featured
Why Teaching Kindness To Their Kids Matters
“It’s hard to explain to kids that it’s a blessing in life to be able to give to others.” These were the first words shared by Pet Wants co-owner/founder Michele Hobbs (with her wife Amanda Broughton) when she posted about her beautiful family participating in a group that gives to Cincinnati’s homeless.
Instead of just explaining, Michele and Amanda teach their beautiful young children the importance of generosity and kindness through action. On that day, at the invitation of Larry Bergman, they bought bulk food from the Restaurant Depot and delivered it to the Drop Inn Center aka The Shelterhouse.
“Giving my kids a happy childhood and life is my first priority, but not far from that priority is for them to understand just how fortunate we are. I do not want them to experience homelessness or poverty, but I want them to know it exists and that they have a responsibility to help others who are experiencing pain of any sort. They are beginning to see that helping others is one of their privileges. And Privilege is a theme I will remind them of as long as I’m alive,” Michele told me.
Having known Michele for many years, none of this surprises me. She is a woman of immense integrity, who has shown kindness to me in so many ways. She works tireless hours making their Pet Wants and soon their Knox Joseph Distillery and OTR Stillhouse, a huge success, affording them the opportunity for quality family time and for giving back to their community.
I wanted to know more about where this drive and passion comes from so I asked Michele to share her story, one you may not know about this Cincinnati change maker.
Early Lessons
By their 25th birthdays, Michele’s mom and dad were already parents to four children. Her father left when she was young, and their landlord tried to evict them…unsuccessfully, at first anyway. Then one night, Michele remembers her mom taking her and her little brother on a train from Morristown to the Cincinnati Terminal.
“I remember that train ride, it was dark and there were no lights in the box car. We were in the last car before the caboose. It had wooden benches. There were doors on the side just like you see in the movies and this is where all the poor people were. Mommy had packed us a sandwich in a brown bag. I remember getting my sandwich out and I saw this really old man in the very back. There were no rules about kids walking around this dirty old train car. I walked back and gave the old man my sandwich. I don’t know why.
I do not how my mom found my dad, but I do know we got our car and went back to Tennessee. I don’t know who had my other brother and sister, but I know the house had been packed and all of our stuff was in the front room when we got back. We were getting thrown out and were homeless. My mom somehow pulled it together. Daddy showed up with a Uhaul that very day (by this time our phone had been shut off, so I have no idea how she got him there). We packed up our car and that truck and I remember the landlord standing in the yard and clapping as we left. This is how I landed in Cincinnati.
It is my prayer that my kids will never experience that, nor how tough things would be for my dad for essentially the rest of his life. All he ever did was work…just to keep his family housed, fed and clothed,” Michele told me.
And THAT is why teaching her kids the important lesson that giving back is a privilege is a top priority.
“What will they do with their Privilege? That is a question that is with me every single day as I navigate this world and try to understand the why.
They talk about not wasting food because there are others who are hungry. They ask to go the the homeless camps, (which are now gone) and they don’t understand why I don’t give money to the guys on the corner, both of those concerns are difficult to explain, but I do my best.
Amanda and I are good parents, there are many parents I know who do much more with their kids as far as helping others, but I think we are doing good with them for now and we will continue to try and do more,” Michele said.
How YOU Can Help
Amanda and Michele are organizing a Valentine’s Day Food Drop at the Anna Louise Inn, and are looking for volunteers to help. If you’d like to participate, please email Michele at Michele@PetWantsCincy.com.
This Teacher Awakens Souls
Passionate teachers have such power to nurture and empower lives. Like soil, light and water is to seedlings, they are the nourishment from which beautiful blossoms grow. Their greatest satisfaction often comes through watching as hurdles are broken down and dreams take flight.
Nick Rose-Stamey is among these life changers. Now program manager at the Music Resource Center – a Cincinnati nonprofit teen center in Walnut Hills that blends performing arts with life skills mentoring to help young people discover and pursue their inner talent and strengths, Nick found his calling when working at Elementz, an Over-the-Rhine hip hop youth center sharing a similar vision.
It happened around six years ago. One day he was sitting in his cubicle at Pure Romance where he spent much of his time as a copywriter, and it occurred to him. “I wasn’t happy,” he told me. “When I was truly happy was the hours that I spent volunteering at Elementz. I realized THAT is what fed my soul.”
Soon after, he left that job to pursue plans that were barely made. Nick began teaching guitar lessons but then, after about a month, everything dried up. It was the winter of 2015 when he zeroed out his bank account, calling his parents in tears.
That is when fate stepped in. Elementz got a grant. They hired Nick to make community concerts with My Cincinnati (a free youth orchestra program in Cincinnati), and those concerts packed Woodward Theatre.
It was the start of Nick’s beginning as a teacher. His first class at Elementz was called Studio E, where junior high school students learned how to record productions. That core group of youth are now graduating high school. It is Nick’s proudest joy.
Recently Nick shared this with his friends on Facebook and I asked him if I could share it with the greater world, as it speaks to his heart and his journey….
Nick’s Own Words
This is a really emotional post for me to write.
This week one of my students asked me to write a letter of recommendation for their application to the jazz program at the Oberlin Conservatory Of Music.
It’s a big deal. And I’m totally confident they’ll make it.
But while writing this letter, I started to reflect on my own experiences. What came to me was that feeling of pressure; like dropping into senior year all over again. The pressure to decide who you are NOW, what you want to do NOW, what you stand for NOW!!
It made me laugh. Because I never went to music school. I graduated with an English degree, worked in advertising for what felt like forever. Then I jumped ship. I quit my comfortable corporate gig and pursued this (at the time) spontaneous dream of making a difference through music.
It did not go well, at first. I lost everything. I failed. But I did not give up.
Then, over time, things worked out. I started a music program with Elementz Urban Arts and played a lot of incredible shows. Then I got to try my hand at revamping a struggling music program. And, 2 years later. it’s doing really, really well!
So to my kiddos who are graduating this year, there are a million directions you can take in life.
I can’t lie. The pressure will always be there to pick certain paths over other ones. To make decisions that lead to a high-paying job, something sensible or a cookie-cutter lifestyle. I won’t tell you not to pursue these options. I only ask that no matter where you go, always take the way that makes you happy. Because you can have everything in the world but feel like you have nothing too.
Find your dream. See it through.
Even if it doesn’t work right now, you can always try again later.
Rock on guys!
Rock on Nick…keep making dreams come true!
An Angel For Pets
If you have ever been the giver and recipient of unconditional love from a non-human companion, you may also have come to know the tumultuous pain when that joy is replaced by grief in the face of loss…possibly even anguish as you have had to make what could possibly be the most difficult decision of your life.
I have been that giver and receiver time and again. And I have had to say good-bye. My pets have always had a very special place in my heart. Each time I have lost one, the grief has been intense. You don’t soon forget that pain but you do, over time, come to be able to look back and smile at the memories, the gift, of the moments, the feelings, the comradery.
It is all those reasons why, when I sat across the table from Tammy Wynn, CEO of Angel’s Paws, I felt a sense of deep connection with her story, her purpose, her journey.
Cagney and Lacey were more than just cats. For 18 years they were Tammy’s children. Together they got through the happy, the sad, the challenges and the accomplishments that come with life. Cagney and Lacey were Tammy’s rocks. They were ears to listen, bodies to hold, kids to encourage play.
Then, in 2003, it happened. Cagney’s health was failing and Tammy’s vet told her it was time to euthanize. “I asked why, and the explanation was just that Cagney was 18,” Tammy remembered.
That day Cagney came home but needed assistance just to stand upright in the litter box. “I knew we needed to do something so I agreed but I didn’t understand what was going on and it didn’t feel right. It was excruciating,” she told me.
That was Tammy’s first experience with death. Her second experience came one year, April 4, 2004, later when her father lost his battle with bladder cancer.
Until that day, Tammy had considered herself an apathetic agnostic. But, one day later, Tammy said she got a sign from her dad. “I came to realize there is a God and a heaven, and I was going to be in it beyond a shadow of a doubt. And I said, ‘ok God’,whatever you want from me, I’m in.”
By April 6, two words were put into Tammy’s heart. Her father’s journey and how the tender care and knowledge of hospice still fresh in her mind, it was painfully clear she wished she had that kind of support when she went through the loss of her beloved pet one year earlier. She googled animal hospice but nothing came up.
“Hospice took the most difficult day of my life and made it manageable, but with the loss of my companion of 18 years, I was alone. Dad left me with entrepreneurial genes so I thought, ‘I guess I am just supposed to invent this,’” she told me.
But there was a lot of learning to do first. Tammy’s next 3 ½ years were spent as a social worker for Hospice of Cincinnati learning all she could about the important role of hospice nursing. Then, at age 50, she went back to school be a veterinary technician to better understand the animal disease process.
Education behind her, Tammy used her entire retirement savings to purchase a building, crematory and vehicles. Angel’s Paws opened at 3:30 pm on April 6, 2010 as the nation’s first pet hospice organization. Its multidisciplinary team supports human caregivers and their pets through its Pets Peace of Mind (in home medical care for a pet by a licensed veterinary team, and emotional support and education by licensed counselors for human family members), in home euthanasia, private cremation, and support groups and counseling.
Today Angel’s Paws has a staff of eight and serve about 1400 people each year. The Angel’s Paws team has been a part of making death more comforting for over 6500 pets since its inception.
“This is the most meaningful and most rewarding work I have ever done,” Tammy said. “Being able to support people and their pet with compassion at such a difficult time is really a gift.”
Joe Wenning Brings History To Life
If you attend, make sure to be on the lookout out for Benjamin Stites, the man who led the first boat of settlers across the Ohio River to land in Columbia. Joe Wenning plays that historic character, a fitting role for the man who has been the passion, heart and driving force for the now annual event. “It is all because of me being interested in history and a whole team of people,” Joe told me.
That interest was first sparked and nurtured 15 years ago by Joe’s high school history teacher, Mr. Shrimpton, who appreciated and encouraged Joe’s class participation. When Joe’s classmates were nodding off in class, he was always excited about the lessons and eagerly answered questions – often correctly.
Later, it was through Joe’s participation in the Starfire Council, a Cincinnati nonprofit organization focusing on building better lives for people with disabilities, and a more inclusive community, that the idea for the event was born.
“His interest in local history basically brought this event to life through sheer force of his willpower and his amazing ability to connect with people,” Richard James, Starfire community connector told me. “Joe is just a natural born communicator who knows how to draw people out. If there’s 20 people in a room, Joe will talk to 25 of them! His knowledge of local history is vast and when he meets someone new who is into history they are invariably drawn in by his enthusiasm. He knows a ton of people around town, many of whom will tell you that Joe’s easy charm and engaging personality was apparent to them on first meeting. He takes this event very seriously and never stops brainstorming on how to expand our team and grow the event.”
Linda Wedding, a direct descendent of Benjamin Stites, came to the second event in 2015 and presented Joe with a plaque proclaiming him as an honorary Stites. Kathy Wenning (Joe’s mother) said it is his most meaningful award because it represents all of his work to do something of value to the community.
Event Details:
Saturday September 8th, 2018
PIONEER CEMETERY
333 Wilmer Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45226
Across the street from Lunken Airport
I asked Joe a few more questions about the event and why you should attend.
Lisa: This event came as a result of your passion for history. Why are you so interested in history?
Joe: Because of all the neat stuff that has happened.
Lisa: Why did you want to create this event – the Columbia Settlement?
Joe: To get more people involved with it. It brings people forward to learn and talk about the Ancestors and Pioneers who used to live in the Columbia Tusculum area. The Stites family is a big part of it too! Everyone should come! It’s all about helping and volunteering.
Lisa: Please share about the work that you have done to help create it, organize it, and volunteer at it.
Joe: I helped to get the event going, to get a team of volunteers together. I have help from Richard. (We) send out emails to committee members. (We) meet with volunteers and talk about the job they want to do for it. Volunteers are local people we meet at other events and history places. I ask them if they want to be a part of it. I portray a character called Major Benjamin Stites. He was a Revolutionary War soldier and he brought a boat load of friends and family members to Columbia.
Lisa: Why do you think people should come to the event?
Joe: Because we got reenactors; we got food and games and demonstrations. We got a whole load of games, dying fabric, paper piecing – and you got to come see it! It’s a blast! It’s free! You can walk right in! You have to see the food, gun demonstration, walking first person tour up above. You will hear the story about the first boatload of people. Look it up on our Facebook page; it is called Columbia Settlement Group.
Joel: A Dog Adoption Story Of Love
Carolyn Evans, otherwise known as Cincinnati’s PhoDOGrapher, founder of the My Furry Valentine mega adoption event, and now executive director of Clermont Animal CARE Humane Society, told me – of all the dogs her rescue and animal welfare work has touched, his adoption story is her favorite.
In Carolyn’s own words, “Joel was one of the 60 or so dogs that was waiting for us when we took possession of the shelter on January 1st. He was a long-timer and was continually overlooked. He was old and sick, and every day we hoped a family would come along and swoop him up. Sadly, that day never came.
On May 1st, Joel was rushed to the vet because the right side of his face was swollen. It was a difficult diagnosis. Initially, the vet thought that it might be an allergic reaction to an insect bite. He also considered the possibility that maybe Joel injured himself with a fall, but that was quickly ruled out. He was treated with a steroid injection, Benadryl and we continued to monitor him closely. Joel came home with our Medical Director where he seemed to improve and his handsome face went back to normal. Unfortunately, the swelling began to return slowly even with the steroids and we took him to the emergency vet because the swelling was so severe that his right eye was swollen shut. An x-ray of Joel’s skull identified a mast cell tumor.
We discussed options, cried, talked more, consulted the oncologist and made the most difficult decision but one that was best for Joel. After a trip to the drive-thru, a few hamburgers and fries, tons of kisses and tears, Joel gained his wings.
Our hearts were broken and we just couldn’t get our heads around the idea that Joel never found his forever home. But then we had a beautiful realization… that WE were his forever home. Every one of us loved him and he will forever be a part of us. Joel WAS someone’s dog – he was OUR dog. Joel was officially adopted by the staff and volunteers of Clermont Animal CARE Humane Society.”
Animals And Humans Meet
While Joel’s story, his home, and his heart are his own personal legacy…what he shares with the hundreds, even thousands of dogs and cats, who have found their way to one of the dozens of local animal rescues and shelters is his capacity to give and receive love.
It is why people like Carolyn – passionate volunteers, advocates, and professionals – do what they do. And it is why over 15,000 people now attend the My Furry Valentine mega adoption event. Nearly 1000 families found their best friend at at the last event in February.
And, THIS year, organizers have added a new summer Summer Lovin’ Adoption Event – scheduled for August 18 and 19 at the Sharonville Convention Center. Just as with the winter event, dozens of nonprofit dog and cat rescue organizations will be on hand with puppies, adult dogs, kittens and cats (and even some smaller animals).
If you are looking to add a new furry friend to your family, absolutely plan on attending!
Before you go, please read my post on considerations to think about BEFORE adopting. Think about your lifestyle and what general breed qualities will fit best within it also BEFORE you are smitten by the adorable face in front of you.
