Volunteer
Cincinnati Youth Collaborative Honored Volunteer Mentors
To celebrate National Mentoring Month and the dedication of so many adults who care, the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative recently honored 15 Outstanding Volunteers at its annual Thank You Mentor Dinner. Honorees are: Harry Blanton, Bishop Victor S.Couzens, Matt Curran, Mike Fredrick, Scott Grothaus, Andy Hofmann, Michael Liu, Brenda McCaskill, Sgt. Tia Pearson Miller, Tina Marie Mitchell, Darlene & Richard Ramon, Ellie Reiser, Keith Sams, Judy Schmitt and Brittany Tucker.
CYC’s Invested in Youth Award was given to Sgt. Tia Miller for her dedication to bettering the lives of young women both on and off duty. Sgt. Miller has officially mentored Dubrina for four years but has informally mentored more than five young women that she has met while on the job as a Cincinnati Police Officer.
Harry Blanton and Andy Hofmann received the Return on Investment award for their longevity in the mentoring program and having mentored at least one student through high school graduation.
Bishop Victor Couzens received the United for Youth award for his personal commitment to recruiting volunteers for the program. His passion and dedication has allowed an entire congregation to impact the lives of several hundred school students.
Thank you to all of them – and so many more – who have committed themselves to helping young people succeed in life!
Bake Me Home Enriches Lives…With Cookies
Meet 10 year old twins Emma and Amy Bushman. Born just moments apart, Amy is the artsy one who loves dabbling in the creation – drawing, building, and writing. Emma on the other hand is the more methodical, more critical thinker. You wouldn’t know it by looking at them that the girls are twins but it is pretty obvious they are best friends in the whole wide world.
And, as best friends go, they share an interest in music (Emma plays the flute while Amy plays the trumpet and piano), tennis, singing, and making a real difference in the world. They also happen to be entrepreneurs, volunteers, business women, and board members. That’s right. Emma and Amy (and their mother, Alison) began one of Cincinnati’s most unique nonprofits in their kitchen three years ago.
Today Bake Me Home serves hundreds of parents and their children each year (a statistic that continues to grow) through shelters and other agencies in four counties; and has more than 100 volunteers who assist. It is all about promoting volunteerism, enriching lives and strengthening family relationships, especially those who are facing significant personal challenges – and it’s centered around cookies!
The very beginning
Behind the scenes of Bake Me Home are two parents – Alison and Lee – who believe in teaching their children about the 
importance of giving back. The girls were not even in kindergarten yet when they began learning what it means to help other people. Alison said it really didn’t take a whole lot of convincing to get the twins to understand there are other kids who needed gifts much more than they did.
And so, at their fourth birthday party, Amy and Emma started asking their friends to bring books and toys for homeless children instead. Then they’d gather their gifts and deliver them with their mom to the Bethany House shelter for families; and while they were there, they made a pancake breakfast for everyone.
Fast forward three years
Being the astute person that she is, Emma was watching Teen Kids News one morning as she has many times. Only this time there was a story that spoke to her. It was the coverage of a Young Entrepreneurs Convention and Emma was blown away when she learned about other kids starting their own businesses. “Kids can really do that?,” she yelled to her mom – an expert at selective listening.
“Sure you can do anything you want to do,” was the response. Then Alison went back to cooking dinner.
(Somehow, I don’t think this Anderson mom who loved the idea of finding opportunities to teach her girls life lessons had any idea of what she was committing to.)
Cookie Bakers
Coincidentally, Amy and Emma had just come home from a ‘food as gifts’ themed camp with a jar of dry ingredients – everything needed to make soft and chewy cookies, their favorite thing to do when they wanted to spend quality mom-daughter time together.
It was that simple. They would have a nonprofit organization that would provide moms who are down on their luck with all of the ingredients necessary to bake homemade cookies with their children, starting with the residents at Bethany House. Sure, cookies may not be the most nutritious food on the chain but that wasn’t really what this was about. It was about giving parents and children a feel good activity, one where they’d talk and laugh and bond with each other just as Amy, Emma and Alison do.
First things first. Alison, who had no idea what it even meant to be called 501C3 had to do a quick study – on vacation – and, within eight months they were approved.
They needed to come up with a recipe that didn’t include vanilla extract (because it is expensive) and so there was a lot of experimenting – and taste testing. (lots of taste testing) They contacted their church to use its health department approved space. They held fundraisers, applied for grants and got donations. And they recruited volunteers and board members.
The girls wrote this on their website…”This pile of goodies made us realize that they were going to need something to carry all this stuff out of the shelter and into their new home, hence the introduction of the tote bag and the new name for our program! We knew our families would face one last obstacle when baking their cookies, the cost of the stick of butter and two eggs needed to complete their mix. We knew from our years of volunteer work at The Bethany House that many families moved into their new homes with little or no grocery money. We didn’t want money to keep them from baking our cookies while celebrating this happy time together, so we decided our Tote Bag needed one more thing, a Kroger grocery store gift card. Our $20 gift card allows them to get their butter eggs, and a few other essential items. We always suggest milk to go with their cookies!”
Other programs
Today Bake Me Home also includes –
Bake Me Home Pantry Totes that distributes totes as funds are available to area pantries.
Bake Me Home Family Portrait Program that provides a free 5×7 portrait to families at food pantries and shelters through the area.
Bake Me BACK Home Program where, for a $30 donation, two dozen cookies are sent to a military member overseas and proceeds benefit the rest of the organization’s work.
Bake Me Home Awards recognizing other kids’ for doing community service.
Lessons learned
The girls are the idea generators and help with every facet of the organization, including overseeing the financial statements. Alison laughed when she told me about how Emma had grilled her for spending an additional $30 on 1000 tote bags.
I asked Amy and Emma what they like most about Bake Me Home. “It’s all the things we learn. When we first started, mom used words we didn’t know like ‘fiscal’. I always thought it should be ‘physical,’” said Amy.
“It makes me feel good and helpful because I’m pretty sure not many kids have started a charity. Being a board member is really cool because I always thought you had to be an adult. We’re crossing our fingers that we can be Co-President of Bake Me Home one day,” said Emma.
I actually know the girls get a whole lot more out of it than just learning about economics, although that is a very important lesson.
“I feel that everybody needs to help out just a little,” Emma told me.
Yes, Emma, you’re absolutely right. We all can learn from your lesson.
Over 1600 Gifts Wrapped At Beech Acres For Families In Need
In my job, I am so lucky to have the opportunity to work side-by-side truly caring people who are working to make this world a better place. The Beech Acres Parenting Center’s Adopt-a-Family Program this holiday season was high up on the list.
Several weeks ago I came home from the Anderson Target store so touched by the huge turnout of shoppers – over 350 kids and parents– who were there with a purpose…to shop for those in our community who can’t afford right now to buy holiday presents themselves. Beech Acres volunteers and staff had a wish list that was given to each group.
The nearly $8000 used to purchase the wish lists came from students at Wilson 
Elementary, Ayer Elementary and Nagel Middle School who gave up their allowances and collected their change so that they could brighten the season for others. Additionally, individuals and families also adopted families through Beech Acres.
Then, last week, the Beech Acres Anderson Township campus was transformed into a Santa’s workshop as over 250 volunteers came to wrap all 1600 gifts to be delivered by Beech Acres just in time for the holidays. What was so special was seeing so many of the same faces at the gift wrapping event as were shopping the week before, and most of them were also donors. Children told me how they saved their coins or did extra chores to give to the collection. They liked knowing they were helping someone else.
In addition to all of the volunteers, the staff of Beech Acres are such warm and nurturing people. I am so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work with them.
The Adopt-a-Family committee included: Jennifer Claudy, BAPC development services officer; Alison Bushman, BAPC board member; Missy Meurer, chair of BAPC Adopt-a-Family Committee; Patrick Nugent, BAPC vice president for development; Kim Koelle, BAPC Adopt-a-Family volunteer; Jen Schlosser, BAPC Adopt-a-Family volunteer and school coordinator
Cincinnati Reds Rookie Success League Taught Skills For Baseball…And Life
“Baseball is such a metaphor with life. There is so much humility built into the game. We knew with the right volunteers and leadership, the League could bring that message home.”
~ Charley Frank, Cincinnati Reds Community Fund executive director
What a wonderful gift the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund has given local children in urban neighborhoods. Each summer for the past nine years, Schmidt Fields has been filled with laughter and hi-fives. Kids, many of whom had never picked up a baseball before, are creating memories, learning the fundamentals of America’s favorite pastime, and being prepared for an enriched life in a character-based curriculum.
The Cincinnati Reds Rookie Success League is a free summer coed camp. At Schmidt Field – two days a week there are more than 170 kids from YMCA of Greater Cincinnati afterschool programs and some from the Cincinnati Boys and Girls Clubs; and two days a week there are children from the Cincinnati Recreation Commission. There are also camps in Fairfield, Mason, and Louisville. Collectively, more than 1,500 children participated this year.
“At the YMCA we know participating in sports is a great way for teaching kids that being active is a lot of fun, and more than that, sports are also a great environment to build their confidence and teach them skills that will help them grow into positive, contributing adults later in life,” said Chuck Barlage, executive director of the Williams YMCA who coordinated the YMCA participation. “We are so appreciative to the Cincinnati Reds for stepping forward to provide these learning experiences for our kids.”
According to the Reds, minus interns and a handful of staff, the vast majority of the coaches are volunteers who care. Some of the Cincinnati Reds players also stopped by.
“The league is intended to teach the game in a very safe, fun and non-threatening environment,” said Charley Frank, executive director of the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund. “However, we want the kids to leave with familiarity with the “Six Stars of Success” that we teach each day – Cooperation; Integrity; Respect; Education; Determination and Spirit.”
About the Reds Community Fund:
Since its inception in 2001, the Reds Community Fund has used baseball as a vehicle to reach out to kids. As the nonprofit arm of baseball’s first professional team, the Community Fund strives to create programming that connects underserved children with baseball, while creating fundraising programs that connect baseball with the community. Whether it’s renovating baseball fields, providing opportunities to kids with disabilities, underwriting expenses for inner-city teams or hosting its “Reds Rookie Success League,” the Reds Community Fund is dedicated to improving the lives of youth through baseball. On the web at: www.redsyouthbaseball.org
