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Nonprofit Fuel Cincinnati Wants Your Help Selecting Grantees
Fuel Cincinnati, founded in 2009 as one of the main programs of nonprofit Give Back Cincinnati, has awarded over $30,000 in grants across more than 30 projects. It is all done through annual events where attendees vote for their favorite projects.
And, coming up on May 28, Greater Cincinnati residents can once again let their voices be heard at the third annual Fuel the Fire event. It begins at 6:30 p.m. at Rhinegeist Brewery (1910 Elm Street; Cincinnati, OH 45202).
How does it work?
Each guest will give a donation ($20 pre-sale, $30 at the door) for which they will receive appetizers by the bite, one drink ticket and a vote. Guests spend the evening learning about each applicant and their project idea. They then will cast a vote for their favorite project, and, at the end of the evening, the project or projects that gather the most votes are awarded a grant comprised of the evening’s ticket sale proceeds. Over a hundred and sixty people attended Fuel the Fire in 2013, awarding a winning grant of $2000 and a second place grant of $500.
More about Fuel Cincinnati
Fuel Cincinnati is an all-volunteer committee of young professionals who provide microgrants of $250 to $2,000 to support non-profit projects. Fuel Cincinnati was founded in 2009, and is one of the main programs of Give Back Cincinnati , the region’s largest young professional volunteer organization. Fuel Cincinnati is also supported by generous grants from The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile US Bank Foundation (http://www.haileusb.org) and from The Mayerson Family Foundations (http://mayersonfoundation.org).
If you would to purchase tickets for Fuel the Fire or would like more information about Fuel Cincinnati, please visit our link at: htttp://fuelcincinnati.org/fuelthefire
Cincy Sundaes Raises Helps Greater Cincinnati Ideas Grow
I love clever ideas to bring people together, and especially when it comes to supporting innovative causes.
I just learned about Cincy Sundaes and think it is fantastic! According to the website, Cincy Sundaes is an ice cream social funding micro-grants for innovative ideas in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Cincy Sundaes gives the community the opportunity to directly fund ideas ranging from neighborhood music festivals to urban agriculture.
For $5, guests get to make a scrumptious sundae with Dojo Gelato and also get one vote.
At each event, four presenters will have four minutes each to share their idea and the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions. After the presentations, attendees will vote for their favorite idea and 100% of the money collected at the door will go directly to the idea that receives the most votes.
The first Cincy Sundae will be April 13 from 3 to 5 pm at Rhinegeist Brewery.
The rest of the season will include:
April 13: Rhinegeist
May 11: Covington Arts
July 27: Five Points
August 24: TBA
October 19: Mayday Northside
November 16: The Sanctuary
If you are interested in presenting your idea, you can learn how to apply on their website.
Hospice Of Cincinnati Offers Pet Peace Of Mind
I have looked in the eyes of many gentle souls, and I have felt the love that so naturally passes through them to those within reach. Tina Bross, BS, LMT, supervisor of holistic services for nonprofit Hospice of Cincinnati, is among them.
Tina Bross of Hospice of Cincinnati with her dog
On the bitterly cold day that we sat across the table from each, two people who had never met brought together by our shared passion for animals and for our desire to help others. (And by Wayne ‘Box’ Miller, manager of diversity and communication for Hospice who I’ve known for years.)
But Tina has this magical way of transforming strangers into friends very quickly. It is a beautiful gift, and one that makes her so well suited for her role at Hospice.
The people who are assisted by the organization are there to live out their final days in peace. They know there is no longer hope for one more year, one more season. It is their time to say their last good-byes on earth to those who shared love, laughter and even tears with them on their journey called life.
I think Hospice of Cincinnati is such a very special organization. It allows families to spend last days and minutes together in an environment where they can simply focus on being together. And Hospice gives people serenity to know it is okay to leave.
The program Tina oversees is one that is charged with tending to patient’s animals, providing loving care for them and working to find forever homes for pets when family members are not available.
Pet Peace of Mind
Pet Peace of Mind was begun in 2007 by a hospice chaplain who also happened to be a vet, and by 2009, with financial support from the Banfield Charitable Trust, the program went national. Tina immediate sought approval from her board to bring it to our area.
In the beginning she sent out surveys to help determine the types of services they would provide, but what Tina hadn’t expected was some of the unforgettable responses that were returned with the questionnaires.
“Helping my patients with their pet related issues is the most heart-wrenching part of my job,” a nurse wrote on one. They are words that have been permanently etched in Tina’s mind.
I could see tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she spoke to me.
“People have such strong bonds with their pets. Many of the people in our care are older and their pets are their family and their comfort,” Tina said.
Meet Lucy
Lucy’s caregiver was a single man whose life revolved around her. It was a year after he brought her 
into his home that he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. “He told me he only cried two times and that was when he was thinking about her,” said Tina. “I told him, ‘I want you to know we will find Lucy a good home.’”
After his death, Tina kept her word. She and her team found a foster family for Lucy and ultimately a loving family with two little boys where she will spend the rest of her days.
“I wish I could tell him, ‘She’s good!’,” Tina told me, her words difficult to say.
I somehow have a feeling he knows.
More about Pet Peace of Mind
The Pet Peace of Mind® program assists Hospice of Cincinnati patients and families with care and feeding of their beloved pets. Pet Peace of Mind offers helping hands through volunteers and pet-related financial assistance.
Services include:
In home help with routine pet-related chores like feeding and walking
temporary boarding or foster
transporting pets for vet or grooming appointments
delivery of supplies like food and litter
permanent placement of the pet if necessary
emotional support
How can you help?
Volunteer
Donate
Stand Up To Cancer With Your Fifth Third MasterCard
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a groundbreaking initiative created to accelerate innovative cancer research that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now.
In May 2009, SU2C launched its first five scientific Dream Teams. Today, ten teams of some of the brightest scientists are hard at work, driven by the same principles that laid the foundation of the Stand Up To Cancer model: collaboration, innovation, acceleration, targeted therapy, and translational research. Leaders from across disciplines, institutions, and specialties are competing against cancer instead of each other, as research moves from bench to bedside to benefit patients more quickly. Each team in its own way is changing the face of cancer research and pushing the dream of ending cancer closer to reality.
And now through the end of December, Fifth Third is making a $0.01 donation up to $400,000 to the cause for every qualifying purchase made using any Fifth Third MasterCard.
People Working Cooperatively Raising Money For Veterans
In her 98 years, Anna has seen great sacrifice. She has also seen great heroism. During World War II, the woman who now lives in a modest home in Bond Hill was known as a trailblazer. She was a member of one of two units of African American Army nurses in Atlantic City serving amputees returning from the European Theater.
“It was interesting work,” she said. “Some of the men were so sad that they couldn’t go back into action. They wanted to fight. They felt that they had failed because they were wounded.”
Those are memories Anna will never forget. Today, as her own health is waning, she is cared after by her 57 year old daughter. Still, with her mobility an issue, getting around isn’t as easy as it once was. And home repair bills can be costly.
People Working Cooperatively, a Cincinnati nonprofit that provides professional home repairs and modifications to low income older adults and homeowners with disabilities in the Greater Cincinnati area, has fixed a like in Anna’s ceiling. PWC also installed a ramp and handrails, new flooring and other work.
Running through November 11, People Working Cooperatively’s Ramp It Up for Veterans’ campaign is trying to raise $500,000 to assist the 400 plus veterans in the Cincinnati area on its waiting list for critical home repairs. You can text-to-donate a $10 donation by texting the letters PWC to 80888 or give online at www.pwchomerepairs.org.
