Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th yesterday! I ate some cake, saw some fireworks, and pet a dog, so it was a perfect day for me! (:

Week 5 has been a short but productive one here at the GIAC! This week has involved the set-up for Red, White, and Boom–the GIAC is right at the Scioto Audubon Metro Park, so this is a prime spot to watch the fireworks. We’ve had helicopters coming in and Metro Parks rangers setting everything up for thousands of people to be here Wednesday night. There were even people camped out at 10 am Wednesday morning so they could get the best spot!

Monday involved re-organizing supplies from camp and running a few errands, and I also learned how to feed our snapping turtles, Allie and Snaps (good news–I still have all my fingers!) And Tuesday was a big day because I got to meet with our Executive Director and my supervisor to refine my proposal to promote some of the GIAC’s new initiatives to present at next week’s board meeting! We have discussed some ideas since the beginning of my fellowship, but with camp and the education programs, we had to set that aside for a bit.

And for these few weeks, I’ve been a little unsure of how I could come up with something that would have a meaningful impact. Our Executive Director told me that she is confident that I have the experience to establish a leadership and outreach initiative, but I haven’t been so sure. I definitely feel like “just” an intern sometimes, like Aubrey wrote about in her post, so that’s been a hard feeling to shake as I’ve tried to think about the GIAC’S strengths and needs in developing a longer-term project. But the staff’s encouragement and appreciation–my supervisor made my day and got me a gorgeous sunflower plant and my FAVORITE dark chocolate last week!–has really shown me that they value my ideas and experience, and I need to keep that in mind whenever I start having self-doubts.

So after talking through our goals for this new initiative, we came up with the idea to plan a conference on local environmental justice. On a local scale, environmental justice refers to the movement to ensure that environmental benefits and burdens are not disproportionately placed on certain groups or locations–for example, people and communities who have been marginalized by race- and socioeconomic-based systems of injustice are often more likely to be exposed to unsafe air and water quality. This is a topic that I have become passionate about throughout my classes at OSU, and as we see Columbus move towards policies that environmental concerns, it is my strong belief that any action taken to address climate change must be centered around environmental justice. Otherwise, those who have privilege will still not be held accountable for their role in creating environmental damage and causing harm towards people who may not have such privilege.

Environmental justice is a massive concept, interconnected with many movements and systems that are part of everyday life for all of us, so it’s difficult to narrow it down and think about it on a local scale here in Columbus. I realized that after three years of talking about environmental justice in my classes, I still have little understanding of the specific issues that affect residents and neighborhoods right here throughout the city. I have a problem with that–how can we expect to work towards change if we aren’t aware of the issues affecting our own corners of the world? That’s what made me think of this conference as a way for the GIAC to bring together environmental organizations, local advocates and organizers, residents, students, city leaders, and others to be intentional about addressing specific injustices and concerns.

I only have four weeks left, so my main role for the rest of the summer with respect to this conference will be to come up with a pitch to our board next week about our goals and intentions. I will need to discuss why this conference is needed, what it could accomplish, and why it centers around the GIAC’s mission. If the board approves it, I don’t know what role I can play in helping to plan it, but I know that I will need to start making connections and doing some research to learn more about the concerns residents have and the actions that have already taken place.

This all still feels really big and scary to me, and I’m not sure how high these ideas will get off the ground. I was dwelling on the “bigness” of this when, on the way to a program at a local church Wednesday morning, we passed a mural with a dandelion next to the words “I am not a weed, but a wish.” This sounds really cheesy, but it made me think about how I should look for the possibilities in any situation rather than what could go wrong. With something that seems so big and scary, it’s easy for us to feel like we will fail, but we need to think about all the ways that something can go right, too, as long as we take it step by step. I don’t need to have all my contacts made and a whole conference planned in a week–I just need to share why it’s a possibility we should pursue.

The program we were on our way to reminded me of this, because we just spent a couple hours walking around the church and looking for the nature around us. We didn’t need to find every single tree or insect or bird at once–by taking it a moment at a time, we still got to our goal of learning from and being in nature. So while I’m still going to be a little nervous moving forward and trying to get these ideas transformed into action, I just need to take it one moment at a time, knowing that I have the support of our staff and my own strengths I can draw from.

So along with planning for the board meeting and hopefully recovering from yesterday’s sunburns, I’m also looking forward to next week and planning for upcoming 10th anniversary events and starting some weekend shifts to welcome visitors into the center!

Thanks for sticking with my rambling, and I hope everyone has a great weekend! (:

Kenzie

Due to the holiday, week four of camp was extra short; it was only 2.5 days long. While I’m grateful for time off to spend with my family, I can’t help but think of how my convenience is other families inconvenience. The thing that we look forward to—relaxing at home and enjoying the celebrations—is tainted for many families due to the stress of finding childcare and additional food for their kids to eat. It’s a fine line between being considerate to others and considerate to oneself, and it needs to be drawn, but it makes me sad nonetheless.

Because it was a relatively slow week at camp, I want to focus this blog on macro-level, big picture stuff. Recently, I have been prompted to ruminate about career moves and post-grad plans through academic and professional channels. I am about to start my senior year in the fall and I am so glad that the job-finding process is starting to unfold. I thrive on planning ahead and having ample time to think through big decisions.

Part of the Columbus Foundation fellowship involves “learning sessions” where we hear from non-profit leaders in the community talk to a specified topic. The most recent learning session was focused on the topic of “advocacy,” featuring Michael Corey, who, essentially, has my dream job. He advocates on the local, state, and national level on behalf of non-profits and groups in the Columbus area while also working with said groups to prepare them for success in the sector. It was helpful to hear what type of schooling he pursued and where we worked before finally landing at his role with the Human Services Chamber.

I am tasked with figuring out how I can advocate for others, and for myself, in the best way possible by taking advantage of experiences job-wise and opportunities for further academic degrees. I want to be an effective catalyst for change within a community while still setting myself up to able to take care of myself and my future family. Again, that fine line between serving others and making sure to serve myself too.

There’s still a lot of thinking and seeking to do in this process, but I feel that I am closer to where I’d like to be through this fellowship—and for that I’m grateful!

I really cannot believe we are already a month into this Fellowship! It seems like yesterday I was stressing about the binders full of information and projects designed for me this summer and thinking “can I really get this all done in 10 weeks?” Between running social media, having outreach visits almost every day, stuffing 125 envelopes inviting people to the Wine Tasting fundraiser, or trying to develop new partnerships, I really have been accomplishing more than I ever thought I would.

I remember thinking that it was going to take forever to learn all of the things that go into my projects this summer – I had never run a social media account nor have I worked with this many kids at once before. It is a good feeling to know I felt comfortable almost immediately doing all of the things required for this Fellowship – the staff at KidSMILES are incredibly helpful and approachable, and I find myself very excited to keep learning more about outreach and nonprofits in general.

This Fellowship has also taught me to go with the flow more. Before, I needed exact plans (plus back up plans!) for almost anything I did, and would get very stressed if things weren’t going the way I thought they should. When we do outreach, we really never know what we are walking into; it could be 15 kids, or it could be 100 kids on a day where no volunteers signed up. We could be dealing with 12 year olds, or 6 year olds that may not understand our activities. I have learned how to adapt to the constantly changing environment to ensure we are getting our information across in a way that makes sense to the kids. I think this is a life lesson I desperately needed; being able to adapt has definitely lessened my stress!

While I am excited for a little break, I am a little sad that I do not have any more outreach the rest of this holiday week – I can’t wait to keep meeting and laughing with more kids!

Despite this being a short week (only Monday & Tuesday) it has been an eventfull and extremely educational week. The was week was split between finalizing projects from the beginning weeks and starting training and planning for the upcoming Best Buddies Leadership Conference, which will be the main focus of the second half of the summer.

The Best Buddies Leadership Conference is an annual conference that has been held for the last 30 years. At this conference Best Buddies volunteers are given the opportunity to learn about the various ways that they can lead, advocate and bring out social change within their communities. Additionally, they can gain knowledge on how to individually and as a group take action to inspire their communities to take action on their own.

However, this is the first year that my two supervisors are attending the Leadership Conference as Best Buddies employees and therefore, we are all going into it blind. Given that none of us have gone through this process before, it is making the experience a collaborative learning process. We all have different roles and responsibilities for the Leadership Conference that we need to prepare for, which has given me a sense of independence and solidified my position as a contributing member of the Best Buddies Ohio team. Additionally, we are taking the time to step away from our individual roles, and come together and check-in about the questions we have, making sure that we know who to connect with if we need any information or answers. Which has also helped me to feel like a member of the team.

As this short week ended, and there being only one week left until we leave for the Best Buddies Leadership Conference, I’m feeling really excited. All of the trainings, small projects and conference calls are coming full circle and the anticipation of being a part of such a large event is putting into perspective my position as a Summer Fellow.

Although this has been a short week, I have learned a lot about working together with people that have different agendas and goals, work for different departments, or just overall disagree on something. My biggest takeaway is that is is crucial to have clear standards of communication set in place and that these methods of communication are used properly. 

It is also important to understand where each person is coming from, and for the leaders in an organization to make consistent, hard decisions. It is crucial that leaders making these decisions know how to communicate effectively themselves and understand how their decisions will affect the organization and its culture. Working for an organization where the majority of employees and supervisors only work part-time comes with its challenges of playing catch-up and delays on projects. Another reason things can get delayed is having too many steps of approval for everything that is done. I think an important part of a healthy organization is trust that each person is competent in their role and will perform at or above expectations without so many levels of approval. I have noticed not only through this experience but past roles that getting projects started or ideas into tangible products are slowed by the lack of communication and trust. I understand that things released to the public affect our public image and may need a second look, but I think there can be a middle-ground.

One way to help this communication may be to have clear responsibilities for each role that do not overlap so nobody feels as if their toes are being stepped on or that anyone is going over each other’s heads. In the nonprofit world, everyone has a huge heart and is very passionate about their work. Itis was to let passion affect working relationships. It can be hard to assume good intent and know that others are doing and saying what they feel is best for the organization.

Although the above learnings seem harsh, it only means that there is room for change and improvement. I am genuinely enjoying my time at Ohio Wildlife Center and learning valuable skills that I can apply to my personal and professional lives along the way.

I cannot believe I had my midsummer review this week – time really does fly when you’re having fun. This week I wanted to talk about a meeting that I sat in on that centered around revamping the language and mindset of BBBS.

When you think of BBBS, many people think of the flagship model: a Big or a mentor out in the community with their Little or mentee. However, BBBS has several “specialized programs” that are focused on certain populations of children and families. The meeting was to discuss if the language “specialized programs” is appropriate. Is that segregating the populations that we serve in an unfair way? Is this furthering stereotypes of certain populations indicating that they need “specialized” support given their circumstances? Who knew that two words could have such a big impact on an organization.

What I really want to talk about is how BBBS approached this conversation. Initially, the meeting was with the CEO and the leadership team to establish what issues exist. In this meeting, the CEO Elizabeth Martinez, whom you all had the pleasure of meeting, asked me through my lens what I thought about the conversation. Then, the conversation was expanded to my department, recruitment. At this meeting, the director of programs expressed that this conversation called for three things. First, that everyone has a seat in the table as this is a mindset shift within the organization and it is crucial that every person is a part of this transformation. Second, that “seat at the table” doesn’t always cut it, and she wants every individual to not only have a seat, but also choice, voice and power. Third, that not only everyone has a seat as this conversation continues to expand, but that every type of seat available is filled. That includes diversity of race, religion, sexual orientation, place of residence, position in the organization, lived experiences, the list goes on. This is not the first time I have witnessed BBBS take a step back and be intentional, precise, and inclusive about the way they approach a situation. The phrase “a seat at the table” is common and can sound good on the surface, but they take it a step further to encourage not just a seat, but choice, voice and power.

Today, the Columbus Foundation’s very own Steven Moore visited the House, giving a lunchtime conversation on donor stewardship. He presented several philosophies that made me excited to continue my work at the House. Though I’m being exposed to new tasks and challenges every day, there are still times during the work week when things feel dead-ended or monotonous. Meeting people outside of RMHC administration, such as donors, volunteers, or guests like Mr. Moore, is usually a welcome change of pace and perspective.

During his talk, Moore introduced what he called the “trifecta of fundraising”. Within the cultivation of any donor, he identified three points of giving: (1) a present gift, the kind most development officers are concerned with, (2) a deferred gift, otherwise known as a planned gift, one that is left with a donor’s estate, and (3) a referred gift, one that occurs when a donor believes so much in an organization, that they convince their peers to make gifts too.

Most importantly, he made clear several times that development need not be solely transactional work. To him, it’s not so much about convincing people that to make a series of gifts as much as its slowly about changing the way a donor thinks about themselves and their relationship to giving. I’d like to think, if a donor is giving to the right kind of organization, he means supporting social profit.

Moore talked of times at the Columbus Foundation when he gave books as a gracious thank-you to donors. I was absolutely enthralled with this idea. When executed responsively and respectfully, stewardship ideas like this have the potential to not only create a pipeline of continued giving (transactional), but also change the way a donor thinks about themselves, hopefully to the benefit of the cause of organization. I have just over five weeks left at RMHC. With the time I have left, I hope to connect those that I bring into the house with staff who can continue to build the constituent’s trust long after. Perhaps, given the House’s permission, I’ll even gfit a book 🙂

The last couple of weeks I have been in charge of helping create some of Best Buddies Ohio’s social media posts, this has definitely been a challenge of mine as social media is not one of my strengths. However, it has really opened my eyes to the importance of a social media presence for a nonprofit organization.

Specifically, I was given the opportunity to develop the actual content and write the captions about the “Chapter of the Year” posts, which highlighted the Best Buddies Ohio Chapters that were named the Ohio Chapters of the year at the collegiate, high school and middle school levels. Through this project I was able to see not only the individual projects each chapter participated in but also the major impact that they have on their communities. Additionally, I was able to help their community see the impact of a Best Buddies Chapter and why they can be such an instrumental and important organization for individuals with IDD.

Another project that I have been working on is finding individuals within the community who have a larger social media presence, and determining ways in which they could help in spreading the mission and vision of Best Buddies Ohio. This has been one of the most challenging projects that I have ever worked on. It really opened my eyes to how challenging social media can be and also the societal impact that has. Before this project I never fully grasped the power of social media and the way that it can not only promote something but also to clarify the purpose of something. In the nonprofit world, there are so many misconceptions and misunderstandings about their purpose and the impact that they are trying to make, but through social media we can reach a whole new audience and really add another level to the collective presence and voice of a nonprofit organization.

Ultimately, this project led me to have a major change in perspective. Social media presence can be useful in so many ways, not only can it help to show an impact but it can also be used to bring in a new audience and source of support, so that its societal influence can be enlarged.

It has been a crazy week! Between my car breaking down and being in the shop for two days, to fitting in 40 hours of work, this week has definitely tested my organizational skills, work ethic, and my patience. I will be forever grateful for the flexibility KidSMILES has offered me, especially this week, by allowing me to do a lot of work from home!

While my car was in the shop, it had our puppet with dentures in the trunk – that obviously brought up some questions! When explaining to the mechanics what I was doing this summer, one of them made a comment that “we should not be giving handouts to people just because they don’t work hard enough to provide for their kids” (which caused another one to say “dude, they’re kids!”), and it made me realize how common this mindset is. I think it is easier to think that low-income people simply “don’t work hard enough” instead of grappling with the systemic reasons that keep people poor and make poverty cyclic.

It’s just one example, but I always think of lead poisoning when trying to explain this to people. There is a common misconception that kids get lead poisoning by eating lead paint, and that their parents just aren’t paying enough attention, but this isn’t always true. Lead paint, like almost everything else, eventually wears away and can become dust, which is inhaled by anyone living in the house. While lead does not affect adults as much, this can be disastrous for the kids. (Shout out to my Environmental Risk Assessment class I always claimed I hated – I guess I learned a lot!)

Now, let’s take a family with low income that can neither afford a newer house without lead paint nor afford to adequately remove lead paint from their existing home (which can cost at least $10,000!). Even if we were to assume that the parents were poor because they were lazy (which is almost always not the case), a 6-year-old kid cannot do anything about their living situation; they are stuck, breathing in dust with lead in it. Lead poisoning causes behavioral issues and developmental delay. This can cause the child to be unsuccessful at school, have violent outbursts, decreases their chances of being able to get into college, and may land them in the criminal justice system, all because they grew up in a house with lead paint. As we all know, staying out of trouble and getting a higher education raises your chances of having a livable income. So, this 6 year old has a higher chance of growing up and continuing to be poor, and if they have kids, they may only be able to afford an old house or apartment with lead paint, and the cycle continues.

This is one example of hundreds why we can’t simply tell low-income people to work harder – almost always, this will not help their or their children’s situation. Again, I think it is difficult for people to try to understand how intersectional and cyclical poverty is.

I think understanding these concepts is key to being able to do nonprofit work, especially work dealing with low income and health care. With KidSMILES, allowing these families to get dental care for their children for a relatively low cost can help alleviate this burden. Having social safety nets like this is a way to break the cycle, and I am proud to be doing my part.

This week was the first week of Summer Day Camp at Community for New Direction. This week has been so amazing, stressful, chaotic, fulfilling, challenging, and, most importantly, successful. On Monday, we had around 175 kids show up for camp at West Mound Elementary School and the numbers have only been increasing since, with our capacity being 243 kids.

For me, each day starts at 8:00am at the East side office. I check my van and watch kids as they eat their breakfast, provided for them by CND. Once breakfast is over, I drive about 15-20 kids over to West Mound Elementary to start camp at 9:00am.

Once the kids have all eaten breakfast and announcements have been made, everyone goes to their assigned groups. Each group has 2 teachers and 2 youth workers to oversee the kids. CND’s teacher to student ratio is about 1:10, with the requirement being 1:15. Each group gets their own classroom and bus to utilize for whatever activities they plan for themselves. The groups also choose a group name and decorate/arrange their classes as they wish. I really appreciate the freedom CND gives to its teachers to make their own curriculum (with approval) to make each child’s experience unique and fun.

Groups are expected to do at least 20 minutes of reading in the first half of the day. This is also time that can be spent on surveys, AOD-V education, Social/Emotional Learning, or researching and preparing for the groups’ cultural projects! There is one whole day dedicated to cultural presentations that the kids work on for the first couple of weeks of camp. This year’s projects are on Spanish speaking countries.

Lunch is provided by CND at 11:30. After lunch, the groups may do their planned recreational activities. So far I have seen groups go to the library, metro parks, watching movies in the West office (which is across the street), make slime and other crafts, and have tennis camp! Most activities are planned by the teachers, but some are planned for the whole camp to attend, like skating at Skate Zone 71 on Thursday.

The kids are dismissed to leave on their buses or wait for parents to pick them up at about 2:15. Dismissal was very chaotic on the first day of camp and I was determined to help make it a little more organized for everyone. I discussed the issues and concerns each teacher had about dismissal and gathered ideas from everyone to present to Ms. Susie (camp supervisor). I stayed late one day after camp to meet with Ms. Susie and another teacher to discuss how we can make dismissal a little more organized the next day. She was thrilled by the initiative we were making and let us take the reigns on the project. It is very crucial to make sure dismissal goes smoothly everyday so we know every kid is accounted for and gets home safe to their guardians. By the end of the week, we have been able to dismiss all the kids on time and in an orderly manner.

All-in-all, this week was everything I expected it to be and more. I still find myself going home at the end of the day thinking about the interactions I had with the kids and how happy I am to be helping CND with this amazing program. I was able to work with a group of people that had just as much energy about the situation to fix a problem no one had even asked us to solve, which was very fulfilling.

One of my favorite parts of this whole experience has been interacting with the kids. I have kids randomly walking up to hug me, because I had a nice conversation with them the day before, and I don’t even remember their names! It feels good to be someone these kids can come to if they ever needed anything. I can’t wait to do it all over again next week.