Lisa Desatnik

I have been fortunate to have made a career out of doing what I love, which is using my communication skills to forge relationships and support of causes that are evoking positive change. I also enjoy working with civic-minded companies and organizations. I’ve earned numerous awards along the way, but my greatest satisfaction comes from knowing my work has helped touch lives in very meaningful ways. For that, I have to thank the dedicated staff and volunteers of so many charitable organizations, events, and civic minded businesses who work day in and day out to fulfill needs. These are the generous people with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working beside. I’ve created and implemented many successful cause-related campaigns and programs such as the award winning Lighthouse Vision Awards and the Collecting for Kids school supply drive. Included among my other past experience is: creating a PR campaign to change the image of newly developed Betts Longworth Historic District, for 8 years coordinating publicity and creative elements of the Inclusion Leadership Awards Event, and creating a PR campaign to help launch the Hidden Treasures CD (tribute to King Records) that resulted in a packed release party. I’ve also worked on numerous other events. Among them - the Appalachian Festival, the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati’s Buddy Walk, the YMCA Salute to Black Achievers, YMCA Character Awards, Greater Cincinnati Alzeimer’s Association Memory Walk, Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Association’s Voices of Giving Awards and more. Currently I help raise awareness about the positive contributions of the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati, and also continue working with other organizations. My experience includes media relations, planning, volunteer management, copywriting, social networking, events, and coordination of marketing materials. Among the other organizations with whom I have or am currently working are: Inclusion Network, iSPACE,FreeStore/FoodBank, Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Cincinnati Arts & Technology Center, Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation, Lighthouse Youth Services, Accountability and Credibility Together, CRI mental health agency, and more. I’m a past Board member of Children’s International Summer Villages and past member of the leadership team for the local chapter of Public Relations Society of America; and get involved with other volunteer opportunities. An animal lover sharing my home with three birds, I have been studying positive behavior management for many years and enjoy sharing what I’ve learned with others. My pet interest has led me to become a pet columnist for Hyde Park Living.

Jackie Robinson And His Gift To Our World

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Today, at Greater American Ballpark and every other major league ballpark across the nation, in homes and businesses, in schools…and in movie theatres thousands will pay a tribute to a humanitarian, a father, a baseball legend, a hero.

Jackie Robinson quoteSixty-six years ago, when the civil rights bill was but a distant dream, a young man with unbridled talent stepped onto the field wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers jersey and the number 42 embellished on his back.

That man was Jackie Robinson, a former varsity athlete lettered in four sports at UCLA and a former second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He also, as we all know, happened to have been African American. And on that historic day in the office of a bold businessman, Jackie courageously stepped forward to change history books forever when he signed to become the first black athlete to play major league baseball.

All around him people were separated by the color of their skin – in schools, the military, hotels, restaurants, buses, and yes, even the entrances to ball parks. Cruel racial (and religious) antagonism ran deep.

Jackie and Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey knew if they were to be successful in integrating baseball; it had to be with dignity not fists.

Jackie:  “You want a player who doesn’t have the guts to fight back?”

Branch: “No, I want a player who has the guts NOT to fight back.”

“We win if we convince the world of two things – that you are a fine gentleman and a great baseball player,” Branch told the new rookie.

Jackie’s moral compass was tested as no man should ever have to be tested. Racial epithets pelted him on and off the field. Fellow Dodgers signed a petition to have him kicked off the team. He received death threats. The manager of the Philadelphia Phillies heckled him with the N-word for five unrelenting minutes (it may have been longer in real life). Even in Cincinnati’s own Crosley Field, the stands erupted in boos and jeers as Jackie stepped onto the field.Jackie Robinson quote

Through it all, he stood tall. Jackie proved to the world that he was a fine gentleman AND a great baseball player. And by Branch’s definition – I’d say he resoundedly won.

In 1997, under the direction of Commissioner Bud Selig, Robinson’s No. 42 was retired across all of Major League Baseball in an unprecedented tribute. However, today and every April 15, baseball players across the country will all be wearing his number in his memory and his honor for what he has given the game – and what he has given the world.

Stories like that of Jackie are so important for us to know and talk about. They are important lessons and reminders of what we as neighbors, friends, and co-workers must always remember. Our diversity is a gift that brings us different perspectives and opens our eyes to new opportunities. And the really beautiful thing is that, if you look deeper, you will find that we all share the most basic of needs – the need to be valued, included and loved.

Cincinnati Nonprofit Reinforcing Values Of Over-the-Rhine Students

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What do Cleophis Carsin, Mark Goodly, and Nawhiah Green have in common?

Against the Grain Scholars

Well, for starters, they are all eighth graders at St. Francis Seraph, a Catholic Inner-City School in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine. They are also excelling in academics and in life amidst many every day challenges.

And they are the first three students selected to participate in a brand new Cincinnati nonprofit, Against the Grain Scholars, which is all about building up the foundations of Over-the-Rhine students with great potential.

Teacher Michael Patrick Farrell Jr. started the organization at the end of 2012 as a way of reinforcing the strong character values of students who are excelling in Over-the-Rhine schools.

“It is our belief that by providing mentoring and facilitating volunteer opportunities from eighth grade through high school that these exceptional students will continue on their path and recognize their full potential as the true leaders, heroes, and positive role models of their communities. Long-term, it is our hope that the ATG Scholars will “make it,” choose altruism over selfishness, and use their attributes to inspire a future generation to follow in their footsteps,” he stated on the organization’s website.

ATG Scholars meets two Saturdays per month. The first meeting of the month is a planning and reflection day. The second meeting of each month is our volunteer outing day.

Do you have some time to give? ATG is currently looking for volunteers and mentors. Please visit their website to learn more.

 

 

 

Bill and Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffet, Created Giving Pledge

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Do you know about the Giving Pledge? I saw on Forbes.com that Bill Gates and wife Melinda, together with Warren Buffett, came up with the idea to get America’s wealthiest families to give away at least 50% of their wealth during their lifetimes, or upon their deaths, and write a letter explaining why. Since they launched the effort in June 2010, 91 people have signed on.

Bill Gates and wife Melinda, together with Warren Buffett, came up with the idea for the Giving Pledge

Some examples:

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has given away $2.4 billion. He has supported anti-tobacco efforts worldwide, clean air programs, education, government improvement, and the arts.

Carl Icahn, billionaire investor and chairman of Icahn Enterprises, has founded three charter schools in the South Bronx; its students have performed significantly better on the New York language and arts exams than the neighborhood average. His Icahn House in the Bronx houses homeless pregnant women and single women with children; he also supports a scholarship program at Choate.

 

The Handshake That Changed Society

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From CBS Evening News…In 1963, an unwritten law suggested no college team from Mississippi could play against blacks. But Mississippi State wanted to prove they could play against the best. And so they did. Dean Reynolds speaks to Jerry Harkness about what he remembers most about a game that changed society.

Cincinnati Community ToolBank Is Collecting For Nonprofits

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Got Tools?  The nonprofit Cincinnati Community ToolBank will be hosting its first Tool Drive this year to collect more tools for its member agencies to use during their projects.  More tools mean more volunteers are enabled to make Cincinnati a better place for all of us to live!  They need your help to make it a success! Cincinnati Community ToolBank

The tool drive will to be held from Saturday, May 25  to Sunday, May 26, 2013.

During this time, anyone can drop off their gently used or new tools to four Home Depot locations (Pleasant Ridge, Beechmont Avenue, Crescent Springs KY, and Western Hills) around the Cincinnati area. These tools will then be taken to the ToolBank and added to its inventory for use by non-profit organizations in community projects around Cincinnati. The ToolBank will also be accepting cash donations.

The Cincinnati Community ToolBank offers an inventory of tools—shovels, rakes, drills and so much more—to help nonprofit organizations, religious and educational institutions, community groups and their volunteers increase their impact.

 

 

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