Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

My second week at CXC and the Columbus Foundation proved to be a successful one. After finishing my survey redesign task in the first week, I shifted my efforts to focus more on the branding and marketing of CXC as a nonprofit as well as a major Columbus event. The majority of the week was spent researching what exactly creates a successful marketing campaign for a nonprofit specifically. I am familiar with marketing events, as I have done that for two of my past internships, but figuring out how to connect with donors was a new playing field for me.

Marketing research began with determining our desired target demographics, and turned towards brainstorming potential eye-grabbing and thought-provoking concepts for social media and in-person campaigns. The project is just getting started, so there are a lot of exciting possibilities where it could go. I’m so appreciative to be at CXC, where they value my interest in combining art with research as they push me to create marketing campaigns that reflect that. I’m hoping to potentially even collaborate with some of my peers during the Fellowship to create a project that reflects the interest of a diverse Columbus population.

Aside from my major projects, I have been spending a lot of time getting to know CXC and the work they do. I have been reading graphic novels by the artists featured at this year’s event so I can speak about their work with interested board members, donors and guests. Despite my lack of background knowledge in cartoon art, I have found some artists that I feel I connect with due to their beautiful styling. I’ve been sharing my newfound interest in the medium and advocate that everyone should try to digest new artistic styles (and attend any free arts festivals in their locale)!

How has another week gone by already? Last week wrapped up quickly with the City Year 2017-2018 AmeriCorps graduation, and the office has been far quieter since they left. While it was wonderful to celebrate the accomplishments of the corps members and catch a glimpse of their previous year in service, I am excited to prepare for the upcoming school year and new AmeriCorps team!

This week, I am focusing on the importance of patience in development work. This week has been full of transitions- from the AmeriCorps year to summer hours, from field to office work, and from observing City Year at work to diving into it myself. I am excited to have started development work for City Year- planning for the next Red Jacket Ball Fundraiser and upcoming summer events has proven to be a wonderful challenge.

What I tend to struggle most with in development work is the longevity of projects. I find that I feel most successful when I am able to sit down and complete a project all at once. With development work, this is almost never the case, as many events and planned projects take place over the span of months. This week, I am challenging myself to find success in smaller tasks which contribute to the larger success of development projects and events. For example, over the last two weeks I have been tasked with doing research on potential speakers for the Red Jacket Ball, putting together pricing and booking information along with biographies for each person. This completed task can be celebrated as part of a larger effort to plan the Red Jacket Ball, which is the largest fundraising event that City Year Columbus holds. To keep myself accountable, I am using a project tracking tool to mark feedback, project timelines, and completed projects as a means of staying organized.

As the end of the fiscal year approaches, I am excited to start on a new grant cycle and see what else the development department holds at City Year!

Hey everyone! My name is Radhi Pandit and I graduated from The Ohio State University this past May with a B.S. in microbiology and a minor in global public health. I am currently in my gap year before hopefully attending medical school in Autumn 2019. I am passionate about providing quality, culturally-humble health care to all people and elected to take a gap year to gain hands-on experience and insight into the myriad of determinants that affect underserved populations. Nonprofits play a key role in meeting many of the unmet health needs of individuals, so I applied for the Columbus Foundation Summer Fellowship to see this in action and learn how healthcare professionals can get involved in nonprofit work.

I chose to work with LifeCare Alliance because of the wide array of health and nutrition services they provide. From Meals on Wheels (second in the nation!), to community wellness centers, to the Columbus Cancer Clinic, this organization truly nourishes the human spirit. I am lucky to have been selected as the 2018 Summer Fellow and week 1 was extremely eye-opening. I had the opportunity to meet all the members of the team, as well as observe some of the many services LifeCare provides. I got to see a Fashion Show put on by the clients who were modeling clothing from local thrift stores whose proceeds fund the Cancer Clinic, a coupon distribution for the local Somali community, and a volunteer orientation for new Meals on Wheels volunteers. My main role this summer will be to help with logistical planning of LifeCare Alliance’s 120th anniversary event, in addition to contributing posts to the blog.

In addition to event planning, I will be shadowing the many healthcare professionals who provide comprehensive services to clients of LifeCare Alliance. So far, I have observed a healthy eating class with a dietitian and a Meals on Wheels route. I am excited for the opportunity to continue shadowing and am thankful that my supervisor is coordinating these activities for me!

It did not take me long to understand the selfless, assured matriarchy that steers Muslim Family Services of Ohio. Tucked away in an unassuming building filled with chiropractic and dental offices, MFS is a bustling ground-story homebase for the wider Columbus community. With the month of Ramadan in full swing, I was swept into an organized chaos of interfaith understanding and unconditional generosity. My pre-determined role with MFS Ohio is to set up a comprehensive marketing platform across the organization’s various platforms. To this end, I was tasked with first understanding what were the day-to-day happenings at the office. This seemed easy enough, but rest assured – as a master of many trades, I can confidently say that no two days are the same at MFS Ohio. Welcoming refugees, newcomers, and asylum seekers as well as community members that seek various family support, every solution is tailored toward individual and collective needs. Yet, my advisor Nicol and social worker Christy were quick to welcome, discern, and rectify community needs.

Eager to learn and connect with our many clients, I open the main door that brings a new or familiar face to MFS. As-salāmu ʿalaykum sister. Initially hoping to take a backseat observant role, I realized this space asks for active involvement from every party that enters it. Soon enough, I was helping support an ESOL class for refugee and immigrant sisters, filing immigration papers for an aspiring baker and her kids, and shuttling food boxes out the door and into the hands of our clients.

As I recollect on what exactly MFS does, it’s hard to find the words. I realized the patience my fellow coworkers share in trying to provide families basic needs of survival. I’ve seen the fruits of this emotional resilience and applied practice with clients gleefully coming in, meeting my coworkers with embraces, and recounting the long day at work. Work that MFS helped secure for them. In a nation that struggles to move past issues of tolerance, MFS readily accepts this host of challenges to help those neglected, marginalized, and disadvantaged in our community. I’m humbled to be a part of this team, and gearing for another week of thinking on my feet.

Before this week, I had never been to the Columbus Foundation. I walked into the front doors on Monday with no idea what to expect for the summer because, like the Columbus Foundation, I had never been to my work site at The King Arts Complex either. Filled with anxiety about my own capabilities as someone who is only a few months over 20, I walked into my work site with the most artificial confidence that I could muster up.

It turns out, my confidence was more organic than I realized. The first conversation that I had was with my supervisor about the difficulty of running a program with a small staff that is relatively older in age. She talked about resources and reconfiguring numbers to make the budget work. She talked about challenges and changes. However, the most important thing she talked about was hope. Hope that creativity and care could get any job done. The last thing we discussed was the theme of the Summer Camp I would help coordinate: Black Superheros. After discussing the logistics of how it would run, my supervisor told me something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. She said, “We all have our own unique set of  superpowers, use them.” That was all I needed to hear to believe that there was a reason I was placed in this position. I was ready to get to work.

The rest of the week was filled with many tasks and responsibilities. I quickly learned that my presence was welcomed and trusted at The King Arts Complex. After only knowing the staff for a few hours, I was trusted to create programs and curriculum for the 8-week summer camp. I made calls to places I never knew existed and asked for opportunities that I never knew were available. I saw firsthand how passion could make miracles out of paper mache. I saw how a community could come together through art. I saw supervisors that resembled superheroes. I saw possibility. After all of these observations, I found my superpowers and I can’t wait to use them next week!

Meeting my fellow Summer Fellows on Monday was an intimidating experience for me. I felt as if everyone lived lives as if they are the most interesting persons in the world and that icebreaker activities turned into a space for listing out interests, accomplishments, and hobbies that expressed how well-rounded of people they are. I felt very shy in the midst of all this. I felt old, recurring feelings of self doubt throughout the orientation, and I kept asking myself, “Am I enough?”

My feelings of unease and worry disappeared when I met the entire staff at Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services (ETSS). Everyone there has shown me so much kindness and help as I have navigated understanding office life, the organization itself, and what I will be doing with ETSS this summer. I will be helping ETSS with their implementation of their Summer Enrichment Camps at eight sites in central Ohio, and I will be helping organize and coordinate their annual Youth Summit on August 3. The work I will be doing puts me in a position to work through challenges in creative ways, and I feel confident in doing this kind of work. I already feel as if I have been a help to several people, and I am happy that I feel comfortable with the organization and the work I will be doing.

Reflecting on this past week, the orientation, and work with ETSS, I feel as if I have learned that I am someone that prefers to showcase my talents, skills, and experiences through my actions and not necessarily through my words. I also see the need to put my experiences into words — how can someone trust me to do good work if I do not feel comfortable articulating to others what I have done in the past? I have always hoped that the passing of time would give me more confidence and insight to know what to say and the appropriate time to say it, but I think I need to put in the practice, as well.

Hi everyone!

Firstly, I want to express how excited I am for this summer opportunity. My first week at the Huck House has been incredible.

My name is Emily Long, and I recently graduated from Ohio State with my undergraduate degree in Public Management, Leadership, and Policy. This fall, I will be returning back to Ohio State for my masters in city and regional planning.  Over the past four years, I have fallen in love with Columbus. Through many opportunities, I have gotten to know the people who make the Columbus community so special.  These are passionate people who are driven to make our city the best it possibly can be. I am fortunate to have learned from so many inspiring leaders.

I love people. If you talk to my family, friends, coworkers, I am an extrovert. I am always interested in listening to everyone’s story. This is exactly why I am so excited about being at the Huckleberry House. For those of you who may not know, the Huck House is a 24/7 youth crisis shelter. I will be spending my summer helping to create an operations management plan for Project Safe Place. Safe Place helps youth in crisis get from where they are, to the Huck House.  If a youth in crisis goes to a designated Safe Place site, there will be people there to help transport the youth to safety.

Over this past week, I have been collecting information. Listening to stories. How do the youth get to Huck House? Do they feel safe? Where in the city are they coming from? All of this listening will help me build a better program. I want to plan with these children and not for them. The Huck House is filled with caring people who want the best for our children and our communities. I can’t wait to keep you all updated on Safe Place as our summer kicks off!

Hello!

My name is Michaela Master, I’ll be entering my fourth and final year at Ohio State in the fall to get my degree in Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability (EEDS), and a minor in City and Regional Planning. This is a multidisciplinary program in the School of Environment and Natural Resources that features economics, policy analysis, community development, business theory, and general systems thinking on environmental, economic, and social issues. Sustainability isn’t about making the world greener – it’s about understanding how our social systems fit within our ecological systems, and how to strengthen both for the wellbeing of all life on our plant.

For the next 10 weeks, I’ll be interning with Local Matters, a nonprofit whose mission is to create healthy communities through food education, access, and advocacy. This will result in a long-term goal of equitable access to a sustainable food system and a community free of food-related chronic disease. There are a TON of amazing programs that Local Matters oversees to make this vision a reality: engagement with people who are young, old, sick, healthy, well off, impoverished, you name it! Through Local Matters, people are empowered to eat healthily, affordably, and deliciously – thus nourishing the mind, body, and spirit. I’ve spent the majority of my week wrapping my head around all the ways that the organization touches the community through their wide variety of programming, which occurs mostly in Columbus as well as a few satellite locations throughout the region.

My main project while at Local Matters will consist of consolidating and optimizing their storage and organization of program evaluation data. This need is multifold: the grant writing process relies on this data to prove the impact of programs (and thus the need for further funding); the program coordinators need this data to continuously improve the execution of the curriculum, rather than solely reflecting after students graduate from the classes; and the organization leadership needs to have a better general idea of where the strengths and weaknesses of the programming are. I’m working to create a dashboard that will be used for all of these purposes, which will enhance the overall efficiency of the organization and thus allow more time and resources for serving the community.

Week 1 was all about keeping my eyes wide open and absorbing all that I could about Local Matters – I cannot wait to utilize this understanding through my work this summer and contribute to such an incredible organization!

Podcast link: https://soundcloud.com/user-110817248/tcf-blog-week-1/s-EraYY

Podcast transcript:

“Howdy howdy. Madeline’s the name, non-profit is the game.

Born in Phoenix, raised in Columbus– I claim the 614 as home. I attend the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati as an Electronic Media Major. In the fall I’ll be starting as a graduate student in the Master of Arts Education Program, still at UC. What am I going to do with my life, you ask? Good question. Let me know when you find out. Ha-ha. As of right now, I know that I am passionate about arts and media education, and I want to fight for solid arts education programs. I think you might be able to catch me in a couple years in Seattle working for a non-profit organization that works to bring arts programs to city schools. We’ll see.

Now that you know a little about my interests, let’s talk about my Columbus Foundation placement. *Intense movie trailer voice* TechCorps, whose vision is a technologically literate society in which all K-12 students have equal access to the technology skills, programs and resources that will enrich their education today and prepare them for college or career tomorrow.

So what does that mean in terms of action? Techcorps is all about integration into education. The goal is to bring additional technology resources to schools to students and teachers throughout the country.

What a whirlwind this week has been. My first day was ~also~ the first day of training for staff working our summer camps, which continued all week. So, what did this mean for me? I was completely thrown into one of the busiest office weeks of the summer, and I wouldn’t rather it have been any other way.

~Training~

I walked into a room full of bright eyed staff members mid-training, stood in the doorway for a minute, and promptly decided I was in probably in the wrong place. I walked around for a little bit, realized there was nowhere else the office could possibly be, and looked like an idiot coming back in the door. “Hi, I’m not sure where I’m supposed to be,” I asked the group. A woman answered, “are you Madeline?” I smiled. “You’re exactly where you need to be!”

And she was right. I feel right at home here already. I was immediately welcomed onto the staff and the transition was smooth. I was graciously welcomed onto the team and I continue to be reminded that I am important and of value in the organization. I am so excited to learn from my work here and make an impact on the future of TechCorps.

This week I got a taste of basically everything I’ll be doing this summer. Equal parts office work and fieldwork, but focusing on the latter. I was extremely excited when I was handed the office camera on Friday. I have my own equipment that I’ll take with me when I visit sites, but I was asked to take pictures in the office for the last day of the training. This is what I love to do, and I can’t wait to do it for an organization that does so much good for the community. Cheers!”

Starting to plan out social media campaigns!