Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

Hello everyone! My name is Courtney Fulton and this summer I am interning with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio. I will be working with the communications team to improve communication efforts for the Vehicle Donation Program, which is one of many fundraising channels that allows families to stay close to their children while they receive care at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and other area hospitals.

I will be a senior at The Ohio State University this fall majoring in Agricultural Communications and minoring in International Development and Production Agriculture. I am passionate about community development and I hope to pursue a career in community development through a non-profit organization and/or extension education.

It has been a busy but exciting first week at Ronald McDonald House! This week I had the opportunity to shadow staff members in many different departments and participate in a wide variety of experiences that have allowed me to learn more about the RMHC mission and how the organization functions. Through these shadowing experiences, my eyes were opened to the magnitude of the volunteer effort here. Big events, house amenities, meal preparation, room cleaning, and day to day tasks are all influenced largely by a massive group of volunteers and corporate and individual donors who are passionate about giving back to families in need.

The Ronald McDonald House in Columbus is the largest in the world, with the ability to accommodate up to 137 families, and is complete with a “tree house”, Lego room, princess room, movie theater, library, workout room, crafting center, prayer area, several grills, rooftop meeting/hangout space, backyard, splash pad, and tons of additional play/lounge areas-all of which is made possible thanks to the immense support of donors and volunteers. The amount of support that RMHC receives from the community is incredible.

I was able to observe the daily tasks of the Family Service Manager staff, take a tour of the house, and briefly interact with staff members in Facilities, Events, and Volunteer Management to learn more about their roles this week. In addition, I spent a lot of time with members of the communications team and was able to dive right into my major projects for the summer regarding the Vehicle Donation Program. I am currently in the process of creating an organizational system for previous VDP promotional materials and analyzing RMH’s program in comparison to similar programs, as well as learning how the VDP program fits into the larger mission of the organization. All of these tasks are in preparation for coming up with a communications plan full of new and creative ideas to improve the program later this summer!

Finally, on Friday I had the opportunity to assist with “Deloitte Day”, an annual large scale volunteer event when approximately 150 volunteers from the Deloitte & Touche Company come to complete various service projects at the House. It was amazing to see how much the volunteers were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time and very interesting to see the behind the scenes planning that goes into hosting such a large event! I learned so much this week and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer holds!

-Courtney

Today, my supervisor took me out to a “working lunch” at Black Creek Bistro, located in Olde Towne East. During our conversation, I commented on how business-like I realized non-profits ran since starting my fellowship at Central Community House (CCH). “We sell making you feel good about your community,” my supervisor joked at a working lunch at Black Creek Bistro located in Olde Towne East. “We ‘sell’ resources, keeping children off the street, making neighborhoods safer. Imagine telling the Columbus Foundation that”, she laughed. I laughed, too. It was funny. People often think of non-profit organizations and for-profit corporations as existing in a strict binary when they actually behave very similarly, yet have different end goals.

Although witty, her words possessed truth. My fellowship site, Central Community House (CCH), is largely funded by grants which requires a business mode of thinking when competing for money and when strategizing the most impactful way to spend it. My fellowship this summer is the first time I have ever been on the developmental (business) side of non-profits and it is fascinating.

For the most part, because our fundraising and grant writing centers on strengthening and expanding our community programs, I have no apprehensions about the work I do. However, at other times in my work, I have realized how careful I must be as a person working in the non-profit industry to not compromise the organization’s values for funding.

This is apparent in the fundraising event I am planning for July. Without revealing too much information about the event, the goal is to mostly engage (and of course receive donations from) the “newer” Olde Towne East residents. The aim is to persuade them to invest in CCH because it is an investment in their community.

It is important that we reach out to these residents through our fundraising because of the vast resources they have. At the same time, we are very cognizant of the delicate fact that the influx of some of these newer residents perpetuates the very issues of poverty that the community we serve faces. These richer and often White families move into this poor, Black neighborhood and property taxes go up, houses are bought out, police are called on more frequently, expensive historic preservation regulations are put into place, and so on and so forth.

In fact, I had not realized until recently how my own life had been affected by this gentrification. When I was very young, my mother and I lived in a house in Olde Towne East on Franklin Avenue and 22nd. Around the age of 4, I remember us moving to another part of the city, but I never knew why we moved until I had a recent conversation with my mom about what CCH was witnessing in Olde Towne East. When I was a toddler, way back in 1998, our landlord sold our home (while we were still living in it!) to a White and more wealthy family. After learning this, I actually had flashbacks of White strangers coming into our home and surveying it. So, engaging with this same population of residents, twenty years later, about how they can better invest in Olde Towne East and their less wealthy neighbors, truly brings things full circle for me.

My goal through this fundraiser is to not just earn money for CCH, but create a genuine and sustainable relationship with the newer Olde Towne East residents where they can continue to use their different privileges to promote the well-being of their neighbors. How I am going to do that? I have not completely sorted that out yet. But, I have about a month to do so!

By the way, my name is Victoria Efetevbia. I am a recent graduate of Georgetown University where I graduated with a degree in sociology and African American studies. I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio and am thrilled to work at Central Community House this summer and share my experiences with you all!

Hello! My name is Caroline Corona, and I am so excited to be serving as Homeport’s summer fellow. I am heading into my third year at Ohio State with a double major in Public Affairs and City and Regional Planning.

My project for the summer is to conduct an analysis on the impact that the Columbus Foundation’s Gifts of Kindness Fund has on preventing evictions for Homeport’s residents. The purpose of the Gifts of Kindness Fund is to provide emergency assistance to families who have experienced a sudden loss of income that makes it difficult to pay rent, utilities, transportation costs, or other necessities. Assistance comes in the form of a one-time grant, and is given to individuals or families that utilize the services of one of the program’s partner non-profits. As one of these partners, Homeport has assisted residents in receiving Gifts of Kindness grants; preventing many evictions and keeping families in stable homes during times of hardship. I will be working with Homeport to evaluate how successful Gifts of Kindness is and whether recipients remain in a stable home after the experienced hardship.

In my first week here, I’ve learned so much about the housing crisis and Homeport’s work to provide affordable housing. I had the opportunity to visit two of Homeport’s communities: American Addition and Elim Manor.

Realtor Care Day brought realtors from across Columbus to many different service sites, Homeport’s American Addition community being one of them.

American Addition is a historic community that was settled as a home for migrant and minority workers in the early 1900’s, and didn’t have city water or sewer service until decades later. I spent the day at American Addition helping with a volunteer event for Columbus Realtor Care Day. I gained a new perspective by being on the non-profit’s side of the event—I’ve helped to plan similar service events for students, but had never experienced being on the other side. The volunteers were a huge help in beautifying the Tray Lee Community Center and surrounding area, and I learned more about how a non-profit coordinates and plans volunteer events.

One of the new single-family homes that Homeport built in American Addition. They plan to have nine completed this year.

At Elim Manor, I saw another one of Homeport’s many programs—Summer Feeding. During the school year, students receive a meal at school nearly every day, but that guaranteed meal disappears when school is no longer in session. Homeport fills that gap by continuing to provide lunches to kids in the summer.

I also had the opportunity to attend Community Shelter Board’s fundraising event, where the author of Evicted, Matthew Desmond, spoke about the tragic impacts that evictions have on families and neighborhoods across the United States. I am currently reading the book, and it was a powerful experience to hear about Dr. Desmond’s work first hand. Evictions have detrimental effects on families, and I hope to learn more about how to prevent them and how to assist families in finding affordable, stable housing.

Dr. Matthew Desmond delivered a powerful message on how we must look to adopt housing-first strategies and policies to alleviate poverty.

This week served mostly as an introduction to Homeport and it’s work to alleviate the growing housing crisis in Columbus. I’ve learned so much in these first few days, and am excited for everything else I will learn and experience in the upcoming weeks. I can’t wait to get started on the project and learn about the impact that Homeport has.

On to week two!

-Caroline Corona

Happy Friday! My name is Kelsie Fields, and I am thrilled to be a part of the Summer Fellowship program at The Columbus Foundation! For the next ten weeks, I will be working with the Westerville Symphony at Otterbein University on fundraising, event planning, and design projects. Most importantly, I will be planning the Beat Beethoven 5k! Do you think you could run a 5k faster than Beethoven’s 5th Symphony? Come join us as we race through the streets of charming Westerville with this classic yet epic symphonic piece pushing us along! (More details to come-stay tuned!)

So what IS the Westerville Symphony?

I’m so glad you asked! The Westerville Symphony is a local symphony orchestra that brings together over 80 professional musicians, semi-professional musicians, and students at Otterbein University to perform for the community. In addition to the many orchestral performances throughout the year, however, we also create other events designed to inspire new audiences to engage with classical music in new and exciting ways. I love this approach because it is so important to create bridges for your audience, especially when working within a niche such as orchestral music. My constant thought for this summer will be:

“How can I create new opportunities for people to connect with the symphony in meaningful ways?”

Otterbein University

It’s the exact same reason Hamilton is so successful–Lin-Manuel Miranda effectively created a bridge (and more than one, in fact) for non-typical patrons to engage with both music and history in a way that was meaningful to them. And that’s exactly what we’re trying to do here at the Westerville Symphony.

We host our summer concerts at the Alum Creek Amphitheater!

Each day during these ten weeks will be unique, and that is one of the many reasons why I enjoy every minute of working in the nonprofit sector. There’s so much to do, so little time, and so many passionate people with incredible goals for our community working their butts off to make a difference–and that’s why nonprofits work: when passionate people come together and believe in our community, positive change is inevitable.

I look forward to sharing my adventures this summer with you all, anonymous readers! I hope you enjoy learning about the amazing nonprofits in Columbus and are inspired by the causes and projects. And don’t forget that you live in one of the most amazing cities in the world!

Thanks for reading!
Kelsie Fields

Hi there! My name is Tori Baron and I am the Conservation and Outreach Fellow for the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. If you have never heard or visited the Audubon Center, drop what you are doing now and come visit because it is hands down the most beautiful place in Columbus. Smack dab in the middle of the city sits an oasis of wetlands and grassy fields that yield native plants of all colors, sizes and smells and attract birds, butterflies, and honeybees. Originally an impound lot and industrial park, the center, built in 2009, embraces the juxtaposition that exists between natural and urban landscapes. I could spend the rest of this post talking about the functional aesthetics of the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, but I truly encourage you to experience this beautiful space for yourself.

On my first day, I was given a list of focuses for this fellowship but also told that no two days would be the same and to be up for everything. There is never a dull moment when surrounded by this much urban and wildlife! One of my main goals this summer is to get the word out about the Grange Insurance Audubon Center and all of the programs it offers. This shouldn’t be too difficult for me because I swoon over my summer workplace in everyday conversation because it really is my favorite space in Columbus. My first project is setting up a Snapchat so go follow @grange_audubon!

In addition to turtles, frogs, (lots of) birds, squirrels, whistlepigs, and butterflies, I have had the privilege of hanging out with and photographing some amazing preschoolers this week who were here for the Audubon Adventure Camp. I loved capturing their sweet faces as they were captivated by the natural world that they might not get to see every day around their homes.  The environment is wonderful for the basic functions it serves such as clean air and water, but my favorite thing about nature is when people (especially young ones) connect with something as simple as a daisy or a Cardinal and it lights up their world, even if just for a moment.

I am so thankful for the Columbus Foundation for providing me with this fellowship and that I get to wake up every day excited to work with some pretty amazing and dedicated individuals. It is so clear that everyone from the Executive Director  to daily volunteers at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center is working towards the mission of preserving and connecting people to the natural environment.  I’m also super excited to get to know the other fellows and hear all about their experiences with their nonprofits, we’ve got a great group of big hearts for Columbus!

Peace and trees,

Tori

Hello! My name is Quinn Lentz and this summer I’ll be completing a fellowship with the Hoover YMCA Park. I just graduated from The Ohio State University this May with a degree in Economics and minors in Spanish and Nonprofit Studies. I’m thrilled to begin this fellowship and thus far have been welcomed to the Hoover Y by an incredibly friendly and warm staff, which includes a rambunctious Australian Shepherd puppy that patrols the garden alongside our garden manager.  

Milo, our garden mascot

This summer I’ll be responsible for bringing more attention to the learning garden located here at the Hoover Y Park through social media, community events centered around gardening and food, and volunteer coordination. I’m also working on developing educational materials for the YMCA campers who visit us to learn about growing healthy food. These materials will explore the importance of growing food locally and organically and will take the campers through a hands on gardening experience.

The hoop house

Though in past years the Hoover Y has run a community supported agriculture program (in which subscriptions are sold and subscribers receive fresh produce each week), this year, garden produce will instead be donated to local organizations fighting hunger. Included in these donations will be a recipe card and short newsletter that I put together each week to keep the community updated on garden activities.

The one acre learning garden

Beyond the garden, I’ll be documenting the many events that take place on the Hoover Y grounds, including weddings and graduation parties. These photos will also be shared on our social media sites to help promote our rental facilities.

My passion for food and food justice brought me to community gardening in Columbus about a year and a half ago. It’s exciting and encouraging to be always surrounded by people who share my passion and want to make positive change, and the Hoover YMCA Park is no exception to this. I’m looking forward to bringing my experiences to the Hoover Y and helping the learning garden here grow.

My desk at CRIS

Hello! My name is Katy Nash and I am working at the Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) for my Fellowship.  I’m so grateful for the wonderful opportunity to help welcome people to this amazing country!

My job at CRIS is to create a resource library for the website (crisohio.org) and develop a new cultural competency training for people in the central Ohio area to learn more about the refugees and immigrant populations we serve.

This week has been a whirlwind, but I’ve loved every minute of it.  On Monday, I was able to meet the other Summer Fellows at our first Learning Session at the Columbus Foundation, and WOW! I am in good company.  Everyone seemed incredibly hardworking and passionate about their causes, which is so inspiring.

Me and the other Columbus Foundation Summer Fellows

I’m jumping headfirst into my task with researching the various refugee communities we have as our neighbors and it’s been incredible.  I am learning about various conflicts around the world that I had never heard about from my little bubble in Columbus, Ohio.  Many of our refugee clients have experienced terrible things in the countries they come from and I’m so happy we can offer them a safe place to live in the United States of America.  We are a country founded by immigrants, so what better place for these families to make a fresh start?

A classroom at CRIS where cultural orientations are held

So far this week I have sat in on one cultural orientation for Bhutanese-Nepali refugees that recently arrived in the United States.  I also watched a presentation for two different groups of residents wanting to learn more about the refugee communities. The two types of presentations were very different because Americans learning about refugees need to learn basics of immigration, such as the difference between a refugee and an immigrant (there is an important difference!!) and newcomers to the United States need to learn basics of American culture, such as calling “911” for emergencies, going to check-ups at the doctor, and how to gain employment in this unfamiliar country.

Terminal at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH)

Today, I had the opportunity to help welcome a new refugee family to Columbus (and the United States) at the airport. CRIS is a resettlement agency that helps refugees acclimate to Columbus once they arrive and part of a CRIS caseworker’s responsibility is to greet the new families.  The family came from Eritrea and spoke almost no English, so I was glad that we could be there to help them find their bags, etc.  We also had a translator with us, which was very helpful.  CRIS also helps the new families find an apartment to live in, but the family’s apartment was not ready yet so we took them to a hotel to stay for the night.  The family was very kind and warm to me and the other CRIS employees even though we were unable to speak to them.

I’ve learned so much in a few days, I can only imagine what I will know at the end of the summer.  One week down, nine to go!

-Katy

Today is the last day for early packet pick up here at Equitas Health and the office is buzzing. Well the development and marketing departments are. Busy putting last minute details together. I will be going out later to collect the in-kind donations I secured for the project and get snacks and water for our volunteers and racers. To be honest I am very impressed with how little we have to do today. Don’t get me wrong, there is much to be done, but it just goes to show that if everything is paced out well there is less need to panic the day before. Come tomorrow morning at 7am when we are setting up…I might tell a different story.

It has been great to see the culmination of everyone’s hard work on this project. For me especially as I have seen my project go from just an idea to a fully funded/sponsored addition to this event. I could not have done it without Heather and everyone here, they offered so much advice and help. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings, what people think about the idea and to see what it can do long term. As this is the inaugural year it has been a lot of trouble-shooting. I am hoping to stick around Equitas Health for at least a couple more weeks post-walk to help transition and close out all the details of this event. Shortly after the walk we turn our attention to our next events and assisting our other cities (Dayton and Toledo) put on their walks each a week after the other.

Finishing up this fellowship I would like to reflect a bit on my whole time here. I have learned so much and it has reaffirmed my desire to get involved with this field. I owe everyone I have worked with a huge debt of gratitude for pushing me and allowing me to enter their workspace and try out new ideas.

Over the past month working at Mid-Ohio Foodbank, I’ve had several new and exciting learning opportunities, aside from my primary project. I am lucky enough to be supervised by the Foodbank’s grants manager. Through my coursework and field experience, I have learned about the importance of grants as a reliable and consistent funding source and therefore have always wanted to gain experience and exposure to grants. Grant writing and grant management are extremely valuable skills to obtain as an aspiring nonprofit professional, and I have practiced these skills by assisting with the preparation of grant proposals and grant reports. I have also learned about the commonalities and diversity among grant requests for proposal. These differences and similarities are oftentimes a manifestation of the grant type, whether it is a federal, state, or local government grant, a corporation grant, or a foundation grant. Mid-Ohio Foodbank has a variety of funding sources, and as a result there has been a great variation in my learning opportunities.

I have also recently been involved in Operation Feed, the Foodbank’s annual community-wide drive. Each year we join forces with over 100 local businesses, schools, civic groups, and individuals to raise critically needed resources. These local organizations hold internal fundraising events events, such as trivia contests, mini golf tournaments, lip sync battles and more to raise funds as an organization. These funds then come to Mid-Ohio Foodbank and provide millions of meals to our hungry neighbors. These events not only bring employees of these organizations together to achieve a common goal, but they do so in an engaging and fun way and create a large impact on the community. The drive runs from March until June.

With 3 weeks left of the Fellowship, I am starting to wrap everything up and finish my project. In my next post I will reflect on lessons learned and what I gained from this experience.

Until then,

Caroline

On Monday, February 27th, Children’s Hunger Alliance 22nd Annual Menu of Hope luncheon took place.  This is the biggest annual fundraiser that Children’s Hunger Alliance organizes to gain the majority of funds needed to feed Ohio’s children, and assisting with its planning was my main purpose as a fellow.  After months of learning exactly what the fundraising and development team does, it was amazing to see firsthand how all of their hard work paid off.  Without this experience, I would not have learned what makes up the hours of hard work needed for obtaining support and donors, guest confirmations, script writing, table organization, etc.  On Sunday night, I joined the team at the Hyatt to set up the event, and the significance of the event sunk in once I saw around 90 tables set up in a ballroom and the stage in place.  I am grateful that I have learned about this field from a team of people that take their job very seriously.  On the day of the event, I spent some time going around to each seat at each table to make sure that each place setting looked perfect, and that each guest would feel welcomed.

As someone who often thinks about things in a “big picture” way, this experience of being a fellow has really challenged me to look at the details.  This was clear after seeing time and time again how one email to one person can make a huge difference in the success of the agency and the lives of the children they serve.  When working with donors or guests prior, during, or even after the event, making sure each individual feels valued and that they have a positive experience can lead to enormous gains for an organization.  While working on press releases or the new website, the focus is clearly on reaching the masses. Getting out the basic information about why Children’s Hunger Alliance is important and the great number of children they are able to feed to as many people as possible is essential.  Other times, such as in personal conversation or events in the area, I have learned how important it is to be a steward of the work you are promoting. I underestimated the power of a specific story about one child and how their life has been directly impacted by the program, and how that story can touch one donor in a very powerful way.

At the event, John Quinones told the story of his own struggles growing up not always knowing where his next meal would come from.  He talked about the resources and opportunities that got him to where he is today, recognizing that his situation and his success does not happen for most kids struggling with insecurity today.  Mr. Quinones also talked about his show, “What Would You Do”, and I had a moment of personal reflection on how I can be more intentional about the things I do in my life.  Working at Children’s Hunger Alliance has really helped me learn more about how huge of an issue that food insecurity and food access is for children in Ohio, and how damaging those limits can be on their development and life success.  I have also learned how affordable it is to feed a child, and how I can contribute to that effort myself, and encourage those around me to follow.  Even after my experience as a fellow ends, I will continue to think about CHA and how I can contribute to the efforts to feed Ohio’s children.  The phrase, “If a hunger child asked you for food, what would you do?” is not going to get out of my head any time soon.

Emily Bango