Donation
Cincinnati Teens Raised Money For Tanzanian Students
With support from the Mayerson Foundation High School Service-Learning Program, students from nine area Cincinnati high schools helped raise awareness about a child’s walk to school in Tanzania by walking through our downtown.
Teens from Aiken High School, Arlington Heights Academy, Finneytown High School, Gamble Montessori, Lockland High School, McAuley High School, Mt. Healthy High School, Ursuline Academy, and Wyoming High School/Wyoming Youth Services researched the needs in Tanzania through Village Life Outreach Project – a Cincinnati-based non-profit organization that partners with Tanzanian villages to design and implement sustainable projects to fight poverty, provide access to clean water and health care, and improve educational outcomes.
In rural Tanzania, East Africa, students walk nearly six miles to school, which can take up to three hours one way.
It was in 2010, when Wyoming and Finneytown High School students and staff supported the children in Tanzania by creating the “Walk in My Shoes” Challenge – a 5.5 mile walk in Cincinnati from Salway Park to Fountain Square. It was an effort that quickly spread.
Proceeds from the Walk help fund the Village Life Outreach Project Ugi Nutrition Program in Tanzanian schools. Ugi is a nutritious meal that feeds 1,200 Tanzanian students who walk to school per day and would otherwise go malnourished. The total cost to feed all 1,200 primary school children per year equals a daily cost of $0.04 per child.
20 Foster Children Attend Cincinnati Reds Thanks To One Simple Wish
In Trenton, New Jersey there is a very special organization that is quietly making simple wishes happen for foster children and vulnerable families. One Simple Wish recently made a trip to Greater Cincinnati to take 20 foster kids of Lighthouse Youth Services to a Cincinnati Reds game. What a wonderful gift that no doubt has given some children with lots of potential, a lasting memory.
How Woodfill Elementary School Students Are Helping Others
Great for them!
How thoughtful for these third grade students at Woodfill Elementary School to realize the loneliness of long term hospitalized children who can not have their family at their side. With the help of their teachers, and a little research, they found Josh Cares, a non-profit organization that offers loving support to seriously ill kids when a parent or family member cannot be there. Josh Cares funds professionally trained Child Life Fellows who provide consistent comfort, care and companionship for a child whose family would be by their sides if they could. The Woodfill students created a skit in which they role-played the responsibilities of the Child Life Fellow in the life of a child patient and charged admission to see it. They also held a bake sale.
All in all, their project raised $579.05. And not only that, it taught these creative third graders an important life lesson…about caring and responsibility. I like those kinds of lessons.
I also want to mention this service learning project was made possible by Children, Inc.
Tender Mercies Needs Books To Enrich Lives Of Homeless
Do you have any extra books to share? If you donate them to Tender Mercies for their new library, you’ll be enriching the lives of Cincinnati’s homeless…not only by giving residents something to read and talk about, but also by giving them an opportunity to be productive because the library is run by people who live there.
Tender Mercies provides housing and supportive services for people who are homeless and who have a mental and/emotional disability. For the 150 people who call it, they offer an environment conducive to recovery – where an individual’s strengths are celebrated daily and barriers to success are addressed in a strengths-based, solution-focused manner. They partner with residents to help them achieve maximum self-sufficiency according to their ability. The residents run a Snack Shack to provide the needed personal items and food and its newly opened Library that has books, CD’s, video’s and games.
If you’d like to learn more about Tender Mercies or make a donation, visit www.tendermerciesinc.org or call them at (513) 721-8666. They’re located at 15 West 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202.
Popular YMCA Camp Ernst Undergoing Major Renovations
Since 1928, thousands of youth from throughout the region and around the world come to the beautiful, sprawling, park-like setting of YMCA Camp Ernst where they strengthen their skills and make diverse friendships in 
an environment that stresses positive character values. This summer, on their way to check-in, campers will see an all new Welcome and Health Center under construction. Funded with a lead gift from the Schiff Foundation, the new Center is part of the first phase of what is the camp’s first major multi-million dollar renovation since the 1970s.
Camp Renovation
Also included in the first phase of the expansion and renovation are two new bath houses. Other future projects to be completed as funding is secured, include: dining hall and kitchen upgrades; and a new Valley swimming pool, E-Team longhouse for teens, camper cabin, horse barn, and an arts center that will have an art studio, dance room and performance area.
The ‘For the Love of Camp Ernst’ capital campaign is three-quarters of the way to its final goal of raising $4M for all of the renovations. That is thanks to co-chairs Frank Henson and Jennifer Shockey, other volunteers, alumni, parents and board members.
“This broad base of support has demonstrated just how important Camp Ernst is to this community
and how much everyone is committed to seeing it continue for generations to come,” said Sandy Berlin Walker, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati.
It was a beautiful spring day recently that Elizabeth Cochran, YMCA Camp Ernst director, and I sat down with Mark Hansel of the Kentucky Enquirer to talk about the improvements.
“It’s very rewarding to see the growth of all the kids who come here and find their voice,” said Eli told him. “I love the connection with the young people over the course of the summer.”
About YMCA Camp Ernst
Accredited by the American Camping Association, YMCA Camp Ernst welcomes more than 850 teens and 2,200 children including 20 international counselors. (Thanks to caring donors over 300 kids attend on scholarship annually.) Featured camp activities include: horseback riding, five high ropes course elements, 100 ft. waterslide, banana boat rides, swimming, hiking, archery, biking, campfires and capture-the-flag. Unique to Camp Ernst is the fine arts program that features music, drama, dance and visual arts. An important component of all camp activities and programs is leadership development which is delivered as an age-appropriate, phased program that helps pre-teens and teens hone skills that will serve them well as they enter adulthood and seek to establish careers. The Leader-In-Training program focuses on grooming campers to become counselors. In fact, 75% of the current counselors were once campers and 87% of the summer staff was part of camp the previous year.
Boone Co Recorder – Camp Ernst undergoing renovations
Northern Kentucky Enquirer – Summer oasis gets makeover
