October / November 2020

ARTS & CULTURE | COMMUNITY | PHILANTHROPY

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Movers&Makers October/November 2020

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Publishers’ Letter 4 Arts & Culture 5 Exhibits help Taft Museum mark 200th anniversary Live music makes a virtual return for fall The Well turns from Facebook, toward serenity | By David Lyman

Spotlight 10 National Philanthropy Day: Annual celebration shifts online Breakfast hosts Black preacher of white denomination Secret ArtWorks will be crashing your house Mercantile Library books ‘Half-Baked’ gala

National Philanthropy Day honorees 12 Bill and Jenny McCloy | By Shauna Steigerwald Gerry Greene | By Leyla Shokoohe R.C. Durr Foundation | By Gail Paul Camryn Morrow | By Dawn Adams Mary Fischer | By Madeline Anderson

Book Preview 19 Biography chronicles Mary Jo Cropper’s battle with cancer

In the News 20 Gifts & Grants 24 Volunteering 26 Volunteer’s skills restore homes and dignity | By Grace Hill Shelterhouse gets help during pandemic | By Grace Hill

Snapshots 28 Stepping Stones’ virtual Bloom Gala nets $242K Architects saluted for outstanding residential work Artists honored at Art Club’s ViewPoint Exhibition JDRF tees it up to the tune of $60K

Opinion 34 Cultivating understanding in a divided world | By Marlaina A. Leppert-Wahl

On the cover: Jenny and Bill McCloy, photo by Tina Gutierrez

Movers & Makers

OCT/NOV 2020 3

PUBLISHERS’ LETTER

I

t’s hard to tell whether this is an ending or a beginning.

investment in our work on behalf of area nonprofits. It is a fact that we could not have done this without their support.

By returning to print for the first time in seven months, are we signaling the closing of this strange, seclusive chapter, or are we embracing the fact that we all have to learn to live with this viral threat going forward?

Either way, we are pleased to be back, as the only regional publication focused solely on the nonprofit community. And proud to create something concrete and permanent – an entity reflecting the strength and substance of the essential work being generated (amidst so many challenges) across the nonprofit spectrum.

In addition to the loyal advertisers who have supported our return to print, we would like to thank Cincinnati Cares, whose leaders have stepped forward to sponsor these last two issues of the year. (A December/ January issue will follow before Thanksgiving.) Sincerest gratitude to founder Craig Young and executive director Doug Bolton for their

What’s new As we have expanded our online presence over the spring and summer, we continue to work to share news and content with you through whichever channel seems most appropriate.

As a result, most news and information regarding upcoming events will appear online at MoversMakers.org, including our Arts & Culture event listings and the Fundraisers Datebook. The print magazine will continue to shift toward more feature-rich content, nonprofit topics and issues, and news that is less timesensitive. In between print issues, our Wednesday email newsletters will keep you abreast of news of the week, plus previews of upcoming events.

Another new offering – our “M&M Community” dedicated emails allow nonprofits to speak directly to our email readership.

Elizabeth & Thom Mariner, co-publishers, owners Digital edition:

Publishing schedule:

www.MoversMakers.org

Issue

Deadline Available

Social media:

DEC ’20 / JAN ’21

(Oct. 30)

2021 schedule to be determined.

@moversmakerscincinnati

Nov. 24

THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY

Advertising & distribution: Thom Mariner, 543-0890 or tmariner@moversmakers.org

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© Copyright 2020 Mariner Publishing, Ltd. We make every effort to verify information submitted for publication (print and online), but are not responsible for incorrect information or misidentified photos provided to us.

Direct mail subscriptions: Online: www.moversmakers.org/subscribe

Readers are advised to confirm event dates and other important details and check for last-minute changes with the organizations or advertisers involved.

OCT/NOV 2020

In this issue Our return to print is well-timed with the opportunity to profile this year’s National Philanthropy Day honorees. As with so many events this year, the Association of Fundraising Professionals has moved the NPD event online, but the value of these contributions are anything but virtual. Thanks so much to event chairs Elise Hyder, Lauren Frooman and their committee for their assistance, especially Carol Rountree for facilitating our interviews and photo sessions.

See Page 12 and following for insightful profiles by Shauna Steigerwald, Leyla Shokoohe, Madeline Anderson, Gail Paul and Dawn Adams. And may we share our continuing appreciation for the beautiful contributions of photographer Tina Gutierrez.

Also in this issue, David Lyman shares the expanding influence of Stacy Sims and her Mindful Music Moments program, which has taken

Going forward As mentioned above, we will publish one more print issue before 2020 comes to a (blessed) close. Our traditional double holiday issue will return around Thanksgiving. And stay tuned for some very special milestone announcements coming soon.

If you have the opportunity, please encourage appropriate companies and organizations with which you have contact to support our work through paid advertising, either in print or online. Help us expand our capacity to promote the good works of the nonprofit sector of Cincinnati.

Thanks for reading. We wish you wellness and mindfulness in the weeks ahead.

And please exercise your right to vote!

Thom & Elizabeth Mariner Co-publishers

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on new, deeper meaning during the pandemic (Page 8). Janice Hisle previews her new book about Mary Jo Cropper, Cropper’s fight against breast cancer and her generous gift to benefit future patients (Page 19).

Grace Hill shares successes in volunteerism (Page 26). And Marlaina Leppert-Wahl speaks out about the important work of EquaSion, the newly re-branded multi-faith organization bridging barriers between those of different faith practices (Page 34).

Also at www.moversmakers.org/publishing-schedule

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You can touch it, feel it, pick it up again and again. It doesn’t disappear from your coffee table the second you look at something else.

It will still be there tomorrow, next week, and the rest of the month, for a quick browse or for reference.

For 25 years, Movers & Makers has been a free print publication distributed to hundreds of locations throughout the area. But times change, and for a variety of reasons we are working to transition a portion of our distribution to direct mail.

If you value our publication, and would like to have every issue of M&M delivered directly to your mailbox, sign up at www.moversmakers.org/subscribe. 

Arts & Culture

Herman Henry Wessel, “Jamming Barges Under the Suspension Bridge,” 1921, oil on canvas

Exhibits help Taft Museum mark 200th anniversary The Taft Museum of Art celebrates its bicentennial year with two exhibitions, “A Splendid Century: Cincinnati Art 18201920” and “Built to Last: The Taft Historic House at 200.”

“A Splendid Century,” in the Taft’s Fifth Third Gallery, features Cincinnati artists spanning the first 100 years of the house’s existence, including rarely seen works from local private collections and from museums around the region.

The exhibition, running through Jan. 24, includes paintings and sculptures by Cincinnati artists including Hiram Powers, Robert S. Duncanson, Elizabeth Nourse, Frank Duveneck, Henry Farny, Dixie

Selden and others, as well as ceramics from Rookwood Pottery.

“Built to Last,” in the Sinton Gallery showcases the artifacts and stories left behind by the home’s residents and other key figures. This exhibit continues through the spring.

The exhibits are a precursor to the historic house’s Bicentennial Infrastructure Project, set to begin in 2021. Preservation and restoration work will begin thanks to a $750,000 award from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a $500,000 grant from the National Park Service as part of the Save America’s Treasures program.  www.taftmuseum.org

Elizabeth Nourse, “Head of a Girl,” early 1880s, oil on canvas The Rookwood Pottery Company, Kataro Shirayamadani and Harriet Wilcox, decorators, “Lamp Base,” about 1900

Annex Gallery expands, opens two exhibits The Annex Gallery has expanded with the acquisition of the former Marta Hewett Gallery at Pendleton Arts Center, 1310 Pendleton St. Artist Jens Rosenkrantz Jr., a PAC studio resident since 2011, is programming the 4,000-square-foot space with two exhibitions – “Good Trouble,” an interpretation of American life and politics by Cuban artist Jorge Rodríguez Diez in Gallery One, and “Nature Abhors a Vacuum,” a Pendleton artists retrospective, in Gallery Two. Rosenkrantz launched a photography career after 30 years in investments, finance and accounting. A 2015 trip to Havana

paved the way for the Annex Gallery expansion.

“I realize that for some, it may seem counterintuitive to double gallery space during a global pandemic, but I have hope for the future and the arts,” said Rosenkrantz.

Rosenkrantz and his wife, fellow artist M. Katherine Hurley, founded Bridges Not Walls in 2015 as an artist exchange program between Havana and Cincinnati.

“Good Trouble” and “Nature Abhors a Vacuum” run through November. Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, or by appointment.  www.pendletonartcenter.com

M. Katherine Hurley and Jens Rosenkrantz Jr. Movers & Makers

OCT/NOV 2020 5

ARTS & CULTURE

Live music makes a virtual return for fall P

erformance venues remain closed as COVID-19 continues to keep us physically apart. In response, several local music organizations have put together series of virtual performances this fall and, in some cases, beyond.

Violinist Augustin Hadelich

Linton Chamber Music The watchword of the longlived Linton series has always been intimacy. Audience members, many who have been steeped in chamber music for decades, surround performers in close proximity on three sides within the warm acoustics of First Unitarian Church. All of this flies in the face of our pandemic reality, so artistic directors – violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson – have kept the venue, but shifted the audience online.

Live from Linton (virtual) • Nov. 1, 4 p.m. Danbi Um, violin; Christopher Pell, clarinet; Ilya Finkelshteyn, cello; Ran Dank, piano: music of Bartók, Ravel, Stravinsky and Mendelssohn • Dec. 6, 4 p.m. Jaime Laredo, violin; Wesley Collins, viola; Sharon Robinson, cello; Owen Lee, double bass; Christopher Pell, clarinet; Christopher Sales, bassoon; Elizabeth Freimuth, French horn; Lisa Conway, French horn: music of Michael Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven  www.lintonmusic.org

CSO & Pops

Indian Film Festival expands

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is taking full advantage of not having to fill cavernous Music Hall by crafting a more intimate, more inclusive, more adventurous virtual series of concerts. Performed live from the Music Hall stage, these remaining concerts – three CSO and two Pops – will be shared for free via the CSO’s website, and simulcast on Fountain Square.

Live From Music Hall (virtual): • Oct. 24, 8 p.m. (CSO) Louis Langrée, conductor; Augustin Hadelich, violin.

Music of Ives, Stravinsky and Baroque composer Joseph Bologne • Oct. 31, 8 p.m. (Pops) John Morris Russell, conductor; Stefani Matsuo, violin; Damon Gupton, narrator.

Celebration of autumn, Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos • Nov. 21, 8 p.m. (CSO) Louis Langrée, conductor; Anthony McGill, clarinet. Music of Wagner, Julia Perry and Anthony Davis • Dec. 5, 8 p.m. (CSO) Louis Langrée, conductor; Augustin Hadelich, violin; Awadagin Pratt, piano. Music of Mozart, Ravel, Joseph Bologne and Marianna Martines • Dec. 12, 8 p.m. (Pops) John Morris Russell, conductor. Holiday Pops – Home for the Holidays  www.cincinnatisymphony.org 6

OCT/NOV 2020

Movers & Makers

CSO cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn, CSO clarinetist Christopher Pell, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center violinist Danbi Um and CCM pianist Ran Dank

Online Oct. 15-Nov. 1

concert:nova Artistic Directors Ixi Chen and Ted Nelson

concert:nova Long known for their creative and unorthodox approach to programming, the clever curators of concert:nova committed months ago to a full season of virtual concerts for 2020-21, viewing this as an opportunity to explore the creative and expressive possibilities available within the digital realm. Each performance takes place on the 14th of the month, in honor of concert:nova’s 14th season.

Digital Season 14 • Oct. 14, 7 p.m. “Travel.” Music and imagery from Haiti, France and Japan • Nov. 14, 7 p.m. “Turnsole.” Music by local band Turnsole, played with and by strings • Dec. 14, 7 p.m. TBA  www.concertnova.com

The pandemic will not stop the Indian Film Festival from coming back this year with a virtual edition of 45 films, discussions and livestreams spread over two weeks.

The only festival in Greater Cincinnati to feature South Asian films, this year the IFF also invited local filmmakers to share their stories.

According to founding Executive Director Ratee Apana, “Films are a great way to engage the community and transform the way you view the world. It helps us build inclusive communities, so we want local stories, too. The stories resonate and remind all of us how similar we truly are irrespective of who you are or where you come from – stories about the human condition transcend borders.”

The films cover diverse languages, including English, that reflect the subcontinent and its migrant population.

All films are subtitled in English, and some are made in the United States.  www.iffcincy.com

A&C event listings are online at www.moversmakers.org

Click “ARTS CALENDAR” category menu Click “SUBSCRIBE” to sign up for weekly email with our top picks of upcoming events

The School For Creative & Performing Arts Presents

THE FUTURE OF THE ARTS GALA 2021 John F. Barrett, Honorary Chairman

One of the first soirees of 2021, this is the one to go Gala over.

Following the sold-out galas — the 2019 inaugural and 2020 — don’t miss another landmark, black-tie moment in support of the SCPA, January 15, 2021, at Music Hall.

The months following the 2020 gala have been a challenge, here and around the world. But thanks to the talents and minds of the SCPA in devising creative means to ensure the safety of attendees, we’re so pleased that the 2021 Gala will take place!

Enjoy the best of Cincinnati arts performing alongside the next best of Cincinnati, as our top student talent collaborates with our city’s top performing arts organizations:

SCPA readies students for higher education and professions in the arts, and these stellar arts institutions are examples of what your attendance ultimately helps support. While public taxes cover the cost of SCPA academic education, the success of this fundraising gala is paramount to close the gap on expenses and provide what makes SCPA so amazing.

RESERVE YOUR TABLE TODAY! Contact Teresa Summe-Haas: haaster@cps-k12.org/513.363.8155.

If you are unable to attend but would like to make a donation, please do so at scpa.cps-k12.org/donate…thank you!

ARTS & CULTURE

By David Lyman

The Well turns away from Facebook, toward serenity “WE’RE LEAVING FACEBOOK,” screamed the photo on The Well’s Facebook page.

Perhaps “scream” is too extreme a word, especially considering that The Well is an organization dedicated to helping people find a quieter and more peaceful approach to life.

The Well isn’t alone in abandoning Facebook. News sources regularly report that millions of subscribers leave Facebook every month. Of course, millions more join, meaning that Facebook remains one of the world’s most-used social media platforms.

But that begs the question: Why would The Well want to abandon a mammoth – and mostly free – source of promotion and information-sharing? The more you know about The Well, the less surprising the decision is.

The Well is the brainchild of author and mind-body educator Stacy Sims.

“In the late ’90s, I got sober and started Pilates within the same week of one another,” Sims said. The discipline of the 12-step program brought a much-needed element of control to her life. But it wasn’t enough. “The Pilates work helped me recover not just my mind, but my body, too.”

It began a journey that would become far broader and far more probing than she ever imagined.

“I became interested in what are the sorts of things one can do to start to feel more fully engaged in the world.”

So what does all this have to do with Facebook?

In some ways, Facebook exemplifies the sort of influence that Sims has battled against for the past two decades. With the growth of the Internet, especially as powered by smart phones and other gizmos to ensure that we are never far from our music, films and “friends,” it has gotten increasingly difficult for many of us to focus on finding any semblance of balance in our lives.

But Sims was determined to help.

She began the True Body Project in 8

OCT/NOV 2020

2005. Initially, it was focused on teen girls, helping them be more aware of issues around body, body image, gender and media. Later, she would launch two other meditation-oriented programs, City Silence and Mindful Music Moments.

Stacy Sims Children in a Mindful Music Moment

Mindful Music Moments (MMM) has proven especially successful, recently winning an award for “Best Use of Music in Towns & Cities Under 500,000 Population” from a group called Music Cities Events.

A year ago, Sims brought all three of her groups together under an umbrella organization – The Well. The idea was that each of the three disciplines could enhance the work of the others.

Now you might imagine The Well to be a virtual sanctuary, a place for people to hide from the modern world.

Not so. The Well has many of the same values as its founder. Sims is not a recluse. On the contrary, she is actively linked to the world outside her door. How else to share the messaging of her brands? But she also understands that there are many people “who want to feel better and do well in the world,” in the words of The Well website.

Sims and her collaborators are savvy strategists. In the case of Mindful Music Moments, which is in 170 schools around the country, they wanted to grow the program to include adults. Sims didn’t want to alter the basics of the program. She realized that widening its reach was

Movers & Makers

just a matter of presenting the idea this was something we could bring to differently. them to help them slow down, even if “Many adults still feel like they only for a few minutes.” couldn’t possibly sit still for three Beginning in October, a four-hour minutes – they have too much to do,” video loop of MMM will become an she says. “But when we tell them all option for all in-patients at the UC they need to do is listen to Medical Center, piped in through beautiful music for three patients’ televisions. minutes, they can do that.”

Sims quickly realized that if they That is part of what sold could have an MMM channel at Sian Cotton on the idea of UC Health, why not at other places? bringing MMM into UC Senior centers, perhaps. Or senior Health, where she runs residences? Perhaps it could even the Integrative Medicine reach into workplaces. program. She is also director “I think we’re all hungry for conof Integrative Health and versations that are richer and fuller Wellness for the than the polarizing ones we’re having University of in social media,” says Sims. “But I Cincinnati. think it is beginning to shift. The In her dual reason is this toxicity. And it’s not just positions, she about Facebook. It’s on Netflix, too. oversees a variety And so many other platforms that are of programs, built around the attention-stealing including nature of technology. Here’s what I acupuncture, know. When I explain this, there is yoga and music no one who says ‘I don’t know what therapy, among you’re talking about.’ ” others.

And as for missing The Well on “But when the Facebook, no need to fret. It will still pandemic began, be on Instagram, Twitter and at its we realized how website, www.thewell.world.  limited we were in our ability to bring these services to patients who were very isolated,” says Cotton. She’d already introduced Mindful Music Moments into UC Health’s Multiple Sclerosis Suite a year and a half ago. Since MMM isn’t dependent The Well, ArtWorks and Wave Pool are on face-to-face encounpartnering with more than 40 Greater ters, she wondered if Cincinnati artists and organizations to offer there might be a way after-school and Saturday programming for to introduce it to the kids ages 6-12 through Camp cARTwheel, a rest of the medical community. virtual arts and cultural camp.

Three months ago, Camp cARTwheel runs Nov. 2 through MMM became availDec. 19. able online to all emCampers join camp counselors and visitployees at UC Health. ing artists for a facilitated camp experience “Employees at every or explore their creativity on their own with level have been pushed the self-guided experience. to the brink during this Register by Oct. 17. past six months,” says  www.artworkscincinnati.org Cotton. “The level of burnout was critical. So

Virtual art camp for kids 6-12

Movers & Makers

OCT/NOV 2020 9

10 Spotlight

Featured Fundraisers, Friend-Raisers & Community Events

National Philanthropy Day: Annual celebration shifts online Thursday, Nov. 5, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Virtual Soon after the emergence of the pandemic last spring, the Association for Fundraising Professionals shifted its annual National Philanthropy Day Luncheon to a virtual event. Much remains the same – including date, honorees and emcee – except for the part where everyone meets and eats together in the same room.

Cost per ticket to the virtual event will be $25, significantly lower than usual. Proceeds go toward supporting the local AFP chapter, ensuring that it can continue providing excellent educational content and community engagement opportunities.

A portion also supports New Faces of Fundraising, a program to

introduce diverse participants to the field of nonprofit fundraising.

Through New Faces, AFP is dedicated to creating a more equitable, diverse philanthropic local community, in a time when a focus on equity is truly key. New Faces was created by the chapter in partnership with the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

During the event, NPD will highlight inspirational stories, focusing on the Black Lives Matter movement and on the COVID-19 fund created

by United Way and the Greater Cincinnati Regional Response Fund.

Honorary Chair for 2020 is Barbara Turner, president and COO, Ohio National Financial Services.

WCPO’s Kristyn Hartman will serve as emcee.

The event will also celebrate each of the award winners, who have done extraordinary things to improve our region.

• Philanthropists of the Year: Bill and Jenny McCloy • Youth of the Year: Camryn Morrow • Volunteer of the Year: Gerry Greene • Outstanding Corporation/ Foundation: R.C. Durr Foundation • (NEW) Lifetime Achievement in Fundraising Award: Mary Fischer  www.npdcincinnati.org

Honorary Chair Barbara Turner

More about the honorees, beginning on Page 12.

Interfaith Action Breakfast to hear Black preacher of white denomination

Center for Respite Care to give Transformation Awards

Thursday, Oct. 15, 8 a.m.

Center for Respite Care’s annual Transformation Awards will be held virtually – with an online event to salute this year’s honorees.

“Our video team is capturing the magic. The streamed event will be available online for some time post the event,” said Laurie Nelson, CEO for the Center for Respite Care. “We encourage donations before, during and after the awards.”

This year’s honorees include: • Sr. Rose Ann Fleming, a special assistant to Xavier’s president and NCAA faculty athletic representative. She represents Xavier University to the NCAA and works to ensure the academic integrity of Xavier’s intercollegiate athletic program.

• Ed and Carole Rigaud, longtime supporters and well-known community philanthropists.

The 2020 Interfaith Action Breakfast will be going virtual. The event – Challenging Ourselves, Channeling Our Faith – will feature keynote speaker the Rev. Lenny Duncan.

Duncan has been incarcerated and homeless, but now he is a Black preacher in the whitest denomination in the U.S.: The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He connects the church’s lack of diversity and its lack of vitality.

This event also features the Interfaith Hospitality Network’s 2020 IHNGC Volunteer Awards.  For information on becoming a sponsor, hosting a watch party, or group tickets, contact Stacey Burge at 513-471-1100, ext.

113 or stacey@ihncincinnati.org  www.ihncincinnati.org

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OCT/NOV 2020

Movers & Makers

Rev. Lenny Duncan

Thursday, Oct. 22, 6 p.m.

• Tender Mercies, which has worked for more than three decades to transform the lives of homeless adults with mental illness by providing security, dignity and community in a place they call home.

In addition, Volunteers of the Year Therapy Dog Sadie (in memory) and companion Carolyn Wiedamann, and Therapy Dog Jasmine and her companion Jennifer Tenney will be honored.  www.centerforrespitecare.org Diana Klinedinst and Martha Schueler are co-hosts for the Center for Respite Care’s Oct. 22 event.

SPOTLIGHT

Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio honors award winners Oct. 27, 4 p.m., virtual

Examples of art offered at a prior Secret ArtWorks

Secret ArtWorks will be crashing your house Online auction: Nov. 12-19 House Party: Friday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m.

ArtWorks’ award-winning fundraiser, Secret ArtWorks, will be back, but will be different.

On Nov. 20, ArtWorks will host Secret ArtWorks House Party, a virtual event that follows a week-long art auction.

Local artists are creating original artwork and supporters will get the chance to bid on these pieces in the online auction, powered by Everything But The House.

Photographs of the artwork will be visible, and the bidder will have a complete description – except for the artist’s name. The highest

bidder will win the piece.

Then, in Secret ArtWorks style, the artists’ identities will be revealed during the virtual event. The House Party will feature a cocktail demonstration, a DJ spinning tunes and celebrity guest experiences.

Sign up to become a host/hostess. A 6-Pack Host/Hostess Party Kit (for six guests in your home), includes gourmet dinner for six from Jeff Thomas Catering, six cans of Rhinegheist beer, six HomeMakers Cocktail mixers and six Secret Works of Art from the ArtWorks Vault.

There are also 2-Pack party kits available.  www.artworkscincinnati.org

Mercantile Library books ‘Half-Baked’ gala Saturday, November 7, 7-9:30 p.m.

The Mercantile Library invites you to join supporters, staff and author Curtis Sittenfeld from anywhere for its “defiant” virtual gala, Half-Baked. The library could not host its annual Niehoff Lecture and fundraiser, but will still celebrate literature, raise funds and benefit some of Cincinnati’s local restaurants online. Dress in black tie, pajamas or both.

Sittenfeld will debut a brand-new story, and chat about books and writing with John Faherty, Mercantile executive director.

Attendees can choose a four-course dinner from one of five outstanding local restaurants: Abigail Street, Jean-Robert’s Table, Via Vite, Salazar or Sotto.

Restaurants will be assigned randomly, although dinners purchased together will all be from the same place. A few days prior to the event, ticket holders will be notified via email where and when to pick up their “half-baked” dinner, and also how to access the event. That evening, all will finish cooking their meals.

At 7 p.m., everyone can log on, have a drink and chat together. At 8 p.m., Sittenfeld and Faherty begin their chat.

Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio will host its first virtual Volunteer & Donor Appreciation event, presented by the Ohio State Bar Foundation. PBPO recognizes the following individuals, companies and firms for their contribution to PBPO and to our community.

• 2019 Corporate Legal Department of the Year: The Kroger Co. • 2019 Law Firm of the Year: Ulmer & Berne LLP • 2019 Corporate Attorney of the Year: Giles Roblyer • 2019 Law Firm Attorney of the Year: Matthew D. Delaney • 2019 Excellence in Nonprofit Service: Bill Flynn • 2019 Rising Star: Adreanne Stuckey PBPO’s volunteer attorneys provide nonprofits with free legal services.

Have a drink with Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio Nov. 12, 5:30-6:30 p.m., virtual PBPO’s Board of Directors, Grow PBPO, staff, volunteers, nonprofit clients, and friends will hold the annual “Pours for PBPO” happy hour event – at home. This virtual wine tasting, led by a local wine expert from The Birch in Terrace Park, features three hand-selected wines from socially conscious wineries, personally delivered to attendees. Also included is the option to network with other supporters in online breakout rooms. Tickets: $100  www.pbpohio.org

The Datebook is online Make sure your fundraiser, friend-raiser or community event is listed in our Datebook at www.moversmakers.org/datebook Datebook listings are free.* NPOs may send event details and photos to: editor@moversmakers.org Stand out Mercantile executive director John Faherty with author Curtis Sittenfeld

Purchase tickets by Oct. 30.

Members: $175. Non-members: $200.  www.mercantilelibrary.com or 513-621-0717

Consider advertising. Contact Thom Mariner at tmariner@moversmakers.org for digital and print options. *See Page 4 for print deadlines. Events must meet our editorial standards. Events which are featured in print or our weekly newsletters are chosen at the discretion of editorial staff.

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NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY  Philanthropists of the Year

Bill and Jenny McCloy Family experience put couple on philanthropic path

By Shauna Steigerwald Jenny and Bill McCloy Photo by Tina G utierrez

B

ill and Jenny McCloy didn’t know it at the time, but the birth of their second child put them on a path to philanthropy.

Sam, now 25, was born with Down syndrome.

“Sam was a tremendous blessing,” Bill said. “He just makes everyone around him better.”

And he made the couple want to make the world better for people with disabilities. Through the years, they’ve given financial support and have also gotten deeply involved, giving their time and talents to a long list of nonprofits.

Their first philanthropic involvement happened because the hospital where Sam was born connected them with the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati. They’ve since become contributors and Buddy Walk participants, and Bill has served on the board of directors, development and golf committees and is an advisory council member.

Over time, the couple connected with other nonprofits. Noticing Sam’s love of music, they took him to a lesson with music therapist Betsey Zenk Nuseibeh. She later founded music therapy nonprofit Melodic Connections. In 2014, Jenny told Zenk Nuseibeh she wanted to get more involved. She accepted the invitation to be board president on the spot.

“That’s Jenny to the core. She says ‘What do you need? I’m here for you; I will do that,’ ” Zenk Nuseibeh said.

“She’s been my right hand in growing this organization ever since.”

The McCloys have done everything from providing coaching and counseling to donating funds for a development director, to helping move things when the building flooded.

12

OCT/NOV 2020

“The relationship I have been able to build with them has infinitely supported the growth of this organization,” Zenk Nuseibeh said. “They’ve given me the confidence to know this is important work and that I can grow it. Without them, I don’t know that I would have been able to be as bold in the growth trajectory of this place.”

Sam also led the McCloys to support Stepping Stones, where he attends an adult day program. And he indirectly led them to LADD, an organization that works to empower adults with developmental disabilities.

Sam’s godfather (Jenny’s brother) was looking to get involved and found LADD. He became board president and brought Jenny into the fold. She has since co-chaired the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival (now the Over-the-Rhine International Film Festival) and is on the committee for LADD’s Forever, Home initiative, which buys houses in local neighborhoods where adults with disabilities can live together. Sam lives in such a home in Montgomery.

The McCloys also have a vision for a different type of residence.

With other families, they started Lighthouse Landing with an eye toward creating a community for adults with disabilities. When they realized the Ken Anderson Foundation had

Movers & Makers

similar goals, the organizations merged to form Ken Anderson Alliance.

“We could not have achieved many of our goals thus far without their giving spirit and ongoing support,” Alliance Executive Director Kevin Potts wrote in a nomination letter.

Bill is president of the board and Jenny is on the advisory board of KAA, which strives to offer adults with developmental disabilities opportunities to “live, work and engage.” With work and social programs already in place, next up is the “live” piece: The organization is planning a 22-acre, $40 million community, Bill said. The goal is to create an affordable option that will meet residents’ needs and help them feel less isolated.

“We believe adults with disabilities need more choices,” he said. “Our passion is to build this community to give another choice.”

Bringing nonprofits together is key for Bill. He’d love to see more agencies partner to serve their constituencies more effectively and efficiently.

Jim Mason is CEO of Beech Acres Parenting Center, another organization on the receiving end of Bill and Jenny’s support. He appreciates Bill’s ability to connect people and organizations for a bigger impact. Not only has it benefited Beech Acres and other nonprofits, but this ability has served Bill in business, too. Mason knows that part of Bill’s background well: The two “talkers” and fellow Buckeyes became friends after meeting 22 years ago in Vistage, a group for executives.

“Bill’s an innovator and an entrepreneur,” Mason said. “He thinks out of the box.”

Success didn’t happen overnight. Both McCloys came from

self-described “humble beginnings.”

Jenny grew up in Delhi Township.

The youngest of four, she attended Our Lady of Victory, Seton High School and the University of Cincinnati.

“I’m a hometown girl all the way around,” she said.

Bill was born in New Jersey, but the family moved back to Delhi. He attended St. Dominic School and Oak Hills High School before heading to Ohio State. One of seven kids, he grew up only a mile or two from Jenny, but that’s not how they met.

“We like to joke and say we met on the Swiss Alps, but we didn’t – we met at Flanagan’s, a bar that used to be on Second Street,” Jenny said.

Bill tapped Jenny on the shoulder and asked, “Don’t I know you?” Jenny laughed, thinking it was a line. As it turned out, Bill and her brother were in the same fraternity at Ohio State.

They were married while Jenny was still in college and had daughter Annie, 30, two years later. After Sam, they had two more children: Olivia, 22, and Mac, 20.

While Jenny stayed home with the children, Bill embarked on a highly successful career. Early on, he went to work for Power Distribution Services, which rebuilt circuit breakers for the power industry. His father and one of his brothers had started it. When his father died in 1990, Bill took over the company, which was doing $3 million a year in sales at that point.

He was 29.

“I learned some fundamentals that have helped me ever since. Like there’s no substitute for getting there early and leading by example,” he said.

Also contributing to his success: listening, a skill he views as so important it should be taught in schools.

Continued on Page 15.

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NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY  Volunteer of the Year

Gerry Greene Volunteer opts for law after engineering career

By Leyla Shokoohe Gerry Greene Photo by Tina G utierrez

“T

he second-career lawyer – it’s a weird retirement plan,” said Gerry Greene, a volunteer attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati for the last 18 years, who was named the 2020 Volunteer of the Year by the Cincinnati chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Greene’s first act would have been enough for anyone: more than 30 years as a highly regarded engineer at Procter & Gamble, the last seven of which were spent traveling the globe for work; a long marriage to wife Kate; father to three daughters. The international trekking was pleasurable, but intense, and he retired at 59, filling his days on the green and on the softball diamond.

“My wife asked me the $64,000 question: ‘What are you going to do with yourself? You can’t play golf and softball all the time,’ ” he said. “I thought, ‘I don’t know, that sounds like a good plan to me.’ But she was right.”

Greene’s interest in the law went back to his time in the military, when he served as prosecutor and defense in courts-martial for six months.

“I found out that I really kind of liked it, but my career was engineering, so that’s what I did,” he said. “So the more I got to thinking about it, [I thought,] ‘You know, I’ve always had this interest in law, I got the time, why don’t I go to law school?’ ” Go he did. He attended the University of Dayton, which he found to be more receptive to non-traditional students, and “absolutely loved it,” graduating at age 62.

“I really wanted to try to do some good for the community, and one of my neighbors happened to be on the board of Legal Aid, and said, ‘Why 14

OCT/NOV 2020

don’t you go down and talk to them?’ ” Greene met with Legal Aid director Mary Asbury and offered them an unbeatable deal: to volunteer his time.

“The joke is, either that was a good idea, or I needed a psych eval, one of the two,” he said.

Greene was encouraged to pick his own area of practice, and again, Kate was a guiding light. When she was employed at the YWCA, he had become familiar with their mission, which includes combating domestic violence.

“I got to understand the background and the horrible dynamics of domestic violence,” Greene said. “I asked to work in family law and take domestic violence cases.”

Greene, who turned 81 in September, will celebrate 18 years with Legal Aid in October.

“I was very curious how someone who has spent their life as an engineer was going to approach the practice of family law,” said Kelly Malone, managing attorney of family and immigration law with Legal Aid. “Because it can be a very imprecise area. Clients are going through really emotional, scary times in their lives.

I didn’t know if an engineer would have the kind of real empathy and patience it takes to help people when they’re so traumatized. But his innate kindness came through. He’s so gentle and patient with all of his clients, and he always has been. I don’t think it’s something he had to learn.”

Greene’s only legal experience has been with Legal Aid. While not technically on staff, he is the only volunteer attorney with his own office at their headquarters, and has a Legal Aid business card. He often takes younger attorneys under his wing, and remains a trusted confidante for

Movers & Makers

clients after their cases have been closed.

“Among all the attorneys, I would say he’s got the most loyal clients,” said Malone.

“There’s one woman who, every single year, in the late fall, without fail, she sends him a gift card to a restaurant and a beautiful card. And he will never keep that gift card for himself. He always gives it to me and says, ‘Can we use this toward our team holiday lunch?’ ” Greene’s undergraduate days at the University of Detroit Mercy, a school founded on Jesuit principles, helped build his empathy and compassion.

“I’m very much influenced by the Jesuits, who are very communityoriented,” he said.

Giving back to the community is a trait he and his wife instilled in their children, and one they both strived to model throughout their lives.

“I’ll give you a quote which a friend shared with me: ‘The worth of a life is not the wealth you’ve accumulated, or the position you’ve attained, but the footprints you leave behind,’ ” he said. “It’s kind of an inspiration.

We’ve always felt like we need to give back to the community, and we’ve

kind of lived our lives that way.”

In addition to his work with the Legal Aid Society, Greene has carved out time to volunteer on the boards of the Taft Museum of Art and Purcell Marian High School. Again, Kate inspired these connections.

It is important to note his wife’s influence on Greene. Married for 54 years, Kathleen “Kate” Mary O’Connor passed away last year after a battle with cancer.

“She fought it very bravely for two and a half years, and unfortunately it turned on her,” he said. “All three girls and I were with her when she had to go to the ICU for the last 11 days. We were with her the whole time, so that was a blessing.”

They met at a football game at Purdue, where Greene was in graduate school. The pair never lived in the same city before they married; Kate was teaching in Indianapolis when they met, and then Greene went into the Army.

“I initially went to Fort Belvoir, Va.,” he said. “So we were separated and then I actually traded assignments with another officer to get to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., which was as close as I could get to Indianapolis.

I used to do 800-mile round trips on three-day weekends to go see her.”

A tenacious woman, Kate would also trek out to see Greene.

“The only way she could get to St. Louis was on one of these puddlejumper planes,” said Greene, “and she was the only woman on the plane – [the rest] were army recruits. And she said, ‘That was an adventure.’ ” They moved on from his military career to P&G in 1965, landing in Cincinnati.

Kate served as a docent at the Taft. Through her work there, which

Gerry Greene (continued) involved an outreach artist program at local schools, she and Greene became acquainted with Sister Janet Linz, who went on to become co-director of the Lavatus Powell Program at Purcell Marian. The Greenes admired both the nun and the program, dedicated to improving the graduation rate of underserved students.

“We got involved doing that and, gosh, we’ve been doing that for over 20 years,” Greene said.

“And then they asked me to be on the board, and so I gladly accepted.”

Through Kate’s work at the Taft, Greene became involved in the museum’s annual fundraiser, first serving as manual labor before he was eventually asked to join the board. He was on a few committees, including Buildings and Grounds and Governance.

“The joke here is, I missed a governance committee meeting

one time, and they nominated me to be chair of the board,” he said.

He’s currently in his third three-year term, after joining the board in 2009 and becoming chairman in 2012.

“I was new, he was new, and I've never had a better boss in my life,” said Deborah Emont Scott, the Louise Semple Taft president and CEO of the Taft. “I go to meetings sometimes with other CEOs and they roll their eyes when they talk about their directors, and I just consider myself so fortunate to have someone like Gerry volunteer so much of his time to the Taft.”

Greene still gets to flex his engineering muscles occasionally. When rehabilitation began on the Lytle Tunnel (which runs underneath Lytle Park, directly across from the Taft), Greene joined Scott for meetings with ODOT to ensure the Taft,

a Registered Historic Landmark, and its fragile, valuable collection and amenities, would not suffer negative repercussions from the construction.

“Gerry made it all go so much more smoothly than it would otherwise,” Scott said. “He’s always in a good mood, happy to be helping. … He tells a good story, he’s a great audience, he is kind and caring, empathic, and has respect for all people he encounters.”

In addition to the AFP honor, this year Greene also received the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation Presidential Award for Pro Bono Service.

“I’m delighted,” he said. “I don’t do it for recognition or for that reason, but I’m delighted to get it and I’m delighted to shine a light on some of the organizations that I volunteer for, because I think they deserve it.”

And so does he. 

Bill and Jenny McCloy (continued) Jenny points to Bill’s ability to multitask and the fact that “his mind is always moving a million miles a minute.”

In eight years, he grew the company to $28 million in annual revenue before selling it.

“The best thing about it was I was able to give my mom a check that gave her financial freedom she’d never had,” he said.

Three years later, he started CE Power, an engineering services company that provides staffing and project management to power companies. By 2015, he’d grown the company to $45 million in revenue and sold it to private equity. He still has an ownership interest and serves on the board of what’s now a $200 million company.

Building two companies and raising four children is undoubtedly a lot of hard work, but the McCloys had a good time in the process.

“My older daughter said to me not too long ago, ‘Mom, I think it’s really cool that you guys make each other laugh,’ ”

Jenny said.

The Liberty Township and Jupiter, Florida, couple shares a love of wine and golf, their Catholic faith (“It’s been a big part of what we do and why we do it,” Bill said), and of course, their dedication to their family.

“They have been role models of patience and vision as parents,” said Mason. “As a person who runs a parenting center, I have great appreciation for parents like Bill and Jenny McCloy.”

He notes that Bill went the next step to help other parents by setting up Beech Acres parenting programs at his company, CE Power.

Of course, the McCloys have also kept their philanthropic focus. Other organizations they’ve supported include DePaul Cristo Rey High School, Boys & Girls Club of West Chester/Liberty, St. Joseph’s Home, and the Christ Hospital Foundation. Bill is on the alumni board of Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business and is a past board president of Maketewah Country Club,

where he led efforts to adopt a class at Bond Hill School.

After all, their philanthropy is irrevocably tied to their family.

“What Sam has done for us was made us aware,” Bill said.

“What we’d like to do for others is bring awareness of what our community does and can do for those who are less able, the underserved … If we could do anything, it’s flip a wand and make people be more understanding.”

Sam “gave us a bigger purpose,” Jenny said. “We feel very blessed that we’re able to do what we do.”

While the McCloys are humble about what they’ve done, those who know them describe the real impact their contributions have.

“They try in every way they can to make Cincinnati the very best that it can be,” Zenk Nuseibeh said.

According to Mason, “It’s their heart, their passion and their perseverance.

“They just epitomize what a philanthropist is.” 

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Movers & Makers

OCT/NOV 2020 15

NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY  Outstanding Corporation/Foundation

R.C. Durr Foundation A quiet but lasting legacy in NKY

By Gail Paul Wilbert L. Ziegler of the R.C. Durr Foundation Photo by Tina G utierrez

S

ince its inception in 1993, the R.C. Durr Foundation has made a significant impact on Northern Kentucky due to the generosity of lifelong resident, entrepreneur and philanthropist R.C. Durr. Since his passing in 2007, more than $25 million in grants have helped Northern Kentucky organizations and residents.

And Durr’s legacy continues to grow as the foundation joins with others to mount a collective response to the health and economic crises posed by the pandemic.

Attorney Wilbert L. Ziegler is president and CEO of the foundation, serving on a three-member board that meets quarterly to consider requests. As a senior member of Ziegler & Schneider, a firm he co-founded, he celebrated his 60th year in practice in 2018.

The R.C. Durr Foundation was nominated for this award by institutions including Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky and Redwood, which called the foundation’s impact in the community “incalculable.”

Movers & Makers: What does this award mean to the foundation?

Wilbert Ziegler: We were greatly surprised to be nominated! We did not give it serious thought that we might in any way be in the running – it was just a very nice honor to be nominated.

When we did receive the award, we were speechless. It is particularly pleasing to us that the nominations had come from some of the entities with whom we have worked.

M&M: Who was R.C. Durr and what inspired him to establish the foundation?

WZ: Robert Charles Durr was born in Kenton County at a wide place in 16

OCT/NOV 2020

the road called Atwood. When he graduated from high school, his aunt gave him $300 to go to college, which he took and bought a truck. And from that grew the R.C. Durr Company, which built miles of interstate highways throughout the state of Kentucky and later operated a coal mining operation in Eastern Kentucky. He was very successful and went on to found two separate banks, the Boone State Bank and Bank of Kentucky, which forms the foundation of BB&T branches throughout Northern Kentucky. He was considered to be an extremely charitable person. He lived very modestly, but it has been said that nobody ever arrived at his door who didn’t walk away with a check if they needed one. He was a very private person. Very few things bear his name in comparison to the millions of dollars he gave away during his life.

M&M: What communities does the foundation serve and what has been its impact?

WZ: The foundation covers 12 counties, where Mr. Durr spent his lifetime and where most of his contributions were centered. We do not limit ourselves in the area of causes. Much of our concentration is on education – in fact, it is called out in the foundation’s charter. What Mr. Durr had in mind was higher education, so it started out funding Gateway, Northern Kentucky University and Thomas More College. But it spread heavily into food banks, heroin impact response, cold shelters, women’s crisis centers, dental clinics, orphanages and children’s centers. There, we hardly ever turn anyone away. We fund five private inner-city schools to help them operate every year. We meet four times a year and have at least 10 to 15

Movers & Makers

requests to consider every meeting. We are a private foundation that disburses between $2.5 million and $3.5 million annually to a variety of 501(c)(3) organizations, cities and other public bodies.

Then, we have what we call our legacy fund. It’s not a separate pot of money – it is a name we ascribe to it. Mr. Durr was in the habit of giving money to whomever needed it. He didn’t exactly require them to make a formal application. So, in that spirit, we take between $150,000 and $200,000 a year, and send checks to charities at the end of the year, even if they have not applied. What they do with the money is their business.

I think some of them look forward to the mail, come November!

M&M: How did you become associated with R.C. Durr Foundation?

WZ: I was R.C. Durr’s lawyer for almost 40 years. When he decided to form a foundation, I was the one that formed it, from a legal perspective. He then put me, himself and another gentleman, Robert Zapp – a well-known banker here in Kentucky, now retired – on the board. Most of the decisions were made by Durr – he ran it out of this office with no staff.

Toward the end of his life, he was concerned about the foundation and I told him it could be set up to go on perpetually, and we would be pleased to continue it on. It was the first time I ever saw the man get a tear in his eye.

And then he decided it would go on way past his lifetime. I have been CEO since he died in 2007.

M&M: How has the pandemic affected the foundation or caused it to change?

WZ: During COVID-19, we are

working with Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky. Horizon formed a large fund to take care of COVID-related problems, including food insecurity and homelessness. We have funded it as part of a coordinated response. That has worked very well.

As we anticipate more need, we have pushed off some (non-COVID related requests) and told them, “paving that driveway can go another year, we are reserving our funds now for food.”

Requests have come in, not as heavy as we anticipated, because there have been a number of federal government funds.

M&M: How do you cover the needs of rural communities?

WZ: We have staked out a relationship for 10 years or better with the 4-H organizations in each of our 12 counties. We provide them funding every year so that they can send kids to camp who cannot afford to go, including to a camp near Maysville, where we built a cabin to help out.

Just recently, in Mason and Harrison counties, working with the extension district, we provided the funding to construct a facility for job training.

We surveyed the rural libraries to understand their needs, which are surprising. Maybe there was a library for the whole county, and they had just one computer. When we were done, they had about 10 or so. These are things you don’t always think about if you live in a city.

M&M: Is Greater CincinnatiNorthern Kentucky especially generous compared to other regions?

WZ: This is true. It is a very charitable area. It’s a friendly community.

Our people are easy to meet, easy to know and they are generous – that seems to be the characteristic. 

NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY  Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy

Camryn Morrow Never too young to make a difference

By Dawn Adams Camryn Morrow Photo by Tina G utierrez

C

amryn Morrow lives by the principle that you are never too young to make a difference in someone’s life. This principle was sparked by a middle-school experience at the School for Creative and Performing Arts and continues to be her life’s philosophy. She is a third-year human development and community engagement student at the University of Cincinnati.

As a teaching fellow, and later an intern, Camryn has dedicated herself to teaching the next generation of leaders through Breakthrough Cincinnati, a four-year, tuition-free college preparatory program designed to enhance the education of the underrepresented community. To help create a safe space for women of color on her university’s campus, Camryn organizes a student-led book club called “Sister Outsiders.”

During her high school years, Camryn was already bettering her community by researching and documenting local Black businesses in Walnut Hills through the Walnut Hills Historical Society. Camryn also volunteered as a spoken-word writer in the 2018 Over-the-Rhine International Film festival. In 2019, the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley awarded Camryn a $25,000 scholarship for her essay on social justice in education.

Camryn spoke via phone about the journey that has led this vibrant young woman to her path of service and philanthropy.

Movers & Makers: How did you first get involved with nonprofits and philanthropy?

Camryn Morrow: During the eighth grade at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, my

M&M: In what ways has being involved affected you personally?

CM: Fortunately, all of my life I have had the love and support from those around me. There were many people who lifted me up and urged me to follow my heart and take chances. I am extremely grateful for my UC family and those who have inspired me to serve others.

Being surrounded by changemakers, including my closest friends and other community leaders, motivates me to spark passion in others and make a difference in their lives. I am so proud that I can follow in others’ footsteps and continue the act of lifting as I climb. creative writing class participated in the Magnified Giving program.

Magnified Giving was founded by Roger Grein, an incredible individual who has a vision to educate, inspire and engage high school students, and give them the opportunity to learn first-hand about the importance of giving. Magnified Giving engages students and teachers in youth philanthropy education.

My class was divided into small groups and we each researched and reached out to local nonprofit organizations to learn about their mission and the impact that they were making on our local community.

My small group chose the organization Women Helping Women, which assists in helping to eliminate gender-based violence and empower all survivors. Magnified Giving gave our group $1,000 to donate to the chosen nonprofit. Having the chance to impact the community inspired me to continue with my community involvement.

M&M: What is your favorite aspect of your volunteer work?

CM: I enjoy working in and with the people in my community and improving life for generations to come through communal efforts.

When working with youth, I am often amazed at their eagerness and passion to address social injustices and their motivation to be the change that our world needs. It is exciting to know that they will be our future.

Organizations like Breakthrough Cincinnati have allowed me to empower youth and encourage them to be the change that they want to see.

M&M: What advice might you have for others considering involvement, especially other young people of color?

CM: You belong in the room. Your voice deserves to be heard. I want youth to know that it is never too early to make a difference in someone else’s life. Giving back to the community is more than just donating money. You can share your talents

and your time by finding something that you are passionate about and putting in the work to make it better.

It is important to try to do something each day that can make life a little bit better for someone else.

M&M What are your plans for the future?

CM: I plan on completing my degree and graduating in the spring of 2022. I love learning and I love being in places where I am exposed to new ideas and experiences. I hope to attend graduate school in arts administration and/or cultural policy and better learn how I can support and protect the arts in my community, specifically when it comes to engaging and uplifting underrepresented youth.

While at UC, I am excited to continue my leadership roles on campus, including undergraduate student government, where I am able to work alongside my best friend and lead a committee of directors who are dedicated to supporting the identitybased centers on campus and uplifting and celebrating their respective communities.

As well, I am excited for the future of “Sister Outsiders,” which is a book club that I started for women of color (named after a book by her role model and civil-rights activist, Audre Lorde).

“Sister Outsiders” operates as a safe space for women of color to converse on diverse literature and find community among one another. 

Movers & Makers

OCT/NOV 2020 17

NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY  Lifetime Achievement in Fundraising

Mary Fischer ‘A fabulous journey’ in philanthropy

By Madeline Anderson Mary Fischer Photo by Tina G utierrez

M

ary C. Fischer is a Cincinnati-area native and dedicated fundraiser with three decades of philanthropic experience.

Through fundraising and volunteer efforts, Fischer has worked on numerous campaigns and projects for Bethesda Foundation. Her skills have helped raise more than $25 million to support Bethesda North Hospital; Hospice of Cincinnati; and Fernside, A Center for Grieving Children.

Fischer, a Certified Fund Raising Executive, is being recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her success as a fundraiser who has continually demonstrated her love

of and dedication to the profession.

Movers & Makers sat down with her to discuss the keys to her successful career.

Movers & Makers: How did you initially get involved in philanthropy?

Mary Fischer: I started my hospital development career in Springfield, Ohio, where I was living at the time.

I was a stay-at-home mom and did a lot of volunteer work, and there was a job opening for an assistant director of development at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. And I thought, this sounds like something I would be interested in. I‘ve had my hands in volunteer work.

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OCT/NOV 2020

Emmy Award Winner Regional - Interview/Discussion Program

Movers & Makers

M&M: How would you explain your job to someone who is unfamiliar with the term “ development?”

MF: I think when you say “development,” people are unsure. They understand the term fundraising, but I would describe [development as] many aspects of fundraising. [It means] developing relationships with people.

M&M: What trait of your own personality or character do you think has brought you the most success in your work?

MF: I consider myself a people person. That’s the part of my job that I have always enjoyed most – interacting with donors and prospects and explaining a project to them. Or if they’ve already been engaged with the foundation, just cultivating that relationship. What I really like is to show them the impact of their gift.

And that might be, let’s say, they contributed to the new breast center that [Bethesda Foundation] did years ago. It’s showing them the impact that gift has made. I’m a firm believer when someone gives a gift, [you don’t say] “I got what I wanted.” You continue to cultivate that relationship. And then the odds are that they will, hopefully, and in my experience, continue to support causes that they believe in.

M&M: What is the best advice you ever received regarding fundraising?

MF: It’s to continue the [relationship] cultivation and mainly, I should say, the stewardship with the donor.

Once they make a gift, don’t forget about them. Know the impact of their gift. I learned that from a good mentor in Springfield. … Ultimately, stewardship is about meeting a donor’s gift intention to create a

long-term relationship with your organization. If a donor believes your organization has met their expectations, it will encourage them to make future gifts to your organization.

M&M: What is the key to sustaining donor and sponsor relationships?

MF: This is my 30th year in hospital development and so many of my donors have become friends, and again, it’s because of the stewardship and getting to know them. I retired from full-time work [at Bethesda Foundation] and Andy [Swallow], the president of the foundation, asked me to work part time. I’m working on a consulting basis. So I get to do what I love to do. I cultivate relationships and stewardship. It’s just wonderful.

M&M: Thanks, Mary. Anything else you’d like to add?

MF: I’m just so honored and humbled to receive this Lifetime Achievement in Fundraising Award.

I mean, it really is very humbling. I might get teary-eyed. I mean, there are just so many people that I have to thank that have contributed to my success. I mean, not just donors, but board members and committee members and volunteers, or colleagues and peers from professional organizations.

They all deserve a great deal of credit for why I am receiving this award.

And it’s been just a great journey.

I’ve said many times to younger people that are starting out: “If you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I mean, I just believe that’s true. Yeah, there have been days where it’s like, oh no!, but they have been few and far between.

I feel very blessed that I ended up in this career, and it’s just been a fabulous journey. 

BOOK PREVIEW

One life, well lived New biography chronicles Mary Jo Cropper’s battle with cancer – and her story’s power The following passage is based on the author’s personal note, included in the back of a new biography: “A Comforting Light: Cancer Crusader Mary Jo Cropper & Her Legacy of Hope” (2020, Orange Frazer Press). Used with permission.

W

hen the family of Mary Jo Stolle Cropper contacted me about writing her biography and telling the story of the medical facility she helped establish, I felt honored.

But I also felt a slight hesitancy.

That was partly because I mostly had written about crime and justice, not philanthropy, during my two decades as a journalist. It also was partly because much of Mary Jo’s story revolved around cancer – something I knew very little about and, frankly, was almost afraid to learn about.

Many people don’t want to admit how disquieting that word can be. It’s as if we subconsciously fear that talking about cancer lends more power to it. Or maybe, if we mistakenly utter it too many times, we might conjure it up like the menacing spirit in the movie, “Beetlejuice.”

After much personal reflection, I have concluded that the opposite is true. Talking about – and writing about – cancer in an upfront, honest way is important, even if it’s not pleasant. In doing so, we respect those who have been afflicted with it. We validate people whose loved ones have suffered with it. We enlighten people who haven’t had cancer and hope to God that they never do. We honor the memory of those who succumbed to it, such as Mary Jo. And we inspire people to contribute to its eradication.

While writing about Mary Jo’s final days, I caught myself wishing that I were a fiction writer, just this once. That way, I could use the magic of my keystrokes to keep my protagonist alive. The heroine of this story deserved that.

Writing the chapters about her

death and funeral hurt. I had absorbed such emotional impact from everyone I had interviewed, I was almost paralyzed. Yet I know that I still cannot fully understand what Mary Jo – and all who loved her – endured.

Nor do I pretend to understand what other cancer patients go through.

At the same time, I realized that cancer isn’t really the star of this show. Mary Jo is. Because this is truly a story about the tremendous impact of one life, well-lived.

Mary Jo’s story provides powerful lessons about the choices we make in life – and about prioritizing what really matters. Her story also underscores the importance of little things that don’t cost a cent, even though her story is also about a million-dollar donation and its huge multiplier effect.

Although the ending isn’t the one that any of us would have preferred, Mary Jo’s loved ones hope that telling her story will encourage many other “Mary Jos,” whether or not they are afflicted with cancer or blessed with wealth.

Every person who gave an interview expanded the palette used to “paint” Mary Jo’s life portrait – many bright, joyous swaths interspersed with patches of darkness; sometimes in broad brushstrokes, sometimes with finely detailed ones. Dozens of people stepped up to the canvas and made splashes, big and small.

I just decided how to arrange those contributions into the most authentic portrayal possible.

It is my hope that the portrait that unfolded in the pages of “A Comforting Light” is vivid, insightful and inspiring to all who view it. And most of all, I hope it comes close to being as beautiful as Mary Jo was, inside and out.

The limitations of the written word render us unable to look into Mary Jo’s eyes, to hear her voice or to feel her life’s energy. But she did build so

much during her life, most notably brighter futures for everyone she served: students, relatives, friends, strangers.

If we pay close attention to all of that, and to the words in this book, we cannot help but feel her presence.

We cannot help but feel hope.

It is my hope that, through this book, many others will appreciate her accomplishments, big and small, and will be motivated to support the Center that meant so much to her – not just during October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but also throughout the year.  Proceeds from the sale of “A Comforting Light: Cancer Crusader Mary Jo Cropper & Her Legacy of Hope” (2020, Orange Frazer Press), benefit the Mary Jo Cropper Family Center for Breast Care at Bethesda North Hospital, Montgomery.  Order: www.orangefrazer.com

About Mary Jo Cropper

people last year. Cropper’s gift of $1 million led to the center’s establishment.

First diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, while she was a teacher in the Lebanon City Schools, she continued teaching while undergoing chemotherapy. And she went on a mission to help others with support groups and fund-raising that eventually led to the Cropper Center.

In helping others afflicted with cancer, Cropper continued a family tradition of entrepreneurship, philanthropy and altruism that began with her father, Ralph J. Stolle. A Kentucky native who became a self-made multimillionaire, Stolle held dozens of patents, donating much of his fortune to support research on human health, including cancer.

In 2011, about a year and a half after the Center opened, Cropper passed away; she was 69.

About breast cancer Breast cancer is the second-mostcommon cancer in women, after skin cancer. Mammograms can detect it early, possibly before it has spread.

About 12.9 percent of women will face breast cancer at some point in their lives. In 2017, there were an estimated 3.6 million women living with breast cancer in the U.S. The survival rate has been improving; about 90 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer will live at least five years.

Men also can get breast cancer; they make up about 1 percent of breast cancer cases.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Source: National Cancer Institute

As a Cincinnati-area schoolteacher, cancer crusader and philanthropist, Mary Jo Stolle Cropper sowed seeds of kindness that are continuing to grow, nearly a decade after she died of breast cancer.

Her legacy is The Mary Jo Cropper Family Center for Breast Care on the Bethesda Hospital North campus. A leading-edge facility responsible for many “firsts” in the Cincinnati region, the Center served about 60,000 Movers & Makers

Author Janice Hisle

OCT/NOV 2020 19

In the News La Soupe expands service, thanks to new home La Soupe, a local food rescue nonprofit, has moved to a new, 10,000-square-foot facility at 915 E. McMillan St. in Walnut Hills.

The new location includes an expanded kitchen, multiple prep areas, larger storage space, a large dishwashing station and a loading dock, as well as retail and office space.

The new space includes a “cooking improv kitchen” for future use for cooking classes and educational programming.

The organization was previously housed in a 900-square-foot “soupe shack” in Newtown.

Each week, La Soupe rescues more than 20,000 pounds of perishables and shares more than 15,000 servings created in its kitchen via 68 partner agencies.

La Soupe has donated over a million servings of food.

Two years ago, La Soupe launched a $5 million capital campaign and has raised $4.75 million. Major donors: L&L Nippert Foundation/ Greenacres Foundation;

The Farmer Family Foundation; The Kroger Co. – Zero Waste/Zero Hunger Foundation; Julie & John Richardson/SugarCreek; Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust/ Fifth Third Bank; Ruth J. & Robert A. Conway Foundation; Impact 100; James J. & Joan A. Gardner Family Foundation.

Since moving to this larger space amid the COVID-19 pandemic, La Soupe has been able to greatly increase its production of food and meals to share.

As of July there was a 233% increase in numbers from a year ago, helping meet the growing needs of the foodinsecure community.  www.lasoupe.org

Agencies join forces to strengthen support for Price Hill community The nonprofit agency Community Matters acquired fellow Price Hill-area nonprofit Healthy Homes Block by Block this summer.

The combination will add family-level support, capacity and other resources to the family sustainability and resident leadership work of Community Matters.

Community Matters also will become a Mary Delaney, United Way Community Partner.

Community Matters Founded in 2014, Community Matters executive director exists to create a thriving and more just community by removing barriers to opportunity.

Since 2013, Healthy Homes has worked to support families with young children.

With the recent departure of its founder, Chellie McLellan, the Healthy Homes board of directors recognized Community Matters as an ideal host for its continuing work.

“We are excited to honor the foundation of work that Healthy Homes has built over the years,” said Mary Delaney, Community Matters executive director.

REPAIR AFFAIR • PREPARE AFFAIR

45 DAYS OF SERVICE October 1 - November 14 The need for PWC volunteer services has continued throughout the pandemic, and it's more important than ever to keep our clients safe & healthy in their own homes.

www.pwchomerepairs.org 20

OCT/NOV 2020

Movers & Makers

IN THE NEWS

40 join Leadership Council BOLD training program Forty participants have been selected for Class 3 of BOLD, a Greater Cincinnati nonprofit board training program from Leadership Council for Nonprofits.

The class represents 34 organizations in the Cincinnati region, including 10 nonprofits.

The program provides a board leadership development experience to educate and empower local leaders to serve boldly.

“BOLD classes will continue to see an increase in minority representation and diversity of age as a result

of strategic partnerships with Black Achievers and the (Cincinnati) Chamber’s HYPE program,” said Jack FitzGerald, program manager for Leadership Council.

Class 3 has nearly 40 percent racial minority representation, and more than 60 percent of participants are between ages 18 and 39.

Nearly 1,500 participants have graduated from BOLD since 1991 under the leadership of United Way of Greater Cincinnati, until it transitioned to Leadership Council for Nonprofits in 2019.

Jack FitzGerald, Leadership Council program manager

BOLD Class 3 Stacey Andrade, brand director of Gain, Procter & Gamble Eric Beck, supply chain director, Americas, Michelman Shannon Biehl, CaaS program manager, Cincinnati Bell Technology Services Adriana Bitoun, executive director of advancement services and philanthropic stewardship, University of Cincinnati Foundation Julie Bogusz, senior manager, KPMG Roberta Boyd, volunteer consultant, OneSource Lisa Craig, executive director, Gabriel’s Place Asawari Deshmukh, assistant professor of economics, University of Cincinnati Maria Dunlap, CEO, Reviv Family Support Foundation Megan Fischer, CEO and founder, Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank Robert Fohl, manager, BKD CPAs & Advisors Grant Ford, wealth advisor, Mariner Wealth Advisors Julian Gaines, shelf analytics manager, Procter & Gamble

Carol Hemmer, vice president, Kevin Hemmer Construction Colleen Houston, CEO & artistic director, ArtWorks Cincinnati Shane Hutton, RFID business development manager, Avery Dennison Jourdan Ivory, program director, Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce Andrew Johnson, associate, Frost Brown Todd Michelle Kirschner, director of survivorship program development, UC Cancer Center Devin Lally, technical account associate, dunnhumby Janet Li, senior manager, KPMG US Kyndal Michel Marks, senior operations analyst, Fund Evaluation Group Emily Mott, transfer pricing consultant, EY Gabriel Moyer, attorney at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease Elisa Perin, practice facilitator, The Health Collaborative Veronica Polinedrio, staff product UX designer, Procter & Gamble, and founder, The Welcome Card

Innovation in face of pandemic Responding to unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, 10 companies in Greater Cincinnati were saluted by The Goering Center for Family & Private Business for providing for their employees, innovating their businesses, and caring for the community.

The honorees for the 21st annual awards were selected by an independent panel of judges.

This year, instead of selecting winners in either the family or private business categories, the center decided to view each company through the same lens: How did the company respond to the challenges presented by the pandemic?

The pandemic required businesses to adapt to internal employee needs, external customer needs, and the needs of the wider community. Companies shared with the center their stories of how they retooled to meet the community’s equipment, product and servicing needs.  www.goering.uc.edu

The 10 honorees are:

• AES Controls Inc., Springdale • Carabello Coffee, Newport • Eureka! Ranch and Brain Brew Custom Whiskey, Newtown • Fifty West Brewing Co., Columbia Township • GSR Brands (parent company of Gold Star and Tom & Chee), Linwood • Innovative Labeling Solutions, Fairfield Township • Ohio Woodworking Co., Norwood • RiskSource Clark-Theders, West Chester • Steinhauser, Newport • Sweets & Meats BBQ, Mount Washington Also presented: • The Keith Baldwin Volunteer Award to Jonathan Adams, president of SALIX Data • Larry Grypp Rising Leader Award to Anton Gaffney, cofounder and general manager of Sweets & Meats BBQ

Emily Reinhold, senior manager at PwC Taisha Rojas-Parker, director of workforce connection, Cincinnati Works Danielle Ross, peer counselor, Hamilton County WIC Office Ruzanna Rozman, senior product designer, Procter & Gamble Laurie Stevens, project management specialist, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Maurice Stewart, program director, UpSpring Andy Tanyatanaboon, director of technology development, Business of Science Sarah Tenhundfeld, associate financial planner, Asset Advisory Group Juwan Thompson, communications manager, Procter & Gamble Brian Tracy, associate attorney, Strauss Troy David Voelker, vice president of information technology, Ameritas Mariette Wade, executive director, Wesley Education Center Kyla Woods, communications and PR, MORTAR Cincinnati, and CEO and chief storyteller at Crowd or Camera Communications

Do what you do best, we’ll take care of the rest.

For more than 100 years, we’ve helped successful business owners reach their financial goals.

We’ll focus on wealth management, so you can focus on your business and enjoying life.

Movers & Makers

OCT/NOV 2020 21

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Kelly Bonnell

Rene J. Cheatham III

Kathy Burkhardt

Lindsey Barta

D.P. Suresh, M.D.

Dennis Dern

Alexis Storch Morrisroe

Tom Colvin

Paul R. Crosby, M.D.

Paul Keck, M.D.

Robert J Wiehe

Judith Van Ginkel

Jennifer Frey

Lenora Oeters

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Main Street Ventures has appointed Kelly Bonnell as its new executive director. Bonnell comes to the organization from her family-owned business, BGR Inc., where she most recently served as chief operations officer. Bonnell will continue Main Street Ventures’ 20 years of work as a partner and supporter to the area’s startup and small business ecosystem.

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Rene J. Cheatham III has been hired as senior director of finance for Learning Grove.

He was most recently CFO for Findlay Market.

a national recruitment process for a new agency head. Dern joined CABVI’s Board of Trustees in 2008 and has served as board chair since 2018. He retired as technical controller for GE Aviation’s Commercial Engines Operations in Evendale early this year.

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Alexis Storch Morrisroe was hired as education program manager for the Jewish Community Relations Council, part of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. She will lead the development of a new JCRC institute to combat extremism and strengthen inclusive democracy.

serving as senior vice president and chief supply chain and logistics officer since 2015, will oversee the operations of UC Medical Center. During his career, Wiehe has managed global supply chains and numerous manufacturing facilities, serving as a supplier to companies such as Procter & Gamble and WalMart. A Cincinnati native, he received a bachelor of science from Miami University and an MBA from UC.

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Lindsey Barta, a former intern at Magnified Giving, has become associate director of the local nonprofit. She first joined Magnified Giving in 2015 as an intern from the University of Cincinnati. Magnified Giving’s mission is to educate, inspire and engage students in life-long philanthropy.

People Working Cooperatively has elected Tom Colvin, area president for Arthur J. Gallagher Benefit Services, as chairman of its board of trustees. Colvin was first elected to PWC’s board in April 2013 before joining its executive committee in July 2018. He has spent his career in the Cincinnati area working with employers on their employee benefit programs. He is also a member of the Kentucky Bar Association and the Greater Cincinnati Association of Health Underwriters, where he previously served as president.

Judith Van Ginkel, founding president of Every Child Succeeds, is retiring and passing the leadership baton to incoming president Jennifer Frey, an accomplished researcher, clinician and educator. The organization has been helping new parents create healthy home environments for 21 years. Frey, a Cincinnati native, joins Every Child Succeeds after eight years on the faculty at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she was director of the early intervention and early childhood special education graduate program. Under Van Ginkel’s award-winning leadership, Every Child Succeeds has provided more than 675,000 home visits and served more than 27,450 families.

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D.P. Suresh, M.D., medical director of St. Elizabeth Heart & Vascular, has been named president of the board of directors for the American Heart Association’s Midwest Region for a two-year term. Suresh joined the Greater Cincinnati AHA board in 2014 and served as president from 2015 to 2017, becoming Great Rivers Affiliate president in 2018. He was co-chair of the 2018 Greater Cincinnati Heart Ball.

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Kathy Burkhardt has been named senior director of NaviGo College and Career Prep.

Burkhardt is the recently retired superintendent of Erlanger-Elsmere School District.



The Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI) board elected Dennis Dern as interim president/CEO during 22

OCT/NOV 2020

Movers & Makers



Paul R. Crosby, M.D. has become president and chief operating officer of the Frances and Craig Lindner Center of HOPE, a comprehensive mental health center of excellence that opened in 2008. Crosby joined the center’s medical staff at its opening, and has taken on several key roles. Paul Keck, M.D., the center’s founding president and CEO, will continue as CEO while serving patients as part of the Center’s outpatient practice.

UC Health has named Robert J. Wiehe as chief administrative officer of University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Wiehe, who has been

The local chapter of the American Cancer Society introduced Lenora Oeters as executive director for its North Central region, which spans Ohio, Northern Kentucky and West Virginia and is based in Blue Ash. Oeters most recently served as strategic director of distinguished partners events at the nonprofit’s global headquarters in Atlanta. She replaces Meredith Niemeyer, who took over as the nonprofit’s regional chief last October and has now reportedly decided to pursue opportunities outside of the organization. 

IN THE NEWS

Chamber names 36 to WE Lead development program WE Lead, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s leadership development program, recently announced its 2020-21 class.

Class 15 includes 36 women leaders from 32 industries. In its 14-year history, more than 700 women have graduated from WE Lead.

“This is an incredible group of highachieving women who are ready to elevate their leadership even further,” said Amy Thompson, senior director of leadership programs. “WE Lead will provide them with experiences and connections to help harness their momentum to positively enact change impacting their organizations,

communities, and the region.”

WE Lead, presented by TiER 1 Performance, is a 10-month executive leadership development experience for women who are being assigned increasing levels of responsibility within their organization and are on track for future advancement. Amy Thompson

WE Lead Class 15 Kristen Bailey, CEO, Sweets & Meats BBQ Bridget Behrmann, association director of wellness and member engagement, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati Alicia Bond-Lewis, partner, Dinsmore & Shohl Peggy Brennan, vice president, creative services, Ohio National Financial Services Quinette Brown, MSL, training manager / HR professional, Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio Susan Claus, senior marketing manager, GMi Companies Margaret DeMichelis, director of grants, Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy Clarissa Doggett, senior director, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Larissa England, equity, diversity and inclusion partner, E.W. Scripps Stacy Fehrenbach, director of marketing & business development, Mailender Inc. Megan Glowacki, partner, Thompson Hine Brandy Hanger, director of deli & bakery, Kroger Co.

Leadership Cincinnati welcomes 54 to Class 44 Fifty-four leaders, representing a variety of businesses in the region, have been chosen to participate in Class 44 of Leadership Cincinnati, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s premier leadership development program, presented by First Financial Bank.

“Class 44 participants are coming in at a pivotal time to have courageous conversations and collaborate on ways to drive transformative change in our region,” said Amy Thompson, senior director, leadership programs with the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber.

Nearly 2,000 participants have graduated from Leadership Cincinnati since the first class in 1977.

Many of these civic-minded leaders remain engaged today and participate in the steering committee to help deliver the program.

“We know how critically important leadership is to the success of our region, especially right now, and are anxious to get them connected and engaged,” said steering committee chair Chris Lewis, vice provost for academic programs, University of Cincinnati.

UC Vice Provost Chris Lewis

April Harper, financial crimes compliance risk manager, U.S. Bank Jamie (Ritter) Horn, director of marketing, Johnson Investment Counsel Helen Kemp, Ph.D., director, R&D, P&G Molly Kroeger, senior marketing manager, Formica Group Kimberly Lach, senior director total rewards & HRIS, Quotient Technology Sarah Landsman, VP, customer foundations, 84.51° Erin Lickliter, director, associate communications & engagement, Kroger Danielle Losos, marketing manager, REDI Cincinnati Tanya Mack, director, global physical distribution, P&G Stacy Maness, owner-operator, Plank Pilates Yoga Karen Martinez, senior scientist, P&G Jamie Myers, market director, GBBN Architects Johanna Navarro, corporate engagement manager, United Way of Greater Cincinnati Erin Nowak, outreach center program manager, Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Rachael D. Sampson, VP, commercial banking relationship manager, KeyBank National Association Yelana Sepeck, senior underwriting manager, Cincinnati Insurance Companies Jennifer Sheffel, finance manager, Peter Cremer North America Allison Sternad, director of marketing and sustainability, Melink Corporation Sanna-Rae Taylor, attorney, Taft Stettinius & Hollister Natalia L. Votaw, director, BKD Tammy Waldron, director, center for excellence, senior instructional designer, quality matters coordinator, Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences Nikki Williams, chief of staff / VP community relations, Community Action Agency Alex Wilson, director of HR, Graeter’s Ice Cream Shannon Zaccaria, senior finance manager, VP, Fifth Third Bank

Leadership Cincinnati Class 44 Angel Beets, partner, Gilman Partners Aaron Bley, VP of community relations, Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired Jamahal Boyd Sr., CEO, Crossroads Center Elizabeth Callan, judge, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Kate Chard, Ph.D., associate chief of staff for research, Cincinnati VA Medical Center Janet Collins, partner, Turning Point Strategy Sara Cooperrider, partner, Taft Stettinius & Hollister Jeanetta Darno, chief diversity officer, UC Health Dr. Zaria Davis, senior associate, Pretrial Justice Institute Joe Dempsey, vice president, Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters Insurance Company Phillip Denning, executive vice president, Greater Cincinnati Redevelopment Authority Eric DeWald, executive director, GCF/HealthPath Jennifer Dougherty, VP, transformation strategy, FIS Chris Fladung, VP, price & promotion, assortment & space, and supply chain, 84.51°/Kroger Lee Geiger, attorney/partner, Graydon Joe Girandola, president, Art Academy of Cincinnati Brian Golden, VP, field operations, Cincinnati Bell, Entertainment and Communication George Goldhoff, president, Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati Alan Greenwell, office managing shareholder, Brixey & Meyer, Inc. Kristi Grimm, VP, market director, PNC Bank Beth Hartman, SVP, treasury management, Fifth Third Bank Stephanie Hogue, chief investment officer, Bombe Asset Management Matt Hollenkamp, VP of marketing and PR, St. Elizabeth Healthcare Colleen Houston, CEO and artistic director, ArtWorks Jenell Hubbard, senior business advisor, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Greg Huffstetler, partner, EY Jamie Humes, VP of marketing, Traditions Building & Development Group

Danielle Ivory, SVP operations, Ohio National Financial Services Jill Jansen, director, government and external relations, Bon Secours Mercy Health David Johnson, president & COO, BHDP Architecture James Kezele, attorney/partner, Keating Muething & Klekamp Eddie Koen, president & CEO, Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio Adam Kuehne, vice president, HGC Construction Chandra Mathews-Smith, chief community engagement officer, United Way of Greater Cincinnati Pamela McKie, chief operating officer, Children’s Home of Cincinnati Sasha Naiman, attorney/deputy director, Ohio Justice & Policy Center Lisa Nolan, executive director, Dress for Success Cincinnati Amy Orr, vice president, Talbert House Michelle Otten Guenther, president, Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati Neal Patel, member, Frost Brown Todd Sujyot Patel, partner, Dinsmore & Shohl Tiffany Porter Shabazz, officer of advancement and strategic partnerships, Christ College of Nursing & Health Sciences Amanda Rassi, VP, marketing, Kroger Chris Ritter, co-founder/creative director, C-90 LTD Adrienne Ruebusch, vice president, Miller-Valentine Group Karlee Schultz, SVP, PWA managing director, U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management Deepak Sharma, business head, Tata Consultancy Services Betsy Sundermann, council member, Cincinnati City Council Paco Tello, North American VP manufacturing & engineering, Perfetti Van Melle Sonya Walton, economic inclusion VP, Messer Construction Kate Ward, president, Kroger Personal Finance, Kroger Rex Werner, SVP consumer operations director, Fifth Third Bank Susan Whitman, SVP, commercial banking, BB&T, now Truist Aaron Zboril, managing director, Deloitte

Movers & Makers

OCT/NOV 2020 23

Gifts & Grants Impact 100 awards $400,000 to four regional nonprofits Impact 100 presented $100,000 grants to local nonprofits Changing Gears, Gateway Community and Technical College Foundation, New Life Furniture Bank and Women Helping Women.

Impact 100, a leading women’s philanthropic organization focused on improving the region’s communities, celebrated its 19th year of awarding transformational grants at its recent annual awards celebration.

“Amid the pandemic and remaining steadfast to the mission of Impact 100, we had to pivot quickly to bring the Annual Awards Celebration to life in a new landscape for our members and the nonprofit community,” said Fran Bitzer, chief party officer.

After virtually presenting to

membership and guests, four out of eight nonprofit grant finalists received the highest number of votes and secured a grant of $100,000 each: • Changing Gears for its Bridge Program, to build a fleet of additional leased vehicles for CityLink training graduates starting new jobs.

• Gateway Community and Technical College Foundation for its Food for Thought Pantry to expand to three campus locations with fresh food options.

• New Life Furniture Bank for its Turning Empty Houses into Livable Homes program to expand capacity.

Cindy Givens, Joel Bokelman and Marnie Bokelman of Changing Gears; Wayne Williams and Kristin Shrimplin of Women Helping Women; Sarah Young and Adrijana Kowatsch of Gateway Community & Technical College; Dana Saxton and Muhammad Williams of New Life Furniture Bank; Sarah Grace, president of Impact 100.

• Women Helping Women for its Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team (DVERT) program to ensure survivors in Hamilton County receive immediate trauma-informed care.

Since 2001, Impact 100 has empowered women to be philanthropic decision-makers, donating 100% of membership dollars to local nonprofits.  www.impact100.org

GCF: $1M to advance racial justice Greater Cincinnati Foundation has awarded $1 million to six area nonprofits from its new Racial Justice Fund.

The goal of the Racial Justice Fund is to advance matters of fairness and justice with a critical focus on systems that affect the Black community, specifically criminal, economic and social justice.

GCF spoke with social justice organizations and community members about the region’s greatest needs and work that could be accelerated with additional support.

Current Racial Justice Fund grant recipients: • Ohio Justice and Policy Center: $500,000 over five years • Ohio Transformation Fund: $75,000 over three years • National Development Council (Technical Assistance): $250,000 • MORTAR: $50,000 • The Heights Movement:

24

OCT/NOV 2020

$50,000 over two years • Queen’s Village of Cradle Cincinnati: $75,000 over three years “Our initial grants signal the beginning of what is a multiyear commitment by the GCF Governing Board to address the root cause of inequity within our community,” said Delores Hargrove-Young, GCF Governing Board chair. “We hope to inspire other funders and donors to join us in this effort.”

GCF is also committed to including the voice of the community and those most impacted in this work.

GCF has identified Black-led research and consulting firm Praxis Matters as its lead partner. Between now and the end of the year, Praxis Matters will host community conversations with grassroots organizations and residents to better understand the challenges surrounding racial justice work.  www.gcfdn.org/racialjusticefund

Movers & Makers

EC Learn Executive Director and CEO Sandra Woodall

Faith Community Pharmacy Executive Director Aaron Broomall

Director of Care Laurie Hoppenjans in the Life Learning Center Dignity Store

3 NKY nonprofits get boost from Horizon Community Funds Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky will distribute $30,000 to Faith Community Pharmacy and $40,000 to Early Childhood Learning Education Assessment Resource Network (EC Learn), both of which serve Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Northern Kentucky.

EC Learn’s mission is to address the childcare crisis, which has been amplified by the pandemic.

Horizon provided a grant to support EC Learn’s work and to train and coach early childcare providers.

Faith Community Pharmacy distributes critical medications to individuals who would otherwise be unable to afford them. The pandemic has contributed to a lack of reduced-cost access for the Florence-based nonprofit.

A donor-directed gift also has been made to the Life Learning Center through the Horizon NKY Coronavirus Relief Fund. The $25,000 contribution will support Life Learning Center’s Dignity Store.  www.horizonfunds.org

Bethany House launches respite program with Dater Foundation grant Bethany House Services received a $50,000 grant from the Charles H. Dater Foundation to support development of a respite care program for families experiencing homelessness.

During the epidemic, the new respite care program will help parents who must shelter with their children in close confines achieve their goal of stable housing. The program also will give children access to other caring

adults and new activities.

The goal is to reduce stress for all family members and increase the efficiency of the parent in securing housing and employment.

Bethany House Services is Cincinnati’s largest provider of emergency shelter and housing programs for families experiencing homelessness.  www.bethanyhouseservices.org

GCF creates $250K covid-recovery loan fund for small businesses Greater Cincinnati Foundation has approved a $250,000 loan fund to support Cincinnati area small businesses. The funds are designed to help minority- and women-owned businesses that don’t always have access to traditional business loans and are more likely to be hurt by the pandemic.

The fund will be administered by the Economic and Community Development Institute, a community microlender that serves small businesses throughout Ohio, providing entrepreneurs with education and access to capital.

The fund aims to strengthen and sustain the local economy through

COVID-19 recovery and beyond.

“The demand for small business financial and technical assistance is unlike anything we’ve seen,” says Ella Frye, director of ECDI’s Women’s Business Center in Cincinnati.

Across the state, ECDI closed 220 loans totaling $8 million between April 1 and the beginning of August, compared to an annual average of $7 million to $8 million in previous years.

Business owners in Greater Cincinnati, including Indiana and Kentucky, are encouraged to apply on ECDI’s website.  www.ecdi.org

P&G, Clovernook partner to deliver care packages to visually challenged Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired will partner with Procter & Gamble to provide more than 300 emergency relief care packages to people who are blind or visually impaired throughout the region.

The BVI community faces increased difficulties during the pandemic. Shopping is more difficult due to social distancing and the inability to touch and feel as much as many usually do.

The organizations have a long history together. William A. Procter, the son of P&G founder William Procter, began supporting the two Trader sisters in 1903, one of whom was blind.

Together, they established the organization now known as Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired. Today, Clovernook Center continues to offer resources to individuals with visual impairments.  www.clovernook.org Movers & Makers

OCT/NOV 2020 25

Volunteering

PWC volunteers Bob Trusty, Melissa McOwen, Ed Budo and Aaron Grant

 Bob Trusty (foreground), Ed Budo and Melissa McOwen

Volunteer’s skills restore homes and dignity

F

or the elderly, a home contains a lifetime of said. “I come from a large family. I’ve got five brothmemories. “It’s more than just a physical struc- ers, and we just did everything around the house.” ture,” said Aaron Grant, volunteer program manager Today, he uses the skills his dad taught to support at People Working Cooperatively. both his family and his community.

PWC has operated with this understanding for As a volunteer, he routinely changes outlets, 45 years, uniting licensed technicians and skilled switches and plugs, installs handrails and insulation, volunteers in a practical response to poverty. As illfixes plumbing and seals leaks. ness and old age threaten independence, PWC helps As a son, he provides steadfast care to his dad, keep community members safe and healthy in their who is 97, and his mom, 93. Gemperline recently homes. assisted their move into a condoFrom electrical maintenance minium that would allow them to keep their independence while to accessibility modifications, the improvements made by staff and meeting safety needs.

In his parents’ case that meant volunteers can uplift those experiencing poverty, illness, aging not only taking care of accessibiland unsafe housing conditions. ity modifications, like installing “The founders understood “elephant steps” to accommodate there is something really imwalkers, but making sure their portant about maintaining the new space felt like home. basic structures of home, the A key factor in providing basic systems, to make it livable,” familiarity and comfort at the Grant said. condo was a deck that mimicked Volunteer Steve Gemperline Steve Gemperline is one of the one his parents had enjoyed roughly 3,000 volunteers serving for decades, he said. a total of 20,000 hours each year. Gemperline uses “You learn from that,” he said. “People have a his experience in home repair to assist PWC as a strong attachment to their residence.” field technician. Equipped with tools, training and Gemperline said even small repairs instill a sense experience, he brings both expertise and empathy to of pride because they allow clients to remain safe and his work. healthy in their homes.

Gemperline assumed his role shortly after retiring “They don’t feel that they’re just existing,” he said. from GE Aviation in 2017. And while a background “They live a bit better.” in electronics, management and manufacturing For Grant, the dignity piece “can’t be overstated.” predisposed him to the hands-on work, his real As a volunteer, “You’re in the home for at least education began at home. three to four hours, if not longer. Even if you spend “My dad taught me all this stuff,” Gemperline most of it under a bathroom sink cabinet, you’re 26

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Movers & Makers

By Grace Hill

always learning more about someone’s story, about their situation. Yes, you want to fix the technical problem, but ... by being there, you’re also reminding people that we all, the whole community, have a stake in helping them stay safe and healthy in their home,” Grant said.

“It’s a social value they create beyond just the impact of the physical changes they’re making.” 

PWC adjusts to COVID for 45 Days of Service Volunteers are still needed to help with People Working Cooperatively’s 45 Days of Service.

The event, which continues through Nov. 14, allows socially distanced community volunteers to come together to help neighbors in need.

Historically, PWC’s annual Prepare Affair and Repair Affair events have provided home repair and yard clean-up services performed by thousands of volunteers across the region over a period of two days. But due to COVID-19, PWC has implemented safety precautions, including no direct contact with PWC clients, a limit on crew sizes, face coverings required, and work will be outdoors only.  www.pwchomerepairs.org

VOLUNTEERING

Banks jumped to help Shelterhouse when pandemic hit

By Grace Hill

W

hen the chaos of COVID-19 hit Cincinnati's nonprofit community, it took less than a week for Guardian Savings Bank and Union Savings Bank to reach out to Shelterhouse.

Their first question was “What do your clients need?”

As the source of shelter, safety and nourishment for more than 200 men and women experiencing homelessness, Shelterhouse had always relied on its volunteers. But in this time of uncertainty, it had new needs. Shelterhouse asked for the funds necessary to place clients in hotels to give them safety and peace of mind.

Kelly Leon and Marcia Spaeth, Guardian/ Union’s vice president for community engagement and community action coordinator respectively, brought this request to the employees of their banking network and immediately began raising funds.

Individual contributions were matched, and an additional donation was made.

“We told them the needs we had during the virus, and they answered our call,” Genell Stephens, the volunteer coordinator of Shelterhouse, said.

It was the most recent show of support in a nearly 20-year relationship between Guardian/Union and Shelterhouse. Leon and Spaeth have spent years fostering that relationship – and not just through monetary support. The banks’ service models are employee driven and dependent on direct service.

While large bank foundations take applications for funding, Guardian/Union lets employees make decisions and participate in initiatives that impassion them. Their “Community Action Committees” are active in each region they serve – in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

According to Leon and Spaeth, a number of companies have expressed a desire to replicate this approach to volunteerism.

In their model, bank employees go directly to Leon and Spaeth, who receive requests for everything from canned foods to school supplies.

It lends support to employees and their wishes, and it nurtures a deeper sense of responsibility to its nonprofit partners.

“Our employees come to us and say, ‘Hey, I’m involved in this in our church, and $100 would really help,’ ” Leon said.

But Leon was clear: The relationships go beyond writing checks. And this is seen at Shelterhouse.

According to Stephens, Shelterhouse engages about 2,000 volunteers each year. These individuals take part in initiatives like Feed the Need, which recruits volunteers to provide meals for homeless clients. It helps Shelterhouse keep costs down and

allows the clients to see that the outside community cares.

Volunteers have their pick of projects – from sorting donations and assembling intake bags to assisting clients with budgeting and resume building, to baking treats in Shelterhouse’s state-of-the-art kitchens.

“We offer meditation, craft and art classes for our clients,” Stephens said.

Whatever the project, volunteers offer both practical and emotional support to residents as they adjust to life at the shelter and strive for personal advancement.

According to Stephens, a volunteer’s presence can mean the world to their homeless clients.

Volunteers are “not looking for anything from us. They’re saying to us, I am committed to Shelterhouse,” Stephens said. They “sacrifice their time, their money, and they don’t have to do that.”

According to Stephens, the banks’ employees aren’t just familiar faces. They’re more like family.

“I know that I’m speaking in terms of what they give us, but it’s so much more than that. They provide us with this, they provide us with that. That’s good, that’s great. But they provide themselves.

When they come into our shelters they just love on our clients and our clients love them.”

Guardian/Union employees visit Shelterhouse every three to four months. Employees host annual parties, providing food, friendship and in-kind donations. In the past, the banks have provided sweatshirts, flip flops, hygiene supplies and feminine products.

Employees get creative, spreading the mission of Shelterhouse and inspiring community support at each step.

“They tell us what they need, we’ll get it. If we don’t have it, we’ll put our employees online, we’ll find a bargain, and the bank will buy it,” Spaeth said.

In Leon’s and Spaeth’s eyes, every meeting offers the opportunity for connection. And their stories show that.

One employee, whose daughter had passed away due to an overdose, was shocked to find her daughter’s best friend had become homeless and taken residence at Shelterhouse. The employee supported her through treatment and maintains contact to this day.

“It was just meant to be,” Spaeth said. “Those are the types of connections you see happening, again, because it is employee driven.”

Stephens said in another scheduled visit, the Guardian/Union employees noticed multiple women at the shelter were pregnant. Unprompted, they offered to throw a baby shower.

The culture extends to the banks’ highest position. According to Stephens, Louis Beck, chairman of the banks, takes part in most events – despite splitting time between a home in Florida and work in Cincinnati.

But Beck’s engagement goes beyond that. Each Thanksgiving, employees and their families line up at Kroger stores in Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus to distribute food boxes. The initiative has grown to serve more than 2,000 families, and according to Spaeth, Beck has never missed it.

It was at his request that the Community Action Committees were formed and the power was placed in the hands of his employees. And ultimately, it is that personal connection that keeps them going.

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and social distancing policies, these banks continue to lead positive change.

The persistence is something Stephens is grateful for: They reach out when unexpected. They approach each act of service with “enthusiasm” and “warmth.”

“Their continued support – I don’t even know how to put it in words. It just means so much to Shelterhouse,” Stephens said. “To me, when Guardian/Union say they want to make sure our clients are OK, they are also saying we want to make sure you’re OK.” 

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Snapshots

Who, what, where & why

A budding success: Stepping Stones’ virtual Bloom Gala nets $242K Stepping Stones netted more than $242,000 at its annual, but virtual, Bloom Gala.

The money will go to year-round programming for children, teens and adults with disabilities.

WCPO’s Allie Martin hosted this year’s virtual event, Bloom, Boots and Bourbon. The event featured a special appearance by Chef Cristian Pietoso of Via Vite, as well as a featured drink courtesy of Comfort Station and Sundry and Vice.

Guests participated in a silent

auction with more than 50 packages and purchased gardening kits for program participants.

Several Stepping Stones supporters hosted “Mini Blooms,” watching the virtual event from home with friends and family.

The event’s Presenting Sponsor was Huntington Bank. Diamond Sponsors were Susie and Neil Bortz, the Chemed Foundation and the Pettengill Family. Gold Sponsors were Beth and Doug Brendamour of Brendamour Warehousing.

Matt Hemberger and Allison Mecca at their Mini Bloom Party

A floral balloon arch at Terri Hogan’s Mini Bloom party

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Lisa and Dirk Schneider with guests at their party

Amy Moore and Julie Snyder at Elizabeth Rogers’ Mini Bloom Party

Ann and Sam Johnston

$240,000

Raised for Stepping Stones Diamond Sponsors: Anonymous Susie & Neil Bortz Chemed Foundation The Pettengill Family Gold Sponsor: Brendamour Warehousing Beth & Doug Brendamour

Presented by

Thank you to our generous sponsors for supporting children and adults with disabilities as they Bloom in Stepping Stones’ programs!

Silver Sponsors: Contemporary Cabinetry East Kim & Kelly Conway Mayfield Clinic Ellen & Frank Grossi Barb & Mike Ricke Mendy & Dr. Andy Ringer Anne & Jim Shanahan SugarCreek/Julie & John Richardson Dina & Chris Taylor

Special Thanks to

WCPO’s Allie Martin, emcee for this year’s virtual event.

For more details on Bloom & a complete list of sponsors visit: CincyBloom.org

A place where everyone can bloom, especially people with disabilities Stepping Stones, Inc. | SteppingStonesOhio.org | 513.831.4660

SNAPSHOTS

Architects saluted for outstanding residential work The 2020 CRANawards (Custom Residential Architects Network Awards), broadcast on YouTube for the first time, presented awards for outstanding residential projects by area architects.

The awards were presented by the American Institute of Architects Cincinnati. The winners: • 25 Year Award: John Senhauser Architects for 1112 Fort View Place • Architectural Addition: Terry Boling Architect for Artichoke near Findlay Market • Architectural Interior: Drawing Department for Ambleside Master Suite • Kitchen: Square Inch Design for Riverview Kitchen • Multi-Unit Housing: Terry Boling Architect for The Stannary • New Custom Home: Luis Sabater Musa and Alex Gormley for Casa Del Bosque • Student: Anna Hargan for Roothouse AIA Cincinnati also launched a People’s Choice Award for the CRANawards program this year, sharing all submissions on Instagram. Voters chose Casa Del Bosque as the winner.

AIA Cincinnati launched the CRANawards in 2009 to celebrate outstanding projects by residential architects working in nine southwestern Ohio counties. The winners are chosen by a jury of residential architects working outside of the region.

An exhibit of the winning projects will be displayed at the Cincinnati Center for Architecture and Design this fall. The CRANawards broadcast is available on YouTube.

Drawing Department

Square Inch Design

Anna Hargan

Terry Boling Architect, The Stannary

Luis Sabater Musa and Alex Gormley

Terry Boling Architect, Artichoke

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John Senhauser Architects

SNAPSHOTS

Pro Seniors go virtual with Seniors Who Rock 2020

Barbara Kellar Jean Dowell

Pro Seniors converted its annual fundraiser into a virtual event this year, with Anne M. Maxfield emceeing the event honoring people age 70 and over who continue contributing to the community through their work or volunteering.

This year’s honorees were Jean Dowell, Jim Johnson and Barbara Kellar.

Pro Seniors partnered with ITA Audio Visual Solutions to create a meaningful, entertaining event, complete with guest bartenders who demonstrated how to make their most popular craft cocktails during a virtual happy half-hour.

Three clients provided video testimonials of how help from Pro Seniors helped them and their families. Behind the scenes Ken Bowers and ITA Team

Executive Director Dimity Orlet with Jim Johnson

Phenise Poole and Jill Gorley

Thursday, October 29, at 9pm on CET

www.CETconnect.org

Suits rock on (just online) to raise $68K for Carnegie The Carnegie’s month-long Suits That Rock virtual fundraising campaign raised more than $68,800.

The online effort replaced in-person concerts to raise funds to benefit The Carnegie’s arts education programming, which provides in-school, after-school and summer camp art programming to local students.

“Planning a month-long virtual event was a learning experience for everyone involved. As a business

The 2019 event at The Carnegie

professional and musician, you learn the importance of being flexible,” said John Domaschko, a Suits That Rock founder.

The Rock On for the Carnegie Kids online campaign featured interviews, performance recaps and more.

All the programming remains available on the Suits That Rock Facebook page and The Carnegie’s YouTube channel. Donations are still being accepted.

www.CETconnect.org

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SNAPSHOTS

Artists honored at Art Club’s ViewPoint Exhibition Nationally acclaimed artist Patrick Lee in September held the Cincinnati Art Club’s ViewPoint Exhibition – one of the longest-running national juried art competitions in America.

The exhibit, which closed Sept. 24, included 97 works of art juried into the show out of 443 entries. The show was at Art Design Consultants Gallery in O’Bryonville.

Lee selected 13 for special recognition.

“I found the competition most challenging to judge, because the quality of the work was astounding and it crossed over many styles and media, from representational and abstract paintings to sculpture and ceramics,” Lee said.

Lee presented the top award and $3,000 to Steven Parkhurst of Midland, Mich., for his painting “A Place I’ve Never Been, #919.” Frederick Graff, Salem, S.C., was awarded second place for “Tanglewood” and Cincinnatian Ray Hassard garnered third for “Behind the Greenhouse.”

The Cincinnati Art Club Board of Directors Award was won by Brad Davis, Cincinnati, for “Hotel Soap.” The club’s In Memoriam Award honoring members who died this past year went to Josie Gearhart, Cincinnati, for “The Escape.”

The ADC Art Gallery Contract Award went to Jessica Boone, Cincinnati, for “New York Seltzer.”

Judge Patrick Lee evaluating “Hotel Soap” by Cincinnatian Brad Davis, which won the Cincinnati Art Club Directors Award.

“A Place I’ve Never Been, #919” by Steven Parkhurst won the first prize of $3,000.

Frederick Graff won second place for “Tanglewood.”

Cincinnatian Ray Hassard’s “Behind the Greenhouse” took third place.

JDRF tees it up to the tune of $60K

Brent Linn, Markus Schleidt, Marc Osborne and Rolan Rubio

JDRF recently hosted its annual Tee it Up for Type One golf outing at Four Bridges Country Club in Liberty Township. Attended by 136 golfers, the event raised a record $60,000, which will go toward funding research to find a cure for type 1 diabetes, or T1D. T1D is an autoimmune disease that can strike anyone at any age and at any time and has no association with diet or lifestyle factors.

Youth ambassador Brady Gluntz welcomed golfers and kicked off the event by sharing his personal story of T1D, including his diagnosis two years ago at the age of 15. He showed off his insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor, sharing how his life has improved significantly due to these technological advancements, only available because of the work and funding of JDRF.

Angela Sweeney using one of the sponsor’s “Golf Pluckers,” a device that picks up your golf ball.

Jill Baker-Braun, Brady Gluntz, Melissa Newman, Becky Gaible and Michelle Lipka 32

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Movers & Makers

SNAPSHOTS

Tender Mercies raises $100K to help homeless Tender Mercies, a local nonprofit that transforms the lives of homeless adults with mental illness, hosted its 28th annual golf outing, Tee Up for Tender Mercies. The event raised $100,000.

This outing was presented by SPA Inc. and sponsored by more than 20 local businesses.

Wetherington Golf & Country Club hosted 30 teams in the golf scramble.

Players and volunteers enjoyed a socially distanced dinner presentation via Zoom by Paul Daugherty, sports columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Guests partook in mobile bidding for a silent auction, raffle items and played in various course contests.

“That was one of the best-run, wellorganized and most enjoyable golf outings I’ve been a part of in a long time,” said Bill Schulok of Prosource. “We look forward to playing again next year!”

Proceeds will benefit the 199 residents at Tender Mercies.

First place winners

30 teams from more than 20 local businesses participated in the golf scramble.

Hamilton Township Police Chief Scott Hughes shares gifts with Dragonfly patient Drew during Go Gold Ceremony.

Police department ‘goes gold’ for Dragonfly Foundation A local boy undergoing cancer treatment met with Hamilton Township police officers to kick off a “Go Gold” campaign to raise awareness about The Dragonfly Foundation during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Three-year-old Drew, of Hamilton Township, pinned gold ribbons onto officers’ uniforms while meeting with officers and township leaders. He also got to see the inside of a police cruiser.

His family said the event was special. “We are so thankful to Hamilton Township Police for Going Gold in September for our family and all the Dragonfly families,” said Ashley Manocchio.

The Dragonfly Foundation provides support, materials, and transformative, nurturing experiences for pediatric cancer patients and their families.

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OPINION | Guest editorial by Marlaina A. Leppert-Wahl

Cincinnati’s EquaSion can multiply understanding in a divided world

A

mericans today are in desperate need of healing from the hostility and discord that dominate our socio-political climate.

We need to find unity and harmony to replace the bitter divide we are experiencing in the political, racial and religious facets of our lives. A toxic “us versus them” mentality plays out in racial slurs, ethnic intimidation, violence against innocent people and destruction of property.

We need healing in a way that often only comes from our faith communities. And it is through EquaSion that the diverse faith communities of Cincinnati have come together to serve as a model for unity and peaceful coexistence in this divided world.

Connected by faith, members of EquaSion embody the religious, cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity of Greater Cincinnati – more than 30 faith communities within 13 world religions. The Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Baha’is, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Unitarian Universalists, and others of EquaSion demonstrate the possibilities for the larger society by forging bonds of friendship and nurturing a shared spiritual community.

EquaSion evolved from the earlier Bridges of Faith Trialogue, a non-partisan alliance of civic-minded Jews, Muslims, and Christians intent on combating post-9/11 Islamophobia.

Shakila Ahmad, former chair and president of the board at the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, credits Executive Director Robert “Chip” Harrod and the leadership of EquaSion’s predecessor organizations with “setting the standard in terms of Muslim-Jewish dialogue almost before anyone else in the country. This has allowed these two communities to continue to learn, grow and work together.”

Our more recent polarized political climate mobilized the group to counter the upsurge in hatred and bigotry.

In its quest for inclusion and community dialogue, the organization 34

OCT/NOV 2020

Interfaith worship service at the 2019 Festival of Faiths

Photo by Marlaina Leppert-Wahl

officially expanded beyond the Abrahamic faiths and re-named itself EquaSion (“S” for Spirituality) in 2019. “EquaSion provides a muchneeded platform for the minority faiths and communities not only to be seen, but also actively participate in the civic affairs and collective betterment of the society,” says Dr. Inayat Malik, EquaSion’s board chair and member of the ICGC.

EquaSion is building an inclusive multi-ethnic, interfaith community in Greater Cincinnati. Members work to overcome divisive stereotypes and create common ground.

Rabbi Gary Zola, Ph.D., of the American Jewish Archives and Hebrew Union College, affirms that “The best way to grow in understanding is to work together, shoulder-toshoulder, on a significant project of mutual interest. This is how EquaSion brings people together; we begin as strangers who teach one another and learn from one another. Inevitably, we find ourselves enriched and amazed by our commonalities.”

In 2018, as Bridges of Faith, the group organized the first annual Festival of Faiths to showcase the region’s religious diversity through faith

Movers & Makers

celebrations and rituals, interfaith services, art, music and dance. Other projects have emerged. EquaSion members have helped build homes through Habitat for Humanity.

They have collaborated to produce the Beloved Community Interfaith Mural as a reminder of Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision. They have invited others into their sacred spaces for interfaith education, worship, and fellowship.

With the onset of pandemic in 2020, EquaSion has provided meaningful connections in other ways.

The third annual Festival of Faiths was a vibrant but virtual celebration.

EquaSion also offered the Turning to Faith webinar series – weekly webinars, featuring Cincinnati’s diverse faith leaders, offering interfaith worship, comfort, and encouragement.

They also gave voice to communities of color struggling disproportionately from the pandemic.

Michael Hawkins, member of the EquaSion board and Catholic faith, says the organization has created “many champions for change.”

EquaSion engages in dialogues on critical issues and stands in solidarity with faith groups under attack.

Malik says, “For me as a Muslim American, the notion of a Muslim ban undercut everything this country stands for. For my faith community, it was indeed heartening to see the Bridges of Faith (EquaSion’s predecessor) take a principled public stand in condemning the Muslim ban. Similarly, there was no hesitation on the part of any of our members in condemning the vile acts of antiSemitism, including repulsive graffiti seen [recently] in our city.”

Believing that all of society suffers when one community is targeted, EquaSion formed the Cincinnati Regional Coalition Against Hate to monitor and respond to incidents of hate. EquaSion has crafted media statements condemning hate crimes against worshippers and letters to legislators on gun violence and the plight of refugee children. Following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, EquaSion called for racial justice, while acknowledging the exemplary police-community reforms of the Cincinnati Police Department.

Constructing solutions to these divisive issues begins with intergroup dialogue to nurture respect and understanding.

The EquaSion model has the potential to foster healing and unity during this contentious time.

“In a meaningful way, EquaSion is working towards integration of disparate groups in pursuit and promotion of the ideals on which the country was founded. Our diversity is our life blood and the fuel for our progress and growth as a nation,” Malik says.

“As we have engaged and dialogued together, we have discovered that we have a lot in common. It gives me immense joy to see some wonderful close personal friendships and collaboration develop among the members as a direct result of their association with EquaSion. I hope more people will see fit to get involved and carry its important work forward.”   www.equasion.org Marlaina A. Leppert-Wahl, Ph.D., is an associate professor of political science at Wilmington College, a Quaker-founded college in Wilmington, Ohio, and a Christian member of EquaSion.

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