League Leader

Elisabeth Dilz puts her fundraising skills to work for local kids

E LISABETH D IL z had to hit the ground running when she took over as director of the TriVillage Mentor League in May.

Fortunately, she had some help. For a decade, Hayley Head, another UA resident, led the charitable organization with a spirit and drive that raised its profile immeasurably during her tenure.

“I think she has made the organization what it is. I have some big shoes to fill,” Dilz says just five days into her new leadership position. Her challenge will be “keeping the ball rolling.”

She’s already well-schooled and easily discusses the league to which she is being introduced, going to community organization meetings, attending mentoring sessions and watching and meeting kids involved – all helping her learn the organization’s finer points.

“I have to confess, I knew nothing about TriVillage Mentor League,” when she learned through friends that Head was moving on, Dilz says.

The league hosts a weekly schoolyear mentoring program that pairs Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington high-schoolers with students in younger grades. In addition, the group helps local youth apply to attend Tim Horton’s Children’s Foundation summer camps.

With a 21-year background in fundraising, publicity, event planning, marketing and advertising, the Miami University graduate is well-suited for leading the organization.

Dilz, who was development director for the Columbus Metropolitan Library for 11 years, left that position in 2001 to stay at home with her children, Sarah, now 14, and Tommy, 12. In her time at the library, she created a fundraising program for the system and enhanced other programs.

For seven years since, she has been involved in fundraising for the PTO at Barrington Elementary School, where Tommy attends, and was on the UA library’s development steering committee last year. Sarah is a Jones Middle School student.

Dilz’s introductory days to the league included visiting the Mentoring & More program at Stevenson Elementary School in Grandview Heights where 40 K-4 students are visited once weekly by older students – mentors – who lead them in various activities, ranging from art to studies to playing.

“It’s nice to see the kids hug their mentors. That’s where the maternal part (of the job) comes in,” Dilz says.

In Upper Arlington, 30 Barrington students participate in the program. It’s smaller there because it’s partly based on financial need and fewer students qualify, Dilz says.

“Everyone I’ve talked to has told me how much they have enjoyed being a mentor,” she says.

Also on Dilz’s break-in agenda was the presentation of six $500 scholarships – three in each high school – to seniors who had been mentors. This year’s recipients were Rebekah Keller, Casey Martina and Jacob Smith from Grandview Heights, and Carly Allen, Jack Brewer and Mary Nemer from UA. The scholarships are funded in part by the Tri-Village and Upper Arlington rotary clubs and Members First Credit Union.

Through Tim Horton’s Children’s Foundation, several students 13 and older are selected to attend a two-week camp, free of charge. This year, 13 from Grandview and eight from UA went to Tim Horton Onondaga Farms in St. George, Ontario. It’s one of six camps the foundation has throughout Canada, where Tim Horton’s is based.

Dilz went to an orientation meeting for this year’s group of students. “The kids were so excited” when they heard of all the things they would do, much of it based on farm living. They slept in tents and were provided with sleeping and duffle bags and flashlights. One disappointment was that they wouldn’t get to fly because the camp’s a bus ride away. And some were not enthused there are no electronic devices allowed. But, “(Camp officials) assured them they would not miss them,” Dilz says.

After attending one year, the Tim Horton’s foundation may select certain campers to return for up to four more years as part of a leadership program. Some from the Tri-Village area have returned, but the Mentor League isn’t involved in that process and doesn’t track how many are chosen. At the end of the get-acquainted session Dilz attended, “One little guy said, ‘I know I’m going to go all five years,’” she says, relishing his enthusiasm. She’s had several more events on her schedule since then. In late June, the Red Door Tavern sponsored the first-ever golf outing for the league’s benefit. Upcoming on Nov. 16 is the annual Bid & Benefit at Our Lady of Victory Parish Hall, the charity’s biggest fundraiser.

While the league is pleased with its community support, Dilz will rely on her professional background while seeking ways to do more and better. Dilz laughs as she mentions one of her personal projects: She wants to “find a new word for mentee,” to describe the younger students in the program. “It’s really nothing. It’s just me,” she says.

Duane St. Clair is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@pub groupltd.com.