Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

I can’t believe that I’ve already been with CXC and The Columbus Foundation for five weeks. Time passes quickly when there’s a lot to be done and week five was no different. I started on a new project focused on outreach to younger populations and students around Columbus. I wrote up two proposals for my boss, Tom, and will go forth with his choice of those next week. The first strategy involves creating an open competition for high school and college students to promote CXC and connect students with comic art. Groups would be encouraged to create works of art that emulate their relation to and representation of CXC’s mission. My second plan is to work with a local cartoonist in Columbus to create an attention-grabbing digital advertisement using comic art, as visual ads and posts have been shown to have over 200% more interaction than plain text. It’s been exciting to take on a more outgoing role that focuses on targeted marketing. This project feels applicable to a future career by giving me real-world knowledge and skills in a desirable field.

Aside from working on assigned projects, I spent some time this week thinking about potential career paths post-fellowship. After last week’s fellow’s learning session, I wanted to consider nonprofits further, but organization within a job is important to me. I started to look at more bureaucratically-organized groups like national nonprofits and local organizations with a larger domain as I believe that this route may be best suited for me. Columbus is such an artistic hub and I would love to find a national art-based nonprofit based here. I would also love to speak with someone who works in a for-profit corporation on community engagement or a similar role to see how this may overlap with nonprofit work. I look forward to considering this more as I learn more about the nonprofit sector in my final few weeks!

This week, we welcomed the new 2018-2019 service year AmeriCorps members! Needless to say, it has been a busy week at City Year. It has been exciting to witness City Year Columbus corps members at the very end AND the very beginning of their journey.

This week, we facilitated an orientation day for the new AmeriCorps members. Two pieces of the orientation stood out to me as ways in which organizational culture and values were communicated to incoming AmeriCorps members:

First, the staff of City Year Columbus introduced themselves to the corps using their preferred pronouns, and gave a short introduction to their role at City Year. City Year culture and curriculum centers itself around social justice issues and inclusiveness; the first workplace that I have ever experienced with such a focus. I thought it was incredibly important to begin to cultivate the conversation of identity and set the expectation of open, inclusive discussion at orientation. Each AmeriCorps member was also invited to introduce themselves with their pronouns as well. Not only did I think that this way of introducing everyone to each-other was a wonderful way to create an inclusive space for sharing, but that it opened up a dialogue about how to approach people who have identities different than your own. City Year staff encouraged AmeriCorps members to continue to introduce themselves with their preferred pronouns for the next few days of orientation as the corps gets to know one another, to ensure that each member was comfortable and aware of all preferred pronouns. I believe that this practice, although a small part of orientation, speaks to the way which City Year will operate during the new AmeriCorps’ member’s year of service.

The second part of orientation which was impactful to me was the telling of the “Beloved Community” story. Although we discuss the idea of the beloved community often at City Year, this was my first time hearing the story itself explained. The idea of the beloved community is central to City Year’s philosophy, and gives context to the type of communities that City Year hopes to help foster. The idea of the beloved community originated with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr:

“Among Dr. King’s most compelling visions is that of a Beloved Community – a community in which people of different backgrounds recognize that we are all interconnected and that our individual well-being is inextricably linked to the well-being of others. Dr. King knew that the goal of social change is not tolerance alone, or even the recognition or enforcement of human or civil rights, or an improved economic condition. These are necessary but not sufficient steps in the path to human progress. We cannot rest until we have bridged the divides of prejudice and mistrust that lie within the human head and heart. Invariably, these final, resilient divisions are social and personal. Dr. King reminds us that reconciliation is a both a process and a final destination. The road to the Beloved Community is the difficult road of reconciliation among people who have been in conflict and negotiation. The Beloved Community is reconciliation achieved – a profound human connectedness, a transcendent harmony and love among all people.”

In Dr. King’s own words, the beloved community is described often as a place of inclusiveness, acceptance, and above all, kindness to one another:

“Desegregation is only a partial, though necessary, step toward

the ultimate goal which we seek to realize. Desegregation will

break down legal barriers, and bring men together physically.

But something must happen so as to touch the hearts and

souls of men that they will come together, not because the law

says it, but because it is natural and right. In other words, our

ultimate goal is integration which is genuine intergroup and

interpersonal living.

Only through nonviolence can this goal be attained, for the

aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation and the creation of

the beloved community.

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1958

I do not think of political power as an end. Neither do I think

of economic power as an end. They are ingredients in the

objective that we seek in life. And I think that end or that

objective is a truly brotherly society, the creation of the beloved

community.

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., July 13, 1966

The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption;

the end is the creation of the beloved community.”

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., December 3, 1956

This week, I am reminded of how fortunate I am to experience a workplace with people from so many different walks of life, and to work with an organization which values diversity so deeply. I am excited to begin the City Year journey with the incoming AmeriCorps members as they start off their training!

This week was one of the most entertaining weeks for me. I watched my CITs transition  from assisting the counselors at Camp Arye, the special needs camp, to assisting the counselors at Camp Orah, the preschool camp. Since Camp Orah is for preschoolers, this camp ends everyday at 1 pm. After it ended, my CITs were able to choose what camp they would want to go to for the rest of the day until 4 pm. The other two camps were Camp Arye and Camp Haverim, the kindergarten-third grade camp. It was very heartwarming to hear my CITs excitedly say that they wanted to spend every day of this week at Camp Arye. My CITs absolutely enjoyed their time at Camp Arye last week and were excited to go back.

Although my CITs had a good time in Camp Orah, I noticed that some of my CITs were less enthusiastic because the children at Orah were very young. During this week I heavily observed the ways in which my CITs interacted with the younger children. For the first time, I had a lot more negative feedback than positive feedback, that I gave to the CITs. Thankfully they took this feedback easily and applied it during the rest of the week in Camp Orah. I have seen tremendous growth in the CITs since the first day of camp and it truly makes me happy.

Also during this week, my CITs were told by the director of camp to prepare a skit for entire camp. Therefore, I met with them every day for an hour and watched as they collaborated to prepare this skit. I helped them organize their thoughts and ideas, and assisted them with narrowing down to a specific theme. Overall, this week was great and I am sad that the last week of camp for my CITs is next week.

There are a plethora of issues that exist in society.  By “issues” I mean barriers for all people having access to a secure and quality life (however that is defined by them).  Many people make the logical fallacy of stating that one issue is more important than another.  For example, when I was an undergraduate student, I would frequently travel to Lexington, KY to protest dolphin slaughter.  Yes, even though we were in a landlocked state, I wanted my voice to be heard.  I had many colleagues attempt to undermine my efforts by making statements like, “Why would you protest dolphin slaughter when we (USA) have children who are starving.”  Just because a person goes to one protest, does not mean that they are neglecting all other issues.  The number of issues that exist in society are vast.  The global community is dealing with child hunger, gender inequality, homelessness, wealth disparities, climate change, resegregation, lack of access to high-quality and affordable healthcare, lack of access to public transportation, low wages, and many others not listed.  Many of the barriers that exist are interconnected; therefore, working to address one simultaneously addresses the other.  For instance, in the case of dolphin slaughter, children were being exposed to high levels of mercury through their school meals being composed of dolphin meat.  It was not only about protecting the biodiversity of the oceans, but protecting the health of children exposed to the toxic dolphin meat.

There is no “right” issue all people should invest their time in; however, we should seek to find the intersections of our work.  At the Boys and Girls Club of Columbus, I have observed the many ways youth development intersects with almost every issue.

BGCC’s youth development programs provide holistic services to youth in the organization’s community.  From making sure students are fed to teaching them ways to advocate for their community, BGCC directly and indirectly works to eliminate barriers in their members’ lives.  What is under-reported, because of the lack of statistical and internal validity, is the number of members who will make a difference because of the support they received from the BGCC.  For example, many BGCC youth have expressed that BGCC “saved their lives.”  This is how BGCC’s work has the potential to indirectly address multiple issues.  If we can connect youth with their agency by supporting their security and development, then the BGCC alumni will have the capacity to develop solutions for the various societal issues.

Budgets and money are always somewhere on my mind with my work at Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services (ETSS). Do we have enough money for this? Who has donated for what? Did you get that purchase approved before you bought that? Every cent has to be accounted for so that ETSS can provide reports to grant providers, pay its employees, and remain viable as a non-profit.

ETSS’s tight budgets, though necessary, can create tensions. This past week has been difficult in that respect, as ETSS is quickly running out of its grant funds to support its Summer Enrichment Program. Now, the difficult questions need to be asked and answered: Do we really need to buy this? Can you find other sources of funding for that? How can we make do with what we have? These questions and answers are not easy, especially since everyone at ETSS wants those we serve to have access to the resources they need. But, unfortunately, that is not the world we live in, and we have to stick to small, tight budgets while serving an immense need.

On a more positive note, I have done my (small) part in asking for and receiving donations for ETSS’s Youth Department. Last week, a man sent a check to the ETSS office for $500 for the Youth Summit, and I have organized meetings this week with potential new community partners. I have also received donations from various organizations across central Ohio for the goodie bags ETSS’s children will receive at the Youth Summit, as well. Asking for money and donations is something that I am not always comfortable doing, but slowly I am am beginning to feel more confident and capable in asking.

While I love those I have met at Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services, I have been reflecting deeply and realize that I have been viewing my work experience as a type of transitory or fleeting thing. I feel as if I have labelled my Columbus Foundation Summer Fellows experience as a placeholder as I prepare for the next thing that my life brings me instead of being fully present in my work and its mission. To an extent it makes sense why I might feel this way — everything I own is in boxes except for work clothes and a few toiletries, I just graduated from undergrad, I am living with my parents until literally the last day of my fellowship, I start graduate school on August 13, etc. But this coming week, I want to reflect more deeply on how I can be more present in my work this summer and I want to set intentions of what I want to receive in terms of professional development during my fellowship.

This past week I have felt like I have been moving very slow. But, I have realized that project management sometimes can be a game of chess. This move must happen before this piece can act. I need to contact these people and do these tasks, before finally making moves.

I have numerous buckets within Safe Place like sites, volunteers, awareness, etc. And most of these consist of sequential tasks making the work meticulous at times. However, this is giving me the opportunity to really oversee the project entirely. Project management is something that will consistently be in my life as a planner, being able to see something from start to finish. Our speakers this week discussed the need for technical skills and how to work towards them. I am thankful for this summer, affording me the opportunity to work on a singular project and gain those skills. I cannot wait to call all these steps together for a successful and sustainable project at the end of summer.

But! It doesn’t take until the end of a project for some amazing moments.

On Friday, Huckleberry House sent out my press release announcing the Columbus Metro Library system is now part of Safe Place! This news is huge for Huck House and the city. The Main Library sees around 300 youth daily during the academic year after school lets out. These kids will now have an added 23 locations available as a Safe Place sites. With that, I am working towards another opportunity to add more Safe Place sites, however that is to be determined…

… but sometimes politics will tell you that some people just never learn.

My week was nothing less than eventful with House Bill 36 being passed which just creates more room for discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. Since a lot of the work that I do at Equality Ohio revolves around keeping laws in favor of LGBTQ+ people, this was a pretty big blow. To make matters even worse, right after we left the Statehouse – it was announced that Justice Kennedy plans to retire.

There’s a silver lining, right? Ruth Bader Ginsburg, please tell me there is. 

Sometimes it can be difficult to stay so mobilized when it feels like the waves are working against you and it’s just one loss after another. However, I know I need to remain optimistic because there are people out there who need me to continue fighting just as those before me fought for LGBTQ+ rights. The battle isn’t suppose to be easy, and that’s why it’s a battle.

In happier news, I got to teach the LGBTQ+ sensitivity training I created to a local drop-in center. If you haven’t heard of these training’s, they basically teach businesses or organizations the right language and practices to use so that they can be as inclusive as possible in the work environment. To be given such a great responsibility was really quite an honor and it was even more interesting being able to answer questions from the audience. Growing up as a kid in the LGBTQ+ community, I always had to bite my tongue at jobs or in school when people would use discriminatory language because I felt like I didn’t have a way to defend myself. To see so many businesses and organizations starting to really care about how inclusive they are truly means the world to me. When I leave the office at the end of every day, I just keep hoping to be the advocate that I needed when I was younger.

This is a card I found at Springfield Pride (with Equality Ohio), and as a trans person it made me happy.

I wish this week was filled with a motivational story like last week. I wish I could set the perfect scene to encapsulate the perfect week. I wish this week could have been better. However, I would not have changed a thing.

This week I learned a lot about myself as an individual and as a member of a team. After another week of summer camp at the King Arts Complex, the behavior issues with the campers reached a peak. Left and right campers were getting sent to the office for disrupting class or just not engaging. The staff also reached a peak in the level of frustration they felt trying to make camp as impactful as possible while having minimal resources. This week was the boiling point and dripping in emotional sweat, I went to the gallery and did something I rarely ever do: I shut down. After waking up at 5:45am every morning for 3 weeks and dedicating my entire day to working on sustainable solutions to the camp’s problems, I felt defeated and deflated. It wasn’t until the last hour of the last day of the week that I felt myself being refilled.

Friday was field trip day and we took the campers to COSI. My task for the day was to watch a five-year-old named William (alias). William had gotten into a fight less than an hour before we loaded the bus and needed his own personal chaperone for the duration of the day. A frequent “trouble-maker”, he rarely ever said anything but always managed to find trouble. Afraid that I would have a lot on my hands and not enough energy to keep up, I was not looking forward to the trip. To my surprise, William was the best company I’ve had in a long time. He ran from exhibit to exhibit and laughed and jumped and screamed and lived. He had never been to COSI but managed to make his way through the building like he owned the place. At the end of the day, I asked how his day was and he said “awesome!”

Looking into William’s eyes and seeing happiness and hope made me remember why I wanted to work in a nonprofit that interacted with kids. I want to be the medium between them and the knowledge that is not always accessible to them due to societal issues and discrimination. Seeing a little black boy laugh and express an unapologetic love for science and learning was enough to keep me grounded in my purpose. Next week, I will show the staff some of the research I’ve been doing on engaging students facing issues at home and have a discussion focused on boosting morale as we reach the halfway point of the Summer Camp. Below are pictures from COSI and from the discussion from Cyrus Birch, a cast member from Black Panther that visited the camp to talk to kids about choices.