Uptown

Uptown includes all the neighborhoods around the University of Cincinnati including Avondale, Clifton, Clifton Heights, Corryville, Fairview, Mt. Auburn and University Heights, so it's a diverse mix of students and residents in one of the city's most distinct and eclectic group of neighborhoods. Uptown is the home of the Cincinnati Zoo as well as multiple hospitals and the Ludlow shopping district where you can find trendy and unique shops as well as any scent of incense you need. Ethnic restaurants, including a curiously high concentration of Indian eateries, multiple taverns, coffee houses, music venues and the Esquire — one of Cincinnati's finest independent art house movie theaters all make Uptown a one-stop walkable bazaar of exciting entertainment options.

Talbert House and ESCC combine efforts to help nonprofits

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Diversity

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July 16, 2013

After a combined 120 weeks of courses geared toward nonprofit leadership and development, Talbert House and Executive Service Corps of Cincinnati have decided to join forces and combine their programs into one. Beginning in September, the two nonprofits will begin the Executive Curriculum for Emerging Leaders through the newly created Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Greater Cincinnati. “I think the fact that we were two organizations in similar spaces in the marketplace trying to do similar things as it relates to leadership education and development—it got to a point of is there a way for us to really work together on this?” says Andy McCreanor, executive director and CEO of ESCC. The goal is to offer services to other nonprofits—large or small—so they can gain the skills and education necessary to position their organizations for community-wide success. “The true value of The Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Greater Cincinnati will be shown by how well nonprofits perform in the community, whether you’re a nonprofit, someone receiving services from a nonprofit, a community investor or a corporate partner looking for a socially responsible way to impact the lives of people,” McCreanor says. “The Institute offers great potential for participants and partners to receive a solid return on their time and investment.” McCreanor says the most enjoyable part for him is graduation. It's a day when he gets the chance to hear class participants talk about their growth and increased expertise when it comes to successfully operating their nonprofit. And come May 2014, he says he hopes to hear of many more success stories. “The idea is that nonprofits would essentially see what we call a no-wrong-door approach to leadership education and development—that whether you’re a large or small nonprofit, that coming to the nonprofit leadership institute, you’d be able to find the subject matter, the program, the course that suits your needs,” McCreanor says. “Not all nonprofits are created equally, so the idea is that the institute would allow a nonprofit to find the program or development that is important to them.” Do Good: • Sign up for EXCEL by August 1 if you are a nonprofit interested in education and leadership development. • If you are interested in partnering with The Nonprofit Leadership Institute and the EXCEL program, contact Tom Monaco or Carol Leigh. • Like Talbert House and ESCC on Facebook. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Find the perfect fit at Mizti

By Newsroom

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Development News

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July 9, 2013

Mizti, the only women’s shoe store in Clifton, opened Oct. 30. The store offers women’s shoes and accessories, such as handbags, scarves, sarongs, jewelry, iPad holders and wallets. Although Mizti is small, owner Tabatha Adkins says her level of service is among the highest around. “Department stores and other places are more self-serve,” she says. “I offer an intimate setting and personal attention to my customers.” Mizti is open Tuesday-Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. While the shop is closed Mondays, Adkins will open for appointments that day. Adkins travels to trade shows in New York, Atlanta and Chicago to find the latest trends for her shop. Shoe prices average between $39 and $89—boots and booties range from $59 to $159. Adkins carries sizes 5 ½ to 11; this fall, she will stock more shoes in sizes 12 and 13, as well as wide calf boots. In a twist on traditional retail space, Adkins reserves 5 to 9 p.m. Saturdays for parties. And before the end of summer, she will start hosting Diva Parties, where a group of friends can come in and try on shoes. Hostesses and party guests will receive discounts on their purchases. “I want to be an outlet where women can come and buy shoes and accessories,” says Adkins. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter

Library teaches teens finance basics

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Diversity

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July 9, 2013

Graduating high school students of the class of 2014 will be the first group in Ohio that is required to learn financial literacy. “So many teens were graduating high school without basic knowledge of financial literacy, like avoiding high-interest credit cards—scams that are so present on college campuses,” says Jennifer Korn, TeenSpot manager at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. “And there have been a number of studies that say students who don’t have the basic knowledge are likely to end up in serious debt as very young adults and are unable to get ahead and unable to save money as they go into adulthood.” To fill that void and to encourage more teens to be conscious of their finances, the library is offering a series of workshops for teens between the ages of 12 and 18. The workshops will teach the students how to create a budget and open a savings account. Thanks to a grant from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation, PLCHC is one of just 14 public libraries nationwide to offer the workshop. “I think a majority of teens across the board don’t have a very good understanding of the importance of saving or of budgeting your money, so maybe they get an allowance or have a job or babysit, but it’s mostly for entertainment purposes,” Korn says. “But there’s not a lot of consideration for the future and the long term—that if you start saving your money now and that money starts to build, then in 15 or 20 years, you can be in a much better position than if you would not have started saving.” Korn says all the activities in the series are teen-focused and engaging, so students might be given a sample scenario where they have a set amount of money and want to go to the movies, but also need to consider the fact that their best friend’s birthday is coming up. “Anything that reinforces what they’re doing in an interactive or a social way,” Korn says. “The hope is that once they graduate high school and enter their postsecondary education or the real world, they feel confident, can handle their money and are savvy consumers and savvy savers.” Do Good: • Learn about the financial literacy workshops, and sign up to attend. • Keep up with teen programs at the library, and attend an upcoming event. • Like the PLCHC on Facebook. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

TL2 pairs teens with local businesses, teaches economics

By Newsroom

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Education + Learning

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July 9, 2013

Most high school students count down the days until summer vacation, but for those participating in the Economics Center’s summer program—Today’s Learners, Tomorrow’s Leaders—the countdown continues. TL2 students spent the first month of their summers back in the classroom as they took a microeconomics course and visited local businesses to earn both high school and college credit. Economics can be an abstract concept, says Daniel Barkley, University of Cincinnati adjunct professor and Economics on the Move founder. “When I was in undergrad, some of my professors would take us to buildings that were being worked on so you could see how they were being constructed, and I learned a lot that way, so I figured why not do it with economics?” he says. Rather than simply reading about economics in a textbook, Barkley says it’s important for his TL2 students to see the business side of things as opposed to the consumer side, which everyone is already familiar with. “A lot of companies will open their doors and show you—it doesn’t matter if it’s baseball or you’re making rubber seals—but it’s similar philosophies," he says. "And they’re at the age when it’ll sink in and do well." Students had the opportunity to experience the inner workings of a variety of places, including Great American Ball Park, Meridian Bioscience, CVG Airport and Sur-Seal—all of which offer different services but operate under similar principles. “I realized that a lot of these businesses are alike in so many different ways," says Mozika Maloba, who attends Walnut Hills High School and was a participant in this year’s TL2. "They have so many different things that connect them. At first, I think I neglected to see that, but it’s funny how you can connect CVG to the Reds' stadium or Meridian BioScience, and I think that’s one of the main things I learned. Economics is such a broad field that can connect to every business.” And like most cooperative learning opportunities, students have the chance to not only expand their knowledge, but also their social networks. “Along with the whole business prospect of it, you are actually getting a group of friends you can stay in contact with for a while, and they all have the same goals and ideas in their heads,” Maloba says. “And after three weeks, there’s so many correlations between you and the 26 others in the same room as you, so it’s really cool how you can befriend people and then later on, after this year, you can talk to them once again.” Do Good: • Learn about TL2, and if you're interested in the program, apply next year. • Support the Economics Center to help fund programs for students like TL2. • Like the Economics Center's page on Facebook. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

UC student designs for Kevin Durant

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Architecture + Design

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July 9, 2013

Kevin Hart, third-year product designer at the University of Cincinnati, shows off his design for a Kevin Durant shoe giveaway box. See the full design here.

UC makes Travel + Leisure “top beautiful college” list

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Architecture + Design

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June 25, 2013

A decades-long renewal topping $1 billion is paying dividends for Cincy, which has cultivated a strikingly modern look—and proven that “it doesn’t need ivy-covered brick walls” to be beautiful, as UC Magazine put it. Read the full story here.

Cincinnati teen joins JDRF to fund T1D research

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Education + Learning

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June 25, 2013

For most 13-year-old girls, vacations to the beach are sources of fun and relaxation, but for Abbey Keith, now 15, this was far from the case. “I felt absolutely terrible within the last couple days, so we went home early,” Keith says. “That morning I woke up at about 8:30, awaiting my doctor’s appointment my mom set up, but I felt absolutely awful. It was like that feeling right before you pass out—but all the time.” Keith says she doesn’t remember the car ride to the doctor, but when she woke up, she was in his office awaiting what would soon become a life-changing diagnosis. “He could smell—some people can smell diabetes," Keith says. "It’s a fruitiness on their breath, and he immediately called the ambulance. I had a blood sugar of almost 700.” The last thing Keith says she remembers was riding in the ambulance and seeing all the cars on the highway split, but after that, she was in a coma. “It was really—it was stressful because I could hear how scared my mom was in her voice,” Keith says. “I was in the ICU for three days, and it was stressful for my family, especially because my little sister couldn’t see me.” Keith now manages her Type I diabetes, but life is far from easy. She dances and plays field hockey, but not without struggling to fit her pod into her costume or stopping in the middle of practice because of blood sugar fluctuation. “I can’t imagine what it would be like without having to deal with—not having to keep my PDM Meter with me all the time—and not having to worry about it every second of every day and managing how I feel and stopping myself in the middle of practice whenever we’re working really hard,” Keith says. “I’m one to always push and go, and when I have to stop and take care of myself and watch everyone else work their butts off, it makes me really—it makes me sad that I can’t do that anymore.” More than anything, Keith says she wants to do everything she can to help make sure others don’t have to go through what she does on a day-to-day basis. Next month, she’ll join the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Children’s Congress in Washington, D.C., to share her story and try to urge Congress to increase support for diabetes research. “It’d be nice to not have to wear a pump anymore," Keith says. "It’d be nice that my family doesn’t have to worry about me. It’d be nice that I don’t have to explain why everything happens the way it does to all my friends—make my boyfriend less worried about me all the time. If there was more funding, and we were closer to getting a cure, I feel like we’d have so much more hope for becoming normal again, which I would like because I’d love to get rid of this. My mom has told me a million times—she’s like, ‘You could have mine,’ but it doesn’t work like that. It’s just one burden that I wish I did not have—that I didn’t have to worry everyone around me.” Do Good: • If you know anyone with diabetes, provide them with support. • Get involved with JDRF Advocacy. • Support the JDRF by donating. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Fuel the Fire funds social impact projects, betters communities

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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June 25, 2013

Young professionals are full of ideas, but turning ideas into fruitful startups takes funding, which is not always easy to come by—especially for recent college graduates. “We have a lot of talent in Cincinnati, and we don’t want that talent to leave this city," says Tangela Edwards, communications chair for FUEL Cincinnati. "We want to keep it here." FUEL Cincinnati, which is a division of Give Back Cincinnati, is a local micro-grant funder that provides philanthropic entrepreneurs with the ways and means to kick-start an idea that will impact our city for the better. The nonprofit funds projects year-round, but its second annual fundraising event, Fuel the Fire, takes place June 27. That event enables five projects to not only have the opportunity to receive funding, but also to gain recognition and exposure so that other interested individuals become aware of their concepts. “Major donors might not want to give initially—they want to see how well you do,” Edwards says. “And sometimes that takes a small amount of money to help a startup get off the ground. Our main focus is to give awareness to five groups—they’ll be able to fundraise outside of this—but this is one thing we’re able to do for them.” At the event, participants will present their ideas, and the public will vote on its favorite project. This year’s entries span a wide range of concepts, and cover everything from indoor composting, bike sharing, leadership and training for adolescent males, edible landscaping, and even a series of pop-up biergartens in the intersections of five alleyways in Walnut Hills. “Community building, education, environment, diversity—the idea is that if they can fit into any of those categories, we want to hear from them,” Edwards says. “If someone has a great idea that they feel will impact Cincinnati in a positive way but they don’t have the funding or need additional ideas and support, then that’s what we’re here for.” Do Good: • Purchase a ticket to attend Fuel the Fire. • Support FUEL Cincinnati by donating. • Spread the word about FUEL, and if you have an idea, apply for funding. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Endangered rhino born via artificial insemination

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Cincy In The News

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June 25, 2013

Born at Alabama’s Montgomery Zoo on June 5, Ethan is the first endangered Indian rhino calf to live and thrive as a result of artificial insemination. The birth was a collaboration between the Montgomery Zoo and the Cincinnati Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife, where Dr. Monica Stoops, a reproductive physiologist, pioneered the technique. Read the full story here.

Clovernook campers explore community, depth of art

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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June 18, 2013

For children at the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Discovery Youth Summer Day Camps allow them to further their own skills and knowledge while also bettering the community. From technology and art activities to life skills and neighborhood involvement, campers can engage their senses while tapping into areas that they might not have otherwise had the opportunity to explore. Participants at art camp, which ended this past week, have no vision, limited vision or are losing their vision. They created pieces that sparked dialogue about what it means to be part of a larger community. One project involved the campers creating wind chimes made of cat and dog clay cutouts. The kids then donated them to the SPCA of Cincinnati to sell. “They enjoyed it, but it was very sad,” Art Instructor Scott Wallace says of the children’s visit to the SPCA. “It gave me an opportunity to go into this whole thing about art in terms of how some of the greatest art is not the world’s prettiest, and some art talks about issues and things that are going on and some things that are not great, so it gave us the chance to talk about what’s important.” Campers also worked together to create a colorful heart made from recycled bottle caps—which can be dangerous if left as trash—as a statement about healthy communities. “What’s happening is—wild birds are eating them—and they can’t digest them,” Wallace says. “So it’s killing them. It’s so much about recycling. You can take the most insignificant material and make great art.” Two of the children who worked to create the bottle piece project are totally blind, but by working together with other campers, they were able to create a beautiful display. It's what Wallace enjoys the most because he’s not so much an instructor as he is a facilitator. “For people who have never had vision—their approach is totally different—because they have a certain way of working and a certain level of expectation for their work, and they’re completely cool with it,” Wallace says. “The blind community and the people who’ve never had vision are fine. I think they get tired of us trying to instill our beliefs, but what I like to do is make the best of the vision they have left. And I just sit back and let them do their thing, but it really shows what community can do.” Do Good: • Like the Clovernook Center on Facebook, and keep an eye out for photos of campers' art work. • Support the Clovernook Center by donating. • Get invovled by volunteering. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.