Sweet Cheeks Is Megan’s Calling
Pregnant with her second child, feeling blessed with the path her life had taken her to that point, Megan Fischer was sitting at her work cubicle when she took a quick break to check her Facebook feed. It was that split moment that changed her passion and career forever.
A random article had caught her attention. It spoke of one of the least talked about obstacles in the path out of poverty for families…the desperate need for diapers. Such a staple for young parents, Megan – like so many of us – just assumed diapers were covered by government assistance…but they aren’t. And, without diapers, kids can’t go to day care which means mom and dad can’t go to work. Kids are not ready for preschool. They are not developing to their fullest potential.
“I was cloth diapering my son and pregnant with my daughter at the time,” Megan remembered. “I couldn’t imagine what those parents must be experiencing, and I know the poverty rate in Cincinnati is astronomical. What do you do? How do you feel worth as a parent if you can’t provide that basic need for your child? I just sat there and cried.”
She researched diaper banks in our region, only to find none. And then, the soon-to-be mother of two tried to push the topic out of her mind. She was busy enough with her family, a full-time job, part-time jobs, and volunteer work. She was successful at that for about a year.
“Finally, I realized there was not already a diaper bank in Greater Cincinnati because it was supposed to be me,” she said.
Megan had no idea how to go about starting a nonprofit so she went to the Secretary of State website and read about it. She enlisted her friend, Mike, to help with her logo, social media and tagline (among other things). Several other friends stepped up too. And soon the group was launched.
Sweet Cheeks officially incorporated in October, 2015. By April, 2016, their first diapers were out the door. And, in 2017, Megan left her full-time job to be a full-time director of the new nonprofit. These days Sweet Cheeks is distributing some 100,000 diapers through 34 partner agencies.
“Without us, people would keep a diaper for several days, cut out the middle, stuff a diaper with paper towels, or even let their baby go without. And we are only meeting about 13% of the need in Greater Cincinnati. We have a wait list of 36 agencies who need our diapers. We need to continue to grow…and we are,” Megan said.
When I asked Megan about her greatest satisfaction from this work, she told me, “We are helping people and meeting a need that wasn’t met before. And we are able to use diapers as an incentive for other social programs. Just having diapers may not change a life but those diapers are tied to services at other nonprofits that can teach people to be great parents, give them confidence, get them out of poverty. Sometimes our diapers may be the only reason those parents keep coming back to that social service agency. I didn’t have a nonprofit background before this so it is very challenging but I love the strategies behind growing Sweet Cheeks.”
If you’d like to help, Sweet Cheeks is in need of more than 200 hours of volunteer time weekly to get things out the door. They also are always in need of diapers and monetary donations. Because of their buying power, they can purchase two to three times the amount you and I can for the money, so monetary donations are more important. Please reach out to them if you’d like to get involved.
Shift Your Perspective
During Rhonda Moore’s Tenure, Pro Seniors Is Nationally Recognized
After dedicating the past 17 years at the helm of a team of educators and fighters for the rights and quality of life for seniors, Rhonda Moore is preparing for her next chapter – a well deserved retirement. During her tenure, Pro Seniors has grown to become a nationally recognized advocate for older Ohians; and I thought, I couldn’t let her leave without a tribute and thank you to her for tireless leadership.
Rhonda has been honored by the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation with the 2015 Denis J. Murphy Award for her outstanding leadership and 
advocacy for Ohio’s seniors and by the Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio with the 2017 Outstanding Professional in Aging Award.
If you are not familiar with Pro Seniors, you should be because all of us at some point in our lives will be impacted by their work. The nonprofit is dedicated to empowering and protecting older people through the myriad of legal issues that come up as we age. It gives free legal advice to anyone 60 or over, and its ombudsman program offers client-focused advocacy to protect the rights of those in long-term term care facilities.
Rhonda and her team have been instrumental in starting and expanding numerous services. In 2001, she partnered with Elder Law of Michigan to offer the Pension Rights Program, which now has two attorneys dedicated to pension rights and to date, has recovered over $49,000,000 in retirement benefits. In 2014, the Pro Seniors’ hotline was recognized by the Center for Elder Rights Advocacy as the most efficient hotline in the country, and continues as one of the most productive, handling 6,503 clients for just $41.19 a call. In 2002, Rhonda secured another federal grant to fund Senior Medicare Patrol, a statewide program that teaches seniors how to avoid Medicare fraud and identity theft.
She is a passionate and tireless leader who makes things happen through collaboration and determination.. She brought top leaders in Ohio aging organizations and legal aids to together to collectively strengthen legal services for older adults. And, during her tenure, Pro Seniors pursued justice in two federal class actions that improved the financial security of Ohio veterans and low-income seniors.
With so many accomplishments, one in particular that makes her smile is the creation of the organization’s annual Seniors who Rock Awards event that highlights three or four honorees each year.. “That came about from seeing the prevalence of how ageism is depicted in the media, usually pretty negative. We wanted to put a spotlight on the good that seniors contribute to society and how many are still very vibrant and active,” Rhonda told me.
“I’ve been very privileged to be a part of Pro Seniors for the last eighteen years and play a role in securing access to justice for Ohio seniors. My role is a supporting role, however, and it’s really the fine advocates on Pro Seniors’ staff who carry out our mission. Our lawyers – as well as our ombudsman, SMP advocates and administrative staff – really do change lives,” she said. “Our economy has gone through tough times, We lost a lot of funding while seniors have more needs. I’m proud that we were able to keep our services in place and build other sources of revenue to serve them. We’ve added programs. Done thoughtfully and focused on protecting seniors’ legal rights. We’ve expanded our services and maintained.”
Before joining ProSeniors, Rhonda’s career included 14 years in private practice, first at Frost & Jacobs and then at Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP, concentrating in the areas of estate planning and estate administration.
Christine Buttress, who worked with Moore at Graydon Head and has been a long-time board member at Pro Seniors, spoke about her colleague, “I know Moore as a person of the highest integrity and commitment to her values. She is an established leader in the aging network in Southwestern Ohio and contributes daily to helping seniors resolve their legal and long-term care issues.”
Caitlin Is a Mercenary For Food Experience
If you are ever in need of being uplifted, I recommend you stop by the CWC Restaurant or Station Family + BBQ, both in Wyoming, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati) and ask if Caitlin Steininger is around. (Caitlin is always at CWC on Sundays and at one of the restaurants on Fridays and Saturdays.)
Caitlin is the C in Cooking with Caitlin, and it is pretty difficult to NOT be in a happy mood in her presence. Actually in the presence of any of the partners of CWC – Caitlin, her sister Kelly Trush, or best friend Molly Ross (partners of the Station Family +BBQ Restaurant are Caitlin, Kelly and 
Karen Klaus) – you would be hard pressed to feel anything BUT happy.
It is the what I have always known about them since our first meeting more than ten years ago. Back then the two sisters and best friend were forging new space in social media and the region as pioneers in community building…through food. Cooking with Caitlin took Greater Cincinnati by storm with their recipes, cooking demonstrations, radio talk show, website, columns in the local media, Foodies Night Out Twitter chats, and events. They were (and still are) EVERYWHERE. Caitlin even most recently appeared on Bravo TV’s Top Chef reality competition show.
And, in their true fashion, their restaurdants are just as much fun with games to play at Station Family +BBQ and weekly Third Thursday at CWC where $25 gets you a 9-course meal.
I love being around Caitlin and her team, even talking with Caitlin on the phone for this post made my day. She has this infectious energy that spreads effortlessly. It is no wonder they have built such a huge success.
I had to learn about the woman behind this powerhouse.
I bet you’d be surprise to know, the whole Cooking With Caitlin business happened in the spur of the moment, by taking a leap and jumping over the cliff. No, it was not something they spent years dreaming about, planning, researching. The concept was born in 2007, the day after Kelly and Molly attended a cooking class that Caitlin was teaching as a means for promoting the market where she was working at the time. So impressed, the next morning Kelly and Molly (without Caitlin’s knowledge) purchased the domain www.cookingwithcaitlin.com.
With Caitlin the chef, Kelly the amazing wordsmith, and Kelly the business savvy professional, they just knew they had a curiosity for things and an entrepreneurial spirit that came from Kelly and Caitlin’s parents. They had no blueprint. No plan. Just an undying passion for food and joy and people.
“We pride ourselves in creating conversations around food but not experts because everyone’s mother is a great cook,” Caitlin told me. “Kelly always described us as mercenaries for experience. We very rarely say no to an opportunity. We can’t wait to feed you!.”
Lisa: Tell me about some of the fun experiences CWC has given you.
Caitlin: A high school friend of Kelly’s boss once hired us to go to Italy and cook meals for them for a week. That was my first time abroad. We got to explore while we were there. That was amazing. And of course, opening the restaurants. I feel like I am exactly where I was meant to be. I love being a part of creating people’s memories with food.
Lisa: What has been the scariest part of being an entrepreneur?
Caitlin: Everything is scary when you build a brand without a blueprint. You have goals but you don’t know how to accomplish them. I thrive on butterflies though because that means I care. All of us have children. That balance has been a great challenge but I don’t regret any part of it because my kids have seen my hard work to create something from nothing. My kids have been to every grocery store in this area. They know the difference between Swiss and Gruyere.
Lisa: As close as you are with your parents, how do they feel about your career?
Caitlin: They were not excited when I told them I wanted to go to culinary school because they knew it was a hard life, but I have worked hard to prove to them that this is what I want to do. Now they are so proud of both of us for doing what we love. They are regulars at the restaurants. Every Saturday night is their date night at CWC Restaurant. Mom makes all the flower arrangements and Dad has made himself in charge of keeping it clean. We have a large staff at Station so Mom and Dad just come and enjoy themselves there. If they see our cars out front, they will stop in.
Lisa: You are known for changing your dishes frequently. Talk to me about that.
Caitlin: I have never owned chaffing dishes because that is where good dishes go to die. Every three months we change the menu at CWC. Station Family +BBQ has only been open for a couple months and we just changed its menu. And I still do not own a chaffing dish.
Lisa: What makes you smile every day?
Caitlin:. I am lucky because food is love and it makes everyone happy; and I get to talk about it all day long. The best parts of my childhood were around the dinner table so it is an important part of my growing up.
Mike Makes Art Come Alive
As a child, I can remember sitting on the floor building layer after layer of walls and floors with playing cards, delicately placing each one until suddenly they all came tumbling down. I too remember lining up dominos, in straight lines and curves, only to watch them one-by-one fall to the ground with one small push.
But, not in my wildest dreams could I build the kinds of giant, intricate exhibitions where one move, one sound, one pull, causes a whole ripple effect of reactions, igniting thought, excitement and creativity, like what Mike DeMaria does through his art.
A freelance master carpenter, whose artistry crafts beautiful custom built-ins and replications of older architectural elements in homes, Mike also makes his living selling his paintings, teaching at local universities, and building large installation exhibits. Through his nonprofit, The Adventurer, he builds interactive, educational exhibits that teach people about environmental issues.
He has a master’s degree in Sequential Art from Savannah College of Art and Design and traces his desire to make grand moving objects to when he built a 40-foot diving shark for a Maker Faire.
In 2016 he as a Globe Grant recipient from People’s Liberty, using his funds to create a Rube Goldberg-inspired interactive, kinetic installation named Serendipity of Sound. You can see it in this video.
Serendipity of Sound: Globe installation by Michael DeMaria from People’s Liberty on Vimeo.
I met him several years ago when I was promoting the opening of the Kennedy Heights Cultural Campus and he created a life-sized (14 foot) moving mastodon for the parade. I remember being in awe seeing it walk down Montgomery Road. I caught up with Michael again and had a few more questions for him.
What makes you smile when you wake up in the morning?
Michael: I am living out my passion and having fun doing it. It’s nice to be busy. I wish I had three of me.
What advice do you have for others about pursuing their dreams?
Michael: If you really want to do something with yourself, take passion and pride in it, and then do a prolific amount of it.
How would you describe yourself?
Michael: I have always been very active. I need very little sleep. I have an overactive brain and am always coming up with concepts that keep me up nights. If I come up with an idea, than I have to do it. Once someone pitched to me to make a whale shark puppet. A few days later, I decided to make it and a month later, it was done!
