- United Way of Central Ohio

LIVING UNITED
2014, ISSUE IV
Engaging the Next Generation of Leaders
in the Work of United Way
With a population of 80 million, the
generation born between 1982 and
2000, commonly known as millennials,
is emerging as a group with a powerful
combination of great leadership
potential and new viewpoints on social
responsibility. By 2025, these young
professionals will make up as much
as 75% of the workforce. Research
indicates they value employers that
make serious efforts to engage and
retain them and prefer to work for
and patronize companies with strong
corporate social responsibility goals.
The potential of this generation to create
positive change is huge. They already
have an underlying service-oriented
attitude, and many are deeply involved
with improving their local communities.
United Way of Central Ohio has been
looking at ways to effectively connect
with young professionals as part of a
pilot group of United Ways from across
the country. We’ve learned a lot by
hearing directly from them about their
professional and service goals. They
are very community-minded and want
serious and meaningful volunteer and
philanthropic opportunities. They also
want professional networking events,
but ones that are primarily structured
around creating change, not just
mingling.
To help mobilize this generation of
caring, engaged young people, United
Way of Central Ohio has just launched
an affinity group called LINC – Lead,
Impact, Network, Change. We are one
of only nine United Ways across the
country to pilot this new group, and it
will roll out to 25 new markets in 2015
and nationally in 2016. The group is
directed by its members, led by the LINC
Leadership Committee and focused
on unique volunteering opportunities,
personal and professional development,
and helping to build a stronger, more
vibrant community.
Members of the LINC Leadership Committee gather to
plan strategies for United Way of Central Ohio’s newest
affinity group aimed at young people between the ages
of 22 and 30.
“I want to give back to Columbus, to
see it continue to improve, to build
up our community and make it the
best city in America.”
—Nora Gerber,
Learn more about LINC at liveunitedcentralohio.org,
#UWLINC or contact Diana Schrimpf at 614.227.8701 or
[email protected]. You can read more
about LINC’s launch event on page 6.
Upcoming Events
Toy Drive Drop-Off Day | December 3, 2014, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
United Way of Central Ohio
Holiday Party with a Purpose | December 11, 2014, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
State Auto Insurance Companies
Professional Speaker Series | January 28, 2015 | 5:30 to 7 p.m.
“Why I Turned Down Facebook”
Jeff Schumann, Director of Enterprise Collaboration, Social and Marketing, Nationwide
10 West Nationwide Boulevard
member, LINC Leadership Committee
Partner Organizations represented on the
LINC Leadership Committee
• AEP
• Deloitte
• OhioHealth
• Alliance Data
• DSW
• Print Syndicate
• Cardinal Health • EY
• City of Columbus • GBQ
• Columbia Gas
• Columbus
Chamber of
Commerce
• JPMorgan
Chase & Co.
• Simply Vague
• State Auto
• The Ohio State
University
• Mettler Toledo • Tween Brands
• Nationwide
• Wolfe Legal Services
President’s Update
This issue’s front page story looks at the
crucially important millennial generation
and outlines the steps your United Way
is taking to mobilize this group. The
centerpiece of our efforts is a new affinity
group, LINC. It stands for Lead, Impact,
Network, Change — and that is exactly
what its members want to do. Millennials
are already active in changing our
community and we hope that membership
in LINC will help them move to an even higher level of service.
The United Way movement has remained strong over the decades because
it is an effective way for people to transform their desire to help others into
concrete results. People of every generation want to make a difference, but
there is no universal way to inform and engage donors and volunteers in
our work. That’s why we are always exploring new ways we can reach out
to our community and inspire people to action.
One example is the unprecedented Unite to Fight Poverty media event. Our
Communications Cabinet, led by chair John Cardenas of WBNS 10TV, has
set December 2 as the date for the 2014 Unite to Fight Poverty media effort,
building on the phenomenal success of the 2013 event. You can read more
details about the event in the article on page 8. This event is one more
illustration of how your United Way is a national leader. It is a
great example of the spirit of collaboration that is so strong in our
community, and it would not be possible without the hard work of
so many volunteers.
I want to extend sincere thanks to the leaders of local television:
John Cardenas, Dan Bradley, Dan Mellon and our board member
Tom Rieland for coming together to make Unite to Fight Poverty
a reality for a second year in a row. I also want to thank
Communications Cabinet members Jean Nemeti of The Columbus
Dispatch, Tom Thon of Orange Barrel Media and Randy Hershoff
of Radio One, as well as 10TV executive producer Rochelle Young,
for their leadership and support.
I encourage everyone to tune in on December 2 to this unique
event and join the conversation online at #FightPovertyCbus.
Sincerely,
Janet E. Jackson
President and CEO
United Way of Central Ohio
Champion of Children Signature Event Focuses on “Boys of Color, Boys at Risk”
Featuring a Conversation with Pedro Noguera, PhD
Champion of Children welcomes education
expert and prolific author Pedro Noguera. He
is one of America’s most important voices
for healthy public education, focusing on the
ways in which schools are influenced by social
and economic conditions in urban settings.
He is an expert on school reform, diversity,
achievement gaps and issues confronting
African American and Latino boys.
At the Champion of Children Signature Event,
Dr. Noguera will have an on-stage conversation
with Ann Fisher, host of the radio program All
Sides on WOSU, focusing on the risks facing
boys of color and how our community can
improve their educational and life outcomes
and opportunities by:
• Creating engaging learning environments
that promote the development of
resilience and character, changing school
culture and demystifying school success.
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• Developing strategies to close achievement
and opportunity gaps and support student
success.
• Promoting strong relationships with
teachers, mentors, counselors, parents
and other positive role models.
• Recognizing the impact of social and
economic conditions and developing
holistic strategies and structures to
combat the effects of poverty and address
specific community needs.
If you are interested in a corporate or individual
sponsorship for Champion of Children’s yearround efforts please contact Elizabeth Trotman
at [email protected] or
614.227.8705.
Pedro Noguera, PhD, is the Peter L.
Agnew Professor of Education at New York
University and the Executive Director of
the Metropolitan Center for Research on
Equity and the Transformation of Schools.
Dr. Noguera also appears as a regular
commentator on CNN, MSNBC and National
Public Radio.
The Champion of Children Signature Event will take place at the Southern
Theatre on March 10, 2015. Registration for the event opens December 1, 2014. For more
information and to purchase tickets, go to liveunitedcentralohio.org/champion-of-children.
LIVING UNITED
In Depth: Revitalizing the South Side
Columbus’ South Side is a resilient and
important neighborhood with a rich history
that has declined significantly over the past
decades. United Way and a strong group
of partners are helping residents overcome
their challenges, restore pride and revitalize
the South Side so that it is once again as
vibrant and desirable a place to call home
as it once was.
United Way has partnered with key
stakeholders including Nationwide Children’s
Hospital, the City of Columbus, Community
Development for All People, The Columbus
Foundation, Donatos, The Crane Group,
MORPC, Habitat for Humanity, individual
champions, and many other organizations to
address these crucial issues. Together, we
are already achieving concrete results.
United Way’s support of the South Side dates
back decades. In fact, three quarters of our
180 funded programs served South Side
residents in 2013, and a quarter of them have
direct operations in the South Side. From food
pantries that meet basic needs, to preschool
and after-school programs that keep children
safe and advancing in school, to nutrition
education programs that help people manage
their health, these programs tackle critical
issues to improve people’s lives.
Our holistic approach to neighborhood
revitalization has helped the South Side move
forward in many interconnected areas.
The structure of United Way’s current work
in the South Side began in 2009, when
volunteers identified the Near South Side
as a priority neighborhood for United Wayfunded programs. The targeted area has
since expanded to include the neighborhoods
of the Southern Gateway Revitalization
Collaborative. This area has an estimated
population of 12,771 and is growing—in
fact, 10% of residents are under the age of 5.
The community has many challenges:
• Half of the households earn less than
$25,000 a year; a third earn less than
$15,000.
• An estimated 25% of the housing stock
is vacant.
• Only 91 slots of child care for school-age
children are available to serve more
than 1,300 children.
• Youth living in the neighborhood score
significantly lower on standardized tests
than the average for Columbus City
Schools.
• With United Way’s support, more than
400 homes have been constructed,
renovated or improved.
• $2 million in United Way investment
has leveraged more than $45 million in
additional housing investments.
• The number of vacant blighted houses
have been reduced by 50% in two
primary target areas.
Moving forward, United Way will continue to
work with our partners on the South Side on
these projects and many others. Examples
of new initiatives include The Southern
Gateway Career Outreach program, which
engages middle and high school students in
career-focused programming to help them
stay in school and focus on earning a high
school diploma, and the Parent Connection,
a parent engagement outreach program that
cultivates relationships with the parents
and families of children in neighborhood
youth programs, shares information about
neighborhood efforts, conducts assessments
of families’ needs, and links families with
helpful resources.
According to Community Development for All
People’s Reverend John Edgar, United Way’s
strategic investments in education, income
and health are helping create an “opportunity
rich” community on the South Side and
helping people build pathways out of poverty.
• With the support of United Way’s
Champion of Children, the Boys & Girls
Clubs of Columbus was able to open a
center with after-school programming
for middle and high school students.
Programming began at the end of March
and more than 100 youth have been
served. Currently, 40 teens participate in
programs at the center on a daily basis.
• Columbus Kids has provided nearly
3,000 Learning Checkups to South Side
preschoolers to help ensure they are
ready to be successful in kindergarten.
New and renovated homes are a clear sign
of revitalization on the South Side.
“United
Way’s
strategic
investments in education, income,
health and home are helping
create an ‘opportunity-rich’
community on the South Side.”
—Reverend John Edgar,
Community Development for All People
The Boys & Girls Clubs’ new center
provides a much-needed place for youth to
learn after school.
LIVEUNITEDCENTRALOHIO.ORG3
The Columbus Volunteer Challenge Continues a Legacy
of Service, Mobilizes More Than 5,000 Volunteers
The Columbus Volunteer Challenge mobilized 5,070 volunteers to work
on 252 projects over six days of service. The city-wide volunteer event
focused on lifting up and highlighting the importance of service to others.
Led in partnership by the City of Columbus, HandsOn Central Ohio and
United Way of Central Ohio, the 2014 Columbus Volunteer Challenge
united the efforts of more than 120 partner organizations to improve
lives and strengthen our community. Mini-grants totaling $23,500 were
awarded to 47 organizations, to help fund volunteer projects.
Volunteers served a total of 21,870 hours. The value of this volunteer
time to our community is $484,190. A wide variety of volunteer projects
were accomplished, including:
The key partners who came together to plan and organize the Challenge
are: HandsOn Central Ohio, Keep Columbus Beautiful, BESA, Columbus
City Schools, and The Ohio State University. The Columbus Volunteer
Challenge is generously sponsored by Kroger and Bob Evans and
Motorists Insurance Group.
---------------------------------------------------------------Online Extra:
---------------------------------------------------------------Read volunteer stories at columbusvolunteerchallenge.org
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• Building 10 community gardens
• Creating 70 fine motor skill kits for preschoolers
• Assembling 350 literacy kits
• Picking up 4,455 pounds of litter
The event kicked off on Saturday, September 6, in Weinland Park with
more than 100 volunteers participating in projects throughout the
area. Volunteers shared their pictures and stories on social media
using the hashtags #ChallengeAccepted and #CVC2014.
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LIVING UNITED
Columbus Volunteer Challenge
is generously sponsored by
LIVEUNITEDCENTRALOHIO.ORG5
LEADERSHIP
GIVING
PRIDE
COUNCIL
COMMUNITY
BUILDER
United Way of Central Ohio’s Leadership Giving groups offer the opportunity for donors to
learn more about how their contributions are helping improve lives in central Ohio, develop
meaningful service projects and network with other community and business leaders.
Linc Launch
LINC - United Way’s newest affinity group - was launched in style
at an event held at Strongwater in Franklinton on October 30. LINC
members and their guests enjoyed live music, had their pictures taken
in a photo booth (costumes optional) and got to know each other better.
LINC Leadership Committee members
Mercedeh Mortazavi, and Martin Jarmond
Guests combined Halloween and community service by preparing
educational Halloween-themed goodie bags for children in need. To
learn more about LINC, visit liveunitedcentralohio.org or contact Diana
Schrimpf at [email protected].
Tuanya Henderson, Jason Phillips, Angela Wiedl
and Kristin Youngmeyer
Volunteers prepare treat bags for
children in need.
YLG Honors Molly Glaser at Kick-Off Event
Dedicated YLG Co-Chair Molly Glaser received The Robert S. Crane Jr.
Young Philanthropist Award for outstanding service and generosity
at this year’s kick-off event on September 23. At the event, it was
announced that YLG raised more than $2.2 million in 2013, bringing
the group’s 22-year history of giving to a total of almost $50 million.
Guest speaker John Lowe, CEO of
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
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YLG Co-Chair Mary Auch was also recognized for her leadership of the
group. Guest speaker John Lowe, CEO of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams,
shared thoughts on the important role YLG played in his successful
career.
YLG members and guests enjoying the kickoff event.
United Way board member Mark Thompson,
Molly Glaser and Tanny Crane
LIVING UNITED
Congratulations to Our Project Diversity
and Pride Leadership Graduates!
Pride
United Way congratulates Project Diversity
Cycle 23 and Pride Leadership Cycle 7
graduates! These graduates join a growing
group of diverse leaders who are shaping our
community through nonprofit board service.
Thanks to Grange Insurance for its generous
sponsorship of these leadership programs.
One of the most important components of
the programs is the service project that each
cycle completes. The projects are designed to
be the culmination of everything participants
learn in the programs. They allow participants
to work on skills, competencies, and strengths
that are directly related to the criteria
companies use when promoting associates
and developing future leaders, including:
collaborative decision-making, coaching,
influencing, communication, planning,
risk-taking, team leadership, adaptability,
flexibility, dealing with ambiguity and trust.
Cycle participants must organize themselves
just as a board would in order to successfully
accomplish the project goal.
Leadership
Project Diversity Cycle 23 Service Project:
Community Kitchen
The Community Kitchen, Inc. provides a basic
safety net and emergency food service to
people living on the southeast and near north
side of Columbus. The goal of the service
project was to learn how the organization
can serve clients better by providing
a more welcoming and safe environment
for families. To do this, cycle participants
administered a survey to 200 clients and
provided a comprehensive summary of
results and recommendations designed to
help The Community Kitchen enhance the
important work it does for the community.
Recommendations were made that address
key concerns voiced by clients.
Project Diversity Cycle 23 graduates. Front row (from left): Kenton
Davis, Katherine Betts, Jeanette L. McKenzie, Felicia Minor, Jessica
A. Smith, Sandra Carrillo, Tijuana L. Sowell, Sheldon Clarke. Middle
row: Britney N. Williams-Ward, Jennifer Earley, Jeanette L. McKenzie,
Elizabeth J. (Beth) Owens, Chanelle Smith, Sheryl Owens, Kristie
M. Jenkins, Christina Ballenger. Back row: Brandi Crowley, Samuel
Siebu, Brian R. Wooten, Melissa R. Crum, Joel Nelson, Jesús Ovalle,
Sana B. Barrett, Marion Wright Gamble.
Pride Leadership Cycle 7 Service Project:
Family Pride Network
The goal of the service project was to create
the framework and initial funding for a new
organization that provides resources to LGBT
families that have adopted children or want
to adopt. The result was the creation of
Family Pride Network of Central Ohio which
aims to create a community that connects,
supports, and educates LGBTQ families. The
new organization held a successful launch
event on October 26, centered on the theme,
“Building and Nurturing LGBTQ Families.”
This symposium and social networking event
for prospective and existing parents focused
on on building, strengthening and protecting
LGBTQ families. More information is available
at familypridenetwork.org.
Pride Leadership Cycle 7 graduates. Front row (from left): Yolande
A. Berger, Adrian Neil - Hobson, Jr., Jake Bluvstein, Carl P. McCoy,
Tyler M. McDonald. Middle row: Chelsea Varnum, Joe Matessa, Akbar
Khan, Jennifer Arnold, Andrew Murphy. Back row: Duane McCoy,
Chris Groves, James Peter Olsen, Ryan Provost, Michael P. Guye.
---------------------------------------------------------------Online Extra:
---------------------------------------------------------------Learn more about Project Diversity and Pride Leadership
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LIVING UNITED
Unite to Fight Poverty on December 2
The second edition of the phenomenally successful Unite to Fight Poverty
media effort will take place on the evening of December 2, 2014. Once
again, local television stations will come together to produce stories of
people whose lives have been improved through the work of United Way.
These stories will air during newscasts throughout the day on December
2 and be featured in a special program that will be broadcast between 7
and 7:30 p.m. on all three local commercial stations (10 TV, NBC 4, and
ABC 6 / Fox 28).
In addition to building awareness about United Way’s work to help
people build pathways out of poverty, this year’s effort will feature callin pledging to phone banks and text-to-give capability (text “UNITE” to
41444). The 2013 event was the largest and most comprehensive media
effort in the United Way network, and 2014 will be even better.
Everyone can participate! Tune in on December 2 and join the
conversation on social media at #FightPovertyCbus.