, and the festival staff led for a very fun and smooth-running event, which I am very happy for. The theme of the pre-party was “A Celebration of Ohio Storytellers,” which I think was effective in its goal as we got to witness the powerful words of the poets of Triiibe Collective and Rimel Kamran, whose impactful poem earned her the title of the first Youth Poet Laureate of Cincinnati. After the party, Dr. Lomax’ film called 400: An Afrikan Epic was showcased, which told the story of the experience of Black Americans through the power of music and its effect on listeners to spark an emotional reaction and build connections with others. I am so grateful I got to hear these stories last night and see the mission of Ohio Humanities being fulfilled first-hand as well as for being a part of the planning process that resulted in an amazing event.

This week was a festive and fun filled week of events. This is the third week of the camp and the students have shown so much growth in their motivation to wanting to be a camper . The relationships and trust from student to camp counselor have grown as well. Throughout the week, the students learned and participated in various activities that allowed them to step out of their comfort zone. On Tuesday, July 5th we took the students to Big Bounce which was one of their first field trips. It was good to see the interaction they had outside of the camp. During the field trip, we played dodgeball and jumped around.

The next day on Wednesday , July 6, we had a friendly competition of games. There were about 8-10 games and 2 games going on at the same time. Some of the games included 1 on 1 basketball, Cup Flip – Tic Tac Toe, Soccer Goaly, hula hoop and much more. The games kept each student excited and on their toes due to everything being fast paced and each camper going more than once.

The student really enjoyed the field trip activities that we took them on. They were able to network with other students outside of Camp CCA and build those meaningful connections with one another. I saw students venturing out and getting to know other camp students and further opening up to the counselors.

I spent most of this week working in the Google Drive and the Speak! for the Unspoken volunteer page on Facebook. While looking at our results from the survey we sent out a few weeks ago, we decided we should try to reach more of our Volunteer base, which meant a lot of contact searching for me. So, that is exactly what I started doing. I was able to create a list of recent volunteers who had not completed the survey, and this list will serve as my starting point for volunteer interviews. With the recent holiday, it gave little time this week for volunteer interviews, so that is something that will continue next week. Speak! for the Unspoken actually had an intake on the 4th of July, and some awesome volunteers are what made it happen!

I also have spent time over the past few weeks revamping the application process for their different volunteer positions, as well as their adoption application. I have a few more interviews scheduled for this, but after those meetings I will be working on creating all of the new applications. So far I have completed the new volunteer application and just need to learn a bit more about the fostering process as well as the adoption process. I have those meetings scheduled for early next week, so the goal is to get those new forms created by this time next week! I also plan to learn more about our intake process, and hopefully attend another intake soon.

Next week I plan to have the volunteer surveying results completed and to be moving on to the planning stage for changes and whatnot. It is very exciting to be at this point in the process, as I love to “DO” so the waiting period was not my favorite. I also enjoy creating forms and documents to help better organize information, so this is the part of the fellowship I have been looking forward to most! I am also looking forward to an event that Speak! is having in the next few weeks so stay tuned for details! 🙂

Let’s play a game. It is called “The Leader Game” and it comes from the Authentic Relating Games Manual. I did this on Wednesday with the youth that are enrolled in Cultivate’s summer garden program. One person is designated the leader and like all good leaders, they get to take a seat on an elevated chair. The leader in this game gets to take control of the space for “x” (we did two) amount of minutes. During this time, the leader will have the freedom to engage in power dynamics, authority, requests, rules, or create whatever context they want in whatever way they want. The first person to start tried to be a queen who demanded that others fan and feed her. She quickly realized that just because you tell someone what to do doesn’t mean that the person is going to do what you say. I am not about to get up and feed this kid, I thought, so I negotiated instead. “I ain’t doing all that. There are some pretzels here though. Would you like me to give you a pretzel?” I gave her a pretzel. Then I watched the other participant in the program and our fill in facilitator do what she commanded of them. The next girl took a turn but she is shy and introverted. She took a little extra time to figure out what she wanted to do. She was not used to being a “leader” and felt awkward being the one to come up with the scenario or rules. Eventually, she decided that the other girl should cook her dinner. There was a play kitchen and pizza was cooked and served. The other girl even cleaned the dishes for this new leader. She quickly realized I wasn’t going to participate through demands so kept the interaction between her and the other girl. Next, the co-facilitator took her turn. She has kids and is used to making demands of them and went an unexpected route. She acted like a drill sergeant and had us exercising. Actually, I refused to participate. I don’t like people speaking to me this way, even in a play context. Lastly, it was my turn. I told everyone that I was going to take this time to tend to my body and do some stretching. “Everyone is welcome to follow my lead but ultimately, I don’t care what you do.” Everyone followed and I taught them some stretches they have never attempted. After our game ended we discussed what it felt like to play this game. We discussed different types of leaders and the differences between power with and power over. We learned a few things about ourselves. The co-facilitator expressed that being a mom, they sometimes overcompensate for something when they use authoritative rule. It usually leads to building resentment. We also learned that things feel fairer when we make decisions together through negotiation. And some of us turn to auto-pilot sometimes, simply following our leader just because they have been designated leader.

PS, The Milo-Grogan Green Space volunteer night is on Thursdays from 6-8PM. Anyone is welcome to do some weeding, mow the lawn, etc.