Philanthropy – volunteers and nonprofits
Celebrating ArtWorks
“ArtWorks taught me to do what you love and love what you do,” these are some of the words we heard as we sat in a filled ballroom – all 1100 of us – when we gathered to celebrate the lives and neighborhoods that are positively impacted by one of our region’s true gems, ArtWorks. 
How lucky we are to have such an amazing nonprofit organization in Cincinnati that is using creativity as the backdrop for building more inviting communities and for growing young, impressionable minds in life changing ways.
If you are unfamiliar with ArtWorks, you more than likely know of their work. It is hard to miss. By this summer’s end, over 135 larger-than-life murals will decorate 37 of our neighborhoods. And each one being a project built by young, creative and untapped youth – apprentices – working side by side a professional artist. Together they practice problem solving, team work, responsibility, and artistic skills. Through the experience, their potential soars.
Please take a moment to hear a special poem written and shared by Vernon Jackson, former ArtWorks Apprentice, ’99.
Additionally, ArtWorks has other innovative programs like the Hero Design Company. Superhero capes are designed at the hands of these young ArtWorks apprentices for children facing emotional, physical and medical hardships. The website talks of this program saying, ‘Together, we seek to unity our community and prove that within every child lives a true hero.’
I just love that. Please take a moment to watch the video.
ArtWorks has provided jobs, training and business development support to thousands since it was founded in 1996. When you drive by one of its murals, think of the youth who painted it, and be proud and inspired by the organization that made it happen.
Susan Ingmire Ignites Philanthropy
It is the most wonderful gift when you find a way of mixing your skills with your passion into a career that gives your days purpose. Susan Ingmire has been doing that so well for many years. She is someone who I have admired for a long time, and had an opportunity to get to know more about her recently.
Susan is president of an organization called Ignite Philanthropy Advisors, a philanthropic consulting firm that assists individuals, families, organizations and foundations in achieving their unique grantmaking goals. In 2015, Ignite facilitate 438 grant payments totaling more than $9 million; and 295 of the beneficiary organizations are in Ohio.
For her, it is more than a career. It is her calling. From a young girl it was instilled upon her the value in being there for others. Her parents taught her about humanity and responsibility. They encouraged her to reach for dreams and to pursue goals, always being kinds to others along the way.
Susan was the first in her family to graduate college. In fact, she also earned a master’s degree in speech pathology. And she was the first to travel overseas. The opportunity came when she was 30 years old and a practicing speech pathologist, and saw an announcement in the paper for Rotary Foundation Fellow applications. She interviewed, was accepted, sold her car, and flew to England where she spent the next 10 months as an ‘ambassador of peace’ studying at the University of London and speaking to Rotary Clubs.
“That experience rocked my world,” Susan told me. “It changed me in so many ways. It opened my eyes to the bigger world and gave me the confidence to travel on my own. It also made me realize that I wanted to do something bigger than speech pathology.”
Susan moved to Cincinnati in 1991 and worked for Fifth Third Bank, ArtsWave, and Interact for Health/InterAct for Change. She began Ignite Philanthropy Advisors in 2009.
Lisa: What does philanthropy mean to you?
Susan: For me, it is way to find meaning and bring family together. It is active engagement in making the world better and repairing it. Everyone can be a philanthropist. While money is an important piece, it is also about giving of your time and passion and talents. My job as an advisor is to help people activate their wealth in a way that makes the world better and makes them better.
Lisa: Do you remember your first volunteer experience?
Susan: My first experience beyond church was when I was a big sister in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. That was a fantastic experience. I helped someone from a high risk family. I learned a lot about compassion, empathy and poverty; and what it meant to live in a multi-generational poverty home and the barriers those families face. I also learned about patience and to give of yourself – the more you give, the more you receive. I received a lot of love from my mentee. I think I helped change the trajectory of her life and that means a lot to me.
Lisa: What life lessons did you learn from your parents?
Susan: The number one thing I learned from my mother is unconditional love, how important it is to be open with people you care about, and to stand by them through thick and thin. She turns 85 in June. From my dad, I learned to always try hard and never give up. My parents sacrificed and at the time I didn’t realize it. Now I appreciate all they did to help me go to college. To do that, I had two jobs and a work study job. I am forever grateful that I had the drive and determination to pursue higher education and had parents who did what they could for me.
UpSpring Lessons For Youth
It is pretty difficult to grasp that in our Greater Cincinnati region, there are an estimated 7,000 children among us each year who know what it is like to be called ‘homeless.’ They are young and impressionable and facing life challenges none of us should have to understand.
UpSpring (formerly Faces Without Places) is a wonderful Cincinnati nonprofit organization that each year empowers over 3,000 youth without permanent places to call home, removing barriers and providing inspiration for them to succeed in the classroom and in life.
This year UpSpring began a new after school program at Newport Intermediate called Club Diversity, and already it is opening students’ minds to new, unique growth opportunities.
Early this year, Club Diversity students got to know peers from across the globe who, like themselves, face daily challenges in life. Partnering with Crisis Relief Overseas, a veteran based organization that is meeting the medical needs of nearly 700,000 Syrian refugees residing in Jordan, UpSpring teens began a communication ‘penpal’ exchange with Syrian children.
Chris Erdmann, co-founder and president of Crisis Relief Overseas, shared with the Newport students how so many of these refugee children and families suffer from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following the bombings to their cities and subsequent stress of fleeing the only place they called home. Chris also shared the importance of the penpal program in aiding the recovery and healing process.
UpSpring’s newsletter summed the program up this way: “In addition to shedding light on the many layers of homelessness experienced worldwide, through this project, we hope to also emphasize the simple but essential human need to be listened to, cared about, and understood.”
As an alumni of a childhood international exchange program, Children’s International Summer Village, I know firsthand the great learning lesson there. In addition to those benefits UpSpring pointed out, exchanges like that close gaps and teach young minds how alike we are in many important ways.
That same group of students had even 
more growth experiences when they spent three days of their spring break at Camp Joy, pushing themselves beyond their comfort levels, working together as a team and individually, doing activities many adults have never done.
Thank you to the staff, volunteers and supporters of UpSpring for teaching children in very difficult situations so much about their world, and enabling them to grow and dream and pursue goals.
Linda Neenan Inspires Exploration
I can remember so many years ago, first meeting with Linda Neenan in an office of her home talking about a small nonprofit organization called iSPACE of which she was its volunteer director and its driving impetus to open young minds.
I was initially brought on board to help her and her small group of dedicated volunteers in announcing plans for the region’s very first (and ONLY) space & 
aeronautical learning center, and the region’s most unique solution to fostering an interest among young students in learning science, math and technology.
And have assisted them in promoting several of its Space Day, interactive learning events.
She used to have a sign hanging on one of her walls that read, “Serving 7000 people a year. Imagine what it would be like if we had a real space.” Years later, Linda now answers her phone from her office space in iSPACE’s 15,000 sq ft of fun-to-the-max learning as its salaried executive director leading a team of staff, volunteers, community leaders and educators. And that small organization that began in a den, now serves nearly 26,000 kids and over 5,000 adults annually, outgrowing its current space.
If you are unfamiliar, iSPACE programs are aligned with national and state educational standards and are designed to fill the region’s future workforce in manufacturing, technology, research, health care and other STEM-related fields. Its participants explore robotics, rocketry and more; engaging in active, hands-on problem solving and team-based projects using space as its theme.
Where it all began
Linda told me the story of how her parents, immigrants from Italy, never had the opportunity of college that she had. Her dad was a factory worker for General Motors in Detroit when he saw upon a flyer about a scholarship opportunity and brought it home to his daughter. What happened next has been permanently imprinted on Linda’s memory.
Bringing that flyer to her school, Linda’s counselor threw it on the desk, looked at her student in disgust and said, “but this is an engineering school.”
That incident, Linda told me, is why she ended up becoming a math teacher instead of an engineer. And, in the back of her mind, she thought, “Someday I will do 
something so that kids won’t have obstacles thrown into their face like I had when they want to pursue a dream.”
When iSPACE was founded in 2001, one of its core values was to provide access to all. “We make sure that in everything we do, it is available to all students. If a student has a physical disability, we make accommodations. We provide lots of support for young women and underserved students to encourage them. We have a partnership with juvenile court to include troubled youth,” Linda said. “It was all spurred on by my own experience early on when I was told I cannot do this.”
I asked Linda a few more questions.
Lisa: Tell us about someone in your life who has influenced you.
Linda: My biology teacher, Mr. Boxer, in high school was the first person who showed me that science could be fun and exciting. I used to look forward to his lectures. His passion for the subject was infectious. Today, when I am hiring educators, I look for them to have that same kind of passion as Mr. Boxer. The kids feed off of them just like I did back then.
Lisa: Do you remember your first job?
Linda: I do. When I was 15, I worked in a flower shop. Through high school, I worked in three different ones actually and then I had my own flower shop in college. I got a lot of business from the sororities and fraternities. I always had the prettiest corsage because I made it myself.
Lisa: What is something that people may be surprised to learn about you?
Linda: When people meet me, I am very outgoing. They may not realize that I do not have a lot of confidence. I am always so surprised and not expecting it when something good happens. When I got a call about the Enquirer’s Women of the Year Awards, I assumed it was about a nomination letter. The other night I gave a pitch for a grant in a competition with other nonprofits who had heartfelt missions. I was not expecting to win, but we did. It is all very validating for me.
#GoodThingsCincy
CINspirational People: Jennifer Holladay
Yesterday I was at the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI) for an event and saw a woman who always has a way of making me smile when I see her. Jennifer Holladay has worked for CABVI for more than nine years. She is the agency’s talking book and One-on-One volunteer coordinator. I first met her when CABVI was one of my public relations clients, and I last ran into her (before today) when our seats were next to each other for the Broadway show, Kinky Boots. For me, I think two of her most distinct qualities are her laugh (which she does a lot of) and her genuineness in listening to what you have to say. She just always brightens my day.
In case you are unfamiliar, CABVI provides counseling, rehabilitation, information and employment services to people of all ages in a nine county area. Through all of its programs and services, it strives to help those who are blind, visually or print impaired lead independent lives. Its One-on-One Program matches volunteers 
with agency clients to assist with a number of different needs such as writing checks, organizing paperwork, reading mail or other items, and labeling groceries. Jennifer said she currently has close to 200 volunteers she manages in her program.
I asked Jennifer some questions to get to know her better. Please read her answers below.
Lisa: What is the greatest part for you about your job?
Jennifer: One of my favorite parts of my job is bringing out the strengths and talents of volunteers and helping them find an opportunity that fulfills something in their hearts. For me, when volunteers and clients come to me and share stories of attending each other’s weddings or other special events in their lives that is so rewarding. I have a volunteer who comes to mind who began because she wanted to read to someone. Last year when her client passed away, she told me, she never knew that she would meet her best friend in a nursing home.
That is why I love what I do. In the end, what keeps me doing what I do is the relationships that have been built and knowing I helped in some way.
Lisa: What type of impact have you seen from your program to your clients?
Jennifer: I have seen a big impact. If someone has a huge stack of mail that has gotten backed up because it takes that person a long time to go through it all with a magnifier, and a volunteer can come in once a week for an hour, it relieves that person’s stress level. The family too benefits because then they can just be family and not have to worry about whether those tasks are being done.
Lisa: Tell us a little more about Jennifer.
Jennifer: I grew up on a farm in Boone County where we raised sheep and rabbits. I was in 4H for ten years. I have a bachelor’s degree in communications from Thomas More College and last year got my master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in nonprofit management from Northern Kentucky University. When I am not working, I enjoying reading and getting together with friends.
2015 was an awesome year for me because I graduated from NKU and I bought my first house.
Lisa: Tell us about someone who was a positive influence on your life.
Jennifer: I’d say two of my professors in college, one from Thomas More and one from Northern Kentucky University. At Thomas More, we had a research paper to do and the search technologies were just evolving. My Kentucky history professor would not accept anything less than me doing my own research although he was always there to answer questions that I had. In my master’s program, there was a piece of software that would not work with my screenwriter. Knowing that I needed the class, my professor took the approach, ‘let’s figure this out’ and we ended up using Excel instead as a way for me to complete my work. Both of these professors had a ‘let’s figure this out’ mentality. When one way was not working for me to allow me to complete my task, then they helped to come up with another way. I have always appreciated it when people have gone out of their way to help me succeed.
I have a twin brother, Jason, who is fully sighted. My family too has always expected nothing less from me. My parents always believed there is no reason why my brother and I can’t do the same things.
Lisa: When people think of Jennifer Holladay, how would you like for them to think of you?
Jennifer: I want to be as attentive and understanding as I can be to others. I want people to think of me as someone who always does the best by them that I can.
