Cincinnati volunteer
A Cincinnati Teen Talks About Volunteering & Community Service
I asked Cincinnati teen Jillian Schmidt, a student at Mt. Notre Dame High School, what volunteering/community service means to her and this is what she shared.
“Service is an important part of my life. I love reaching out to others and helping them the best I can with whatever is possible. By 
doing service I learn many things I didn’t know before and I meet new people every time. Every time I do service, I get this feeling in my stomach; it starts off as butterflies and turns into excitement and joy. This is the feeling I get after I help others and while I help others, it is probably one of the best feeling ever. My favorite volunteer work is volunteer work with kids or some type of landscaping volunteer work. When you do volunteer work do something that you love to do or do it with a friend because that always makes it more fun. I think that the most rewarding thing that you can leave with is to know that you helped make a difference and that you helped others. I have learned to be more grateful for what I have through many of my service projects. I have also noticed or learned that what I may get out of a service project the other person may not get out of the service project. Sometimes I may get a little tired during the time I am doing service, but what keeps me going is the fact that I am helping others.”
A Conversation With Cincinnati Volunteer Fred Neurohr
Fred Neurohr is a volunteer, a husband and a father. I met him through his involvement as a board member for
“My work with him at Elementz really drives home the notion that everyone has a gift, and our duty as members of a community is to help nurture and bring those gifts into the light.”
the Cincinnati nonprofit Elementz, an arts center dedicated to encouraging young people’s creativity and positive choices, the promotion and development of Urban Arts, and the betterment of our city. Fred’s passion for bringing out the best in young people is loud and clear. He is an inspiration.
I asked Fred about the GOOD in his life. This is what he had to say.
What is something really good that has happened recently or in your life?
I recently took a position at the Council on Aging, which combines several of my passions: working with data to tell a story, working in service of people in our community, and contributing toward a better Cincinnati.
Who is someone who has inspired you in your life and why?
Peter Block. My work with him at Elementz really drives home the notion that everyone has a gift, and our duty as members of a community is to help nurture and bring those gifts into the light.
What is one of your favorite quotes that inspires you?
“Everything in moderation, including moderation.” It reminds me that it’s okay to let things escape the cold, everyday calculus. In truth, we need not count everything all the time and can choose not to impose quantitative judgments in all corners of life. It’s good for the soul to both recognize and exercise the pleasant randomness life brings, and to act with passion and helpful excess from time-to-time.
What is something that is sure to make you smile?
A trip home to my native New York City, especially sharing it with my family. Watching my kids light up at the sights and sounds of Times Square, or when they stare in wonderment at the awesome characters of Coney Island, or when they try food they’ve never seen before – it’s the best! Unless we attend a Mets or Jets game. That doesn’t leave me smiling so much lately. 😉
United Way of Greater Cincinnati Needs Tax Preparer Volunteers
United Way is seeking volunteers to help provide free tax preparation to low-income families at more than 30 local sites through the Regional Earned Income Tax Credit Collaborative (EITC) initiative. Volunteers are needed to help prepare returns with easy-to-use computer software.
No previous experience is necessary. Volunteers will receive free IRS tax training and certification, allowing them to learn a skill that may be beneficial in their personal and professional lives. Their assistance will help families avoid preparation fees and high interest rate refund anticipation loans.
Work schedules are flexible and volunteers can also participate as screeners/greeters or as translators instead of tax preparers. There are over 30 different tax prep sites in Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Eastern Indiana with hours available during the day, at night or on weekends during tax season, January 31 to April 15, 2013.
EITC is the nation’s largest anti-poverty program, benefitting families. Last year, more than 17,500 tax returns were filed locally, generating more than $20.2 million in refunds. Orientations are brief, lasting about one hour. Volunteers are welcome to attend orientation without registering, but for those interested in registering visit makeworkplay.com
Volunteer orientations are scheduled for:
Southwest Ohio:
- October 30, 5:30-7:30 p.m., United Way of Greater Cincinnati, 2400 Reading Rd, Cincinnati OH 45202
- November 15, 7-8 p.m., Elder High School Schaeper Center, 4005 Glenway Ave, Cincinnati OH 45202
- November 20, 6-7:30 p.m., Workforce One of Butler County, 4631 Dixie Highway, Fairfield OH 45014
- December 4, 6-7:30 p.m., Workforce One of Butler County, 4631 Dixie Highway, Fairfield OH 45014
Northern Kentucky
- October 30, 6-7:30 p.m., Center for Great Neighborhoods, 1650 Russell Street, Covington KY 41011
- November 8, 6-7:30 p.m., Center for Great Neighborhoods, 1650 Russell Street, Covington KY 41011
To volunteer or learn more about the Regional Earned Income Tax Credit Collaborative, visit www.makeworkpay.com/volunteer
Walk To End Alzheimer’s Participant Walking With Purpose
Thank you to Krista Powers with the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Cincinnati Chapter, for this guest post.
As with many who participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s™, Alzheimer’s disease is a very personal matter to Mindy Ross.
Her grandmother, Betty Giehls, died from Alzheimer’s disease in December 2010, just two months after her husband of 52 years, Ralph, passed away. He was her primary caregiver for nearly 8 years when the couple lived in Arizona. When she eventually required nursing home care, he visited her on a daily basis, often several times a day.
“My grandmother always joked about losing her marbles. We told her that we were her marbles and that she would never lose us,” said Mindy. “When we started this team, we thought the play on words made a lot of sense.”
Last year, Mindy was one of the top individual fundraisers at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Walk, raising more than $3,300. Along with her husband, Dave, she will lead her 20-member family team again this year.
“It is sometimes difficult to feel that you can make a difference with an issue as large as Alzheimer’s but with the Walks you feel like every dollar can help,” she said. “It is nice to share the experience as a family.”
After moving from Newport, Ky. to Landon, Ohio, last fall, the Ross family will focus their efforts on the Butler, Warren & Clinton Counties Walk to End Alzheimer’s in West Chester on Sept. 15. This will be the family’s third Walk venue.
“My paps used to take grams to the Alzheimer’s Walks in Tucson and he used the Association’s services there,” said Mindy. “For us here, it is rewarding to do something positive to remember my grandparents and the love they had for one another.”
As the primary national fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association, Walk to End Alzheimer’s is an annual event that brings the community together in a show of remembrance and support for those affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Proceeds from the event will directly fund programs and services of the Greater Cincinnati Chapter as well as national research efforts.
“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of teams like Betty’s Marbles,” said Development Director Krista Powers. “It is our hope that people will again actively support the walk in their community because the need continues to grow every year.”
To register for a Walk to End Alzheimer’s event close, visit: www.alz.org/cincinnati. For more information on how to participate or organize a team, contact Diana Bosse at (513) 721-4284 or dbosse@alz.org or Amy Horn at ahorn@alz.org.
Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Walk
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Sawyer Point
705 E. Pete Rose Way
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Registration 8:30 a.m., Walk 10 a.m.
Distance of Walk Route: 5K
For other regional Walks, please visit this link.
Building Nonprofit Capacity Is What SVP Cincinnati Does
In 2007 it may have seemed unimaginable that the run down, abandoned space on Reading Road where a gas station once stood would be transformed into one of the region’s most unique hands-on learning laboratories teaching youth and adults about sustaina
ble practices.
It was to be a dream-come-true for Cincinnati’s Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati. The staff of the Center brought the idea…along with a request for funding and professional leadership support to a group of local philanthropists wanting to build the capacity of area nonprofits.
And soon, the very first grant of Social Venture Partners Cincinnati (SVP) was awarded. By 2009 the innovative Green Learning Station was open, teaching people about environmentally responsible methods for growing gardens – anywhere and everywhere. That includes yards, walls, patios, driveways, parking lots…and even roof tops.
SVP not only granted the Civic Garden Center $74,000 over four years, its partners also gave of their professional expertise and time. They provided guidance and assistance with strategic planning, leadership development, marketing, and fundraising.
That is just the beginning of the SVP story. Since June, 2008 until December, 2011, the organization and its 38 partners have invested over $598,000 collectively including financial contributions and professional service volunteer time to four different Cincinnati area causes. (SVP is in the process of deciding upon its fifth investee.) Those nonprofits include – the Gorman Heritage Farm, Whole Again International, Imago for Earth, and the Civic Garden Center.
Money is good. Capacity is better.
“We had the audacious idea that, instead of just throwing money at a nonprofit to address its needs, we would throw ourselves into the organization, giving of our diverse talents to become a true partner,” SVP Chair Wijdan Jreisat wrote in its report to the community. Wijdan is also an attorney at Katz, Teller, Brant & Hild.
When I spoke first with director Lisa Davis Roberts, director, and then Wijdan, their passion came through loud and clear. If we had had all day together, I know each of them could have spent the entire time talking about their common cause.
How does it work? At the heart of SVP are its partners who each donate a minimum of $6000 annually and volunteer their time. (There are 38 partners in Cincinnati.) They go through a rigorous process in deciding upon the organizations they will support, and then, for the next three years they basically give of their hearts and their minds to further missions that are important to them.
“SVP is hands-down my favorite volunteer experience,” said founding partner Susan Ingmire, president of Ingmire Philanthropy Advisors.
