Promoting Community, Creativity and Health at Central
Dear Family and Friends of Central,
The months have gone by so quickly, and it’s hard to believe the New Year is upon us.
We have been busy, with staff going above and beyond to meet the needs of our neighbors. I am thankful to daily see the impact they have, and am inspired by our neighbors who have persevered through another challenging year.
We hope your holidays were filled with family and good health; while realizing that, for some, holidays can be very difficult -- particularly for those of us who have experienced loss over the last year. If this is the case, please know that you are not alone, and we are here if you need us.
Holiday Giving
Central staff have enjoyed giving this holiday season, which came in many forms:
We disbursed 250 meals, over Thanksgiving and Christmas.
We provided holiday gifts to 33 families, totaling 133 individuals, through our Adopt-a-Family Program.
We signed up 199 families, totaling 761 individuals for the Firefighters for Kids program.
We hosted a safe, small holiday gathering for our Family-to-Family Program.
Youth Programming distributed 40 COSI "Space" Science Boxes and 40 Buddy Boxes (weekend food items).
TRANSIT ARTS Residency Program (TARP) artists presented handmade "snow globe" ornaments and a special collaborative group poem to the Seniors during a Senior Crafts session. They hung the ornaments throughout the community gardens on the Near Eastside and distributed dozens to local families.
Youth artists also led a cocoa cup craft project with families, featuring art by Faith Fullen (TARP and Black Girls Glow participant).
Community member access passes were provided to families, including low or no cost admission to the Columbus Museum of Art, COSI, Franklin Park Conservatory, Ohio History Connection, Wexner Center for the Arts, and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.
The senior program hosted safe Thanksgiving and Christmas luncheons for the East Side and South Side senior groups, and provided 67 TAP graduates with Barnes and Noble book gift cards totaling over $1,600.
"Just wanted to send my love, thanks, and appreciation for all the hard work you have done for me and my family! We have gone through so much these last couple of years and my family is so grateful. I can't wait to see their faces on Christmas and the gifts they received." -Adopt-a-Family Member
Central Community House is 85 years old!
In November, Central celebrated 85 years of service! Staff and Board members joined outside at the English Center for Art & Community, during a particularly beautiful day, to share a meal, eat cake, tell stories, and listen to music performed by the TRANSIT ARTS band.
Outside of our traditional programming – afterschool programming, arts education, social programming for seniors, transportation services, small business development support, and case management – Central Community House offered a number of unique opportunities in 2021 to meet defined needs.
The Technology Access Project
The Senior Program, AKA Village Central, just completed hosting two more cohorts of the Technology Access Project (TAP), including one in the Near East and one in the Westside. Since its inception in 2020, TAP has served 181 seniors with Chromebooks, hotspots (as needed), and a technology education curriculum, combatting isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
We recently completed an evaluation of TAP, funded by the School of Social Work at OSU. Further information, including a link to the report will be arriving in your inboxes soon! We plan to present these results to a small group of stakeholders early in 2022.
After noticing additional need while supporting entrepreneurs working to complete their business plans, our Academy for Community Entrepreneurs (ACE) is following suit. Thanks to a contribution from the Women of Wendy’s, ACE will soon begin offering technology education courses in their new computer lab. The Technology Class for Business Owners will be a five-week series, beginning on January 18, and will include lessons on Google Drive, Google Calendar, Email Organization, Video Conferencing, and LinkedIn.
Youth Saturday Programming
Thanks to funding from the Columbus Youth Foundation and Columbus Foundation, in July of 2021 we added Saturday Programming to our calendar of events, understanding the great need for youth to be active and engaged in new adventures with their friends after a year of lock downs and virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to our Youth Program leadership, this has been a huge success, and has included 113 children attending 69 field trips, with the most recent experience in December including a trip to 5.Life/Bloc Garten for a day of climbing.
Black Girls’ Glow
Building upon a successful Pilot funded by the Commission on Black Girls (established by Priscilla Tyson), TRANSIT ARTS engaged over 50 Black Girls in 2021 programming, ranging from weekly workshops to intensive Saturday sessions. We hope to support three different Saturday intensive series in 2022.
Girls are guided through a journey of personal discovery that allows them to serve as positive mentors to their peers in their schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Through the provision of music, visual arts, writing, and wellness activities, in partnership with a mental health professional, girls envision how they see themselves, how they believe others see them, and how they want to be seen in the future. In 2020, our participants were given the opportunity to have a professional portrait taken by renowned Columbus-based photographer, Tariq Tarey. One girl, Rayjohnny Williams, was inspired to pursue her dream as a photographer and has started her own company, Maaajestically, and we commissioned her to photograph our girls in 2021.
“I’ve been with the Black Girls Glow program for about 2 years now. Each time I find a community that supports my interests, myself, and my emotional wellbeing by giving me the knowledge to understand my feelings and my surroundings.”
–Faith Fullen
The TRANSIT ARTS Residency Program
Thanks to funding from the City of Columbus, The TRANSIT ARTS Residency Program (TARP) has been an exciting new offering, blending the best in arts education and development curricula, and mentorship, with professional development, employment, and public arts.
Since beginning full enrollment in August of 2021, TARP has hired 11 Master Artists and 44 Youth Artists who have engaged the Near East/Southside and Franklinton communities with visual and performing public art projects during festivals, community dinners, open mics, other community activities. TARP young resident artists have received extensive professional development training, including a 6-week series with Landor & Fitch, and are completing prototypes for outdoor artworks to be installed throughout the community in the early spring.
“My TARP experience has been going well so far, the people are friendly, kind and very understanding. I’ve learned a little bit more on how to make money with music, learning how to get money for performances and whatnot. Tarp has changed me by slowly making me more confident with performing. I still have things to work on, but I get to try them out while doing this.”
–Preston Cole
Academy for Community Entrepreneurs Marketing Series and Pitch Competition
During the months of October and November, ACE hosted a five-week Marketing and Social Media workshop series that covered understanding customers and generating insights, brand storytelling and content marketing, email marketing, social media, and marketing strategies that work. Classes were well attended – with 12 entrepreneurs attending 5 hours of training. It was so successful that we plan to offer this series, among other special topic workshops, again in 2022.
In November, ACE also hosted its inaugural Pitch Competition. Participants presented their business concept to a panel of expert judges, including Katie Person (Owner of KatBro Consulting Ltd), Elio Harmon (Founder of 614 Startups), Tami Griffin (Financial Literacy Coach and Non Profit Founder), and Jim Trickett (CCH Senior Program Manager). The winner of the competition took home $1,000 and the runner up took home $500!
Chelsea Johnson (top) was the winner of the Pitch Competition. Chelsea is the founder of Columbus Chaos Women’s Football Team. The team represents the city of Columbus in the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA). 2022 will be the first year Columbus Chaos will compete in the WFA league. Aside from ticket sales, the team is also funded partially by the WFA and the purchase of team merchandise.
Kendra Cobb (bottom) was the runner up. She is the owner of Focused Health LLC, an online e-commerce company specializing in selling health and wellness products. The full line of products are organic USDA certified CBD products. Focused Health also provides educational seminars to customers on brain, joint, and prostate health.
Housing Now for Homeless Families and Emergency Rental Assistance
While Central Community House has always offered crisis and ongoing case management, material assistance, workshops, and social activities through our Family Strengthening programming, we have never historically disbursed the current scale of rent and utility assistance being provided to families in crisis. Due to the heightened need connected to the COVID-10 pandemic, in 2021 Central has disbursed over $665,000 in material assistance to prevent eviction and homelessness for 354 households.
As we enter the new year, the world continues to feel a bit like it is on repeat, with reoccurrences of COVID-19 surges. With this comes continued trauma as those we love struggle through illness, loss, and chaos. It is my hope that in 2022 many choose to hit the reset button. If unvaccinated, you are at higher risk. Protect yourself and your family by accessing the vaccine, and booster shots when you are eligible. We are fortunate to have access to vaccinations, something many across the world are desperately seeking.
While the current spike is daunting, Central Community House is more prepared than ever. Our COVID-19 protocols, including a vaccine mandate for our staff, are in place and being strictly enforced. We are open for business – supporting youth, families, seniors and the community. Stop by, give us a call, or send us an email.
Until next time,
Tammy Forrest
Executive Director, Central Community House
