Non-Profit

Earth Day celebration brings new life to Sawyer Point

By Newsroom

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April 12, 2011

Pack up your family and your used batteries for Cincinnati's celebration of the 41st Earth Day, Saturday, April 16, from noon until 5:30 pm at Sawyer Point downtown.The free event features live music and displays of everything from life in the river to an environmental puppet show. This year, the first 200 pounds of dry cell batteries and a limited number of laptops, digital cameras, cell phones and other electronics will be recycled for free. The Turkeys, Wild Carrot and Night Flyer will take the stage through the day, punctuating a series of presentations highlighting local conservation efforts. Exhibitors include Sunrock Farm and Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO)—Sunrock Farm brings animals to pet and ORSANCO brings its "Life Below the Water Line," 2,200-gallon aquarium filled with fish that live in the Ohio River. As in past years, Environmental Awards will go to outstanding citizens, businesses, students, government agencies and teachers. Do Good:• Be part of a giant living painting. Wear a black shirt to Earth Day and be a part of artist Daniel Dancer's vision for "Pick up America." • Buy stuff. Whether you want a t-shirt, a coffee mug or a notepad, the Greater Cincinnati Earth Coalition gives you a chance to show (or wear) your support.• Join the movement. Volunteer to help at Cincinnati's Earth Day.By Elissa Yancey

Latest in Non-Profit

Downtown’s VLT Academy builds impressive record of learning, achieving

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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April 12, 2011

Without a single television or radio ad, the Value Learning and Teaching Academy has made a big impression on hundreds of families in Greater Cincinnati. Since its founding in 2005, VLT Academy has offered extended hours and supportive programs for students from Cincinnati, West Chester, Fairfield and other neighborhoods.The charter school, located in five buildings in Over the Rhine, graduated its first class, 19 students, last spring. All of them are now in college.The graduates took nearly a half million dollars in scholarships to colleges including Wright State University, Miami University Ohio, the Ohio State University and Spelman College, according to Clyde Lee, the school's project manager. "We have 22 scheduled to graduate this year," Lee says. "All have been accepted to college. There are no dropouts."VLT Academy currently educates 875 kindergarten through 12th graders. School opens at 7:30 am and ends at 6 pm so parents who work downtown can drop their children off as they head into work and pick them up when their days are done.School founder and superintendent Valerie Lee spent decades as a teacher and administrator in the Cincinnati Public School System. She and her husband Clyde, a retired General Motors manager, lead 95 teachers and staff members across the multiple buildings. All teachers and all substitute teachers are certified. Clyde Lee oversees facilities management and events, working closely with neighboring businesses and landlords to maintain the architectural integrity of the school's buildings while providing for students' physical and educational needs. "We try to foster a family atmosphere," Lee says. "Our main focus is to have our children be college-bound."Lee speaks of his graduates with the tone of a proud father. He mentions one high-performing senior who has been accepted into and wooed by Princeton, Harvard, MIT and Notre Dame. He talks about providing food and new coats for many other students, and of five families currently experiencing homelessness. "We go the extra mile," he says. Part of that extra mile extends into homes of parents before their children enter the Academy, he says. The school plans to implement the First Teacher Program later this year in hopes of raising the youngest students' reading levels and increasing their opportunities for success.Do Good:• Make a virtual visit. • Follow VLT on Twitter. • Check out First Teacher resources.By Elissa Yancey

King Studio’s Reinvention Helps Build a Better Community

By Sean Rhiney

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General

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April 5, 2011

Inspired by the legacy of historic King Records, a unique community-based partnership between Evanston and Xavier University has big plans for a recording studio, interactive experience, and visual arts learning center that celebrates the record label's neighborhood ties and incorporates its groundbreaking innovation and soul.

New products highlight purpose and repurpose of Building Value

By Newsroom

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General

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April 5, 2011

Two handmade Adirondack chairs and a matching table cost just $325. Add a matching outdoor planter for $80. Sweeten the deal with the knowledge that all the materials used to create your cozy backyard getaway are recycled—and the workers who created them are all part of an innovative Easter Seals program called Building Ability.Through Building Ability, workers with severe disabilities learn woodworking skills as they build retail-ready merchandise from donated materials. "I see a lot of people who could use meaningful job training and meaningful work," says Tina McMahon Dyehouse, 44, of North Avondale. McMahon, who works as a hearing officer for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. She is also on the steering committee for the second annual Reuseapalooza, which happens Friday, April 8.She became involved after she attended the event's inaugural event at Building Value's retail location in Northside. Most of her volunteer efforts have focused on the Designers' Challenge, a new element of this year's fundraiser. In the Designer Challenge, 15 local designer's received $100 credit at the Building Value retail store to buy materials to create funky, and functional, entries. From coffee tables to fountains, Designer Challenge pieces will be judged, then auctioned, at Reuseapalooza. Building Value offers property owners and builders a wide range of new and used building materials for up to 75 percent less than retail prices. Similar donated materials allow workers with disabilities to get job training and become an integral part of the Building Ability program, where products for sale include chess sets, cornhole boards, picnic tables and kid-sized rockers.Do Good:• Enjoy the party. Buy a ticket by April 6 and pay just $15 for a night of entertainment at Reuseapalooza.• Give a gift. Looking for the perfect Earth Day gift? How about a $25 ink pen made from recycled wood? • Make a stand. Support additional funding for treatment and services for children with disabilities.By Elissa YanceyPhoto of last year's Reuseapalooza courtesy of Easter Seals

Entertaining YMCA honoree spreads smiles, songs

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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April 5, 2011

Whether he's serving lunch or singing a Temptations' classic tune to Drake Center patients, Joshua Pruitt, 20, rarely dwells on the challenges of his past as he seeks opportunities to make others smile. "I just love helping people," says Pruitt, a YMCA Character Award recipient who will graduate from Aiken College and Career High School this spring. "I love to make people feel good about themselves."Though he also works a full-time job at Kroger and will be a full-time high-school student until late May, Pruitt makes time to volunteer at Drake at least once a week. He's been doing it for more than a year, sharing his love of hip-hop and old-school Motown with elderly residents. His singing, and dancing, is a big hit with residents. "When I walk in the door they ask me if I'm performing," he says. His volunteer experience at Drake and Llanfair, along with a fondness for television medical dramas, led Pruitt to plan a future as a registered nurse. "It's really emotional to see somebody with a very hard condition," he says. "It's hard for them."Pruitt's quick laugh and easy smile attract the admiration of those with whom he works. He is one of 40 young honorees who will receive a YMCA Character Award this year during an April 11 celebration at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. He got involved with volunteering through a YMCA leadership program, where he started off coaching football and soccer. "I love to experience new things," he says. Pruitt learned early that life's challenges can be overwhelming. His father died before he was 10, and he credits his single mother as a great inspiration for his determination to succeed. Her belief in him and his abilities keeps him moving forward when he's tired and tempted to give up. But his father also plays an important role. "I think about my father and he would want me to do well," Pruitt says. "I just keep pushing." Do Good:• Be inspired. Attend the 2011 YMCA Character Award event April 11 and meet Joshua and 39 of his exceptional peers. Prices range from $10 for children to $25 for adults. • Become a member. YMCA membership rates for a family are just $150 per year, with monthly dues of less than $60. • Support double-dutch. Donate to the YMCA. Showing your support is just a few clicks away.By Elissa YanceyPhoto courtesy Joshua Pruitt

True Body stretches work across globe

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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March 29, 2011

Stacy Sims radiates energy and grace when she moves. And as founder and director of the non-profit True Body Project, she moves a lot.In its five years of existence, the TBP has produced a literary journal, a documentary film and five theatrical works, one in Los Angeles, one in New York and three in the TBP's home base, Cincinnati. There are no paid staff members; Sims' computer is her office."When I started out I had a strong belief in the notion that freedom comes in movement," says Sims, who turned 50 this year. Through movement, emotional self-examination and critical thinking about the body and body images, she has created a flexible curriculum that can be melded to fit a wide range of needs.TBP started as an intensive six-week summer session of ArtWorks, where 13 teen girls studied body, body image, gender and media as it relates to body. The project has morphed into day-long workshops, in-house workshops at children's hospital's psychiatric wards and even a week-long workshop with sex-trafficking survivors in Cambodia. Each project grows organically from partnerships with other non-profits, arts groups and individuals. All revolve around the theme of consciously connecting mind and body, influenced in no small part by Sims' background as founder and former owner of Pendleton Pilates. "We create a whole sense of self," she says.Sims' journey to Cambodia earlier this year helped kick off her year of dance—her personal way of celebrating her half-century mark and, she says, walking the talk. "I'm engaging in my own true body curriculum," she says. In XX, she worked with leaders from Transitions Global, an organization that works to help survivors of sex trafficking recapture the basic human rights of freedom and hope. The result was an inspiring beginning to a new year of growth for the TBP, which survives for the most part thanks to donations from "beautiful" supporters, Sims says. "We've really done an extraordinary amount of work on good will and good intentions, not a lot of money and infrastructure," Sims says. "It always blows me away."Do Good:• Find your authentic self. Join in the TBP at a morning workshop, Wed., April 6, from 9-11 a.m.• Find out about Transitions Global. Enjoy an evening of conversation with Sims and Transitions Global founder James Pond Thursday, April 14, at Lululemon. • Join the movement. Support the True Body Project.By Elissa YanceyPhoto courtesy of Stacy Sims

English true to service roots, at work and in song

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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March 29, 2011

When she was on her honeymoon in Paris, Melissa English made a pit stop for work, with her new husband's approval, of course. She had barely officially joined the staff of Ohio Citizen Action as the Southern Ohio campaign director, though she'd been involved with the advocacy non-profit for more than a decade. The OCA's ongoing Good Neighbor Campaign, an effort to work with business to improve the quality of life of the people in its community, was focused on a manganese refinery in Marietta, Ohio, Eramet. Eramet's international home base just happened to be in Paris. English, 42, laughs when she remembers the May 2007 day when she delivered documentation to Eramet. It only took about an hour out of the honeymoon, she says, and the resulting picture her husband took of her standing in front of Eramet's HQ serves as a reminder of how much her work and life goals align."I have an orientation for service that will never change," says English, who also sings in Magnolia Mountain, a roots music band working on its third album.Whether she's crooning original songs at the front of Magnolia Mountain at the CEAs, decrying the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining or presenting to community groups, the tall, dark-haired English brings her quick wit along. "I discovered my ham gene very early," she says. At OCA, she works with three other full-time staff members and a shifting number of canvasers that cover counties in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. They are the well-informed advocates who travel door-to-door, explaining specific campaign issues and asking for support in the form of funds or letters written to business and government leaders. "It's a very collaborative environment," she says. "We get feedback at the door every day."OCA's campaign in Marietta has led to new relationships between the community and the nearby plant. So far, the company has kept to agreements to make improvements to its facility that improve air quality and limit the release of nauseating fumes. "When you can see that the work you have done is making it easier for people to breathe, it's a real thing," she says.A stickler for evidence and accuracy, English is hard at work educating canvasers and the community about OCA's new campaign to promote recycling over an expansion of the Rumpke Landfill. Do Good: • Get some music. Order your copy of the compilation CD, Music for the Mountains, featuring work by Magnolia Mountain, The Tillers, Rabbit Hash String Band and many others. • Join the Action. Contribute to Ohio Citizen Action online. • Like Ohio Citizen Action. Keep up with the latest OCA news via Facebook. By Elissa Yancey Photo courtesy Ohio Citizen Action

Popular driver network offers freedom, independence to seniors

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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March 29, 2011

Nancy Schuster saw the painful confrontation first-hand. She watched her parents try to convince her grandmother to hand over her car keys. But in the end, it took an intervention by her family doctor to drive the point home. "She wouldn't listen to any of us," says Schuster, 46. "It gave me a much better appreciation for the challenges that are out there."When she learned of an opening to direct the new Independent Transportation Network of Greater Cincinnati, a program developed last year by the Deaconess Association's Foundation, she saw an important opportunity.The statistics are scary for every driver and any child with senior parents holding on tightly to their car keys as a path to freedom, independence and control of their lives. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that drivers 85 and over are nine times more likely to die behind the wheel as their counterparts aged 25 through 69.The ITN Greater Cincinnati serves seniors and people with visual impairments who live and travel within the I-275 loop. The process is as simple as it is powerful: riders join the network for a $75 annual fee, then pay a pick-up fee and a per-mileage rate to cover their transportation needs, which range from trips to the doctor to the grocery to the beauty parlor. The average cost for a round-trip service is about $10, depending on distance. "We offer all of our members door through door, arm through arm service," Schuster says.She is also a volunteer driver, and regularly takes a rider to the Sycamore Senior Center. While most trips are practical necessities, some are pure fun. One volunteer driver took a regular rider to a night out at Eddie Merlot's; December brought many Christmas shopping trips.Bonds develop quickly between drivers and riders. "It happens naturally," Schuster says. "Even when you are driving someone once or twice, you still form those relationships. We've become part of their families."Before the end of 2010, ITN Greater Cincinnati had given more than 1,000 rides with just a dozen drivers and fewer than 100 member riders. This year, demand has grown each month. "We've driven more than 30,000 miles," Schuster says. Volunteer drivers get more than good will in return for their efforts. They get automatic membership in the network, which they can donate to anyone they like. In one of the program's most innovative strategies, drivers can choose to be reimbursed directly for their mileage or bank their credits in their own Transportation Social Security Accounts. They can also give them to a friend or loved one, or to a rider in need. "You are doing a charitable act, but it's so much more," Schuster says.As the demand for rides continues to increase alongside gas prices, Schuster says the ITN Greater Cincinnati plans to be able to offer scholarships for low-income riders by this summer. Do Good: • Be a rider. Click to learn more about how to donate your services. • Make a donation. Click and make a tax-deductible donation to help seniors ride with pride. • Give a gift. Know someone who could benefit from ITN Greater Cincinnati's services? Gift a membership or sponsor regular visits to the mall. By Elissa Yancey Photo courtesy of ITN Greater Cincinnati

New scholarship honors Knippenberg’s inspiration

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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March 29, 2011

Jim Knippenberg knew how to capture his audiences' imagination.Many knew him for his pithy "Psst" columns in the Cincinnati Enquirer, his party-friendly demeanor and his warm embrace of all things wacky and wild in Cincinnati. Many others, though, students in his classes at the University of Cincinnati, knew him as a generous, thoughtful teacher, a gentle, funny guide into the world of feature writing. They looked forward to seeing him each week, and mourned his loss in 2009 at age 68.Knippenberg's resume is a classic Cincinnati history. He graduated from Elder High School and got two degrees from UC, an undergraduate one in English Literature and a Master's in Education. He started working at the Enquirer as a copy boy- yes, it was the 1960s- and came on staff full-time the same year he earned his Master's, 1971. He wrote stories about news, music, entertainment and more. His range was wide and inclusive. He was just as comfortable interviewing Yoko Ono as highlighting countless fundraisers throughout the region, always sure to point out a stunning dress or unexpected guest.Now, supporters and friends who want his memory to live on at UC have started the Jim Knippenberg UC Scholarship Fund as a way to support his alma mater. At a kickoff party Monday, April 4, at The Celestial Restaurant in Mt. Adams, hosts Nick and Nina Clooney will help launch the effort. Once the fund reaches $50,000, it can be used to award an annual $2,500 scholarship for a UC student. Do Good: • Go to the party. Tickets are available for the scholarship fund kick-off party Monday, April 4. • Take a timeless coaster tour. Refresh your memory of Knippenberg's writing when you read this great round-up from 2003. • Support the fund. Can't make it to the party? You can still make a tax-deductible gift. By Elissa Yancey Photo courtesy Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Boomerang Effect organizer wants more African-American voices in marketing

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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March 22, 2011

On March 12 a nearly 30-person strong Hip Hoppin' flash mob emerged at Newport-on- the-Levee. The unexpected and quickly choreographed three minute dance routine garnered attention, cheers and applause, but it was just a small part of a nationwide social media experiment.The dance gave a glimpse of Cincinnati's part of The Boomerang Effect II. It's a partnership of volunteer initiative SERVE 60™ and The Marcus Graham Project, which develops diverse talent in the advertising, media and marketing industry. The two national organizations came together for The Boomerang Effect II, a 60-hour mashup of networking, social media and community service.The Boomerang Effect takes its name from the early '90s movie Boomerang, where Eddie Murphy played an advertising executive. In that vein, among the aims of the weekend is to open the world of advertising and marketing to African-American and other minority professionals and students.This was the first year Cincinnati joined The Boomerang Effect; it was organized by local social media marketing entrepreneur Jeremy K. Smith. He quickly pulled the weekend together with help from a number of local resources. Eleven other cities participated including Detroit, New York, L.A., Miami and Milwaukee. Smith was formerly and sales and recruiting and has used social media for several years as part of his work. He recently started his own social media marketing company Authentic New Media. He believed the event was a good way to showcase a diverse crowd interested in social media and marketing. He estimates over 200 people participated over the weekend."I think it was fantastic. Coming into it, some people didn't think there would be support for something like it. That mainstream people wouldn't show up. But I was very pleased at how it played out. Everyone who decided to participate had fun," Smith said.It kicked off Friday night with a networking event at The Bowtie Café, opened by Bengals' player Dhani Jones. The mixer featured P&G Global Brand Manager Hamilton Brown and LebronJames.com Digital Media Manager Jay Bobo. Saturday was the flash mob event, with music provided by DJ Band Camp. Sunday the video was part of a Tweetathon, where the video with the most Tweets, views and likes was awarded $1,500 to support a nonprofit. Cincinnati didn't win, but the video has received more than 600 views.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Jeremy K Smith, president and CEO Authentic New MediaYou can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites