Impact

There has never been a better time to embrace your inner artist. Wild Goose Creative is the perfect spot to escape from your everyday routine and enter into a vibrant community of endless creative possibilities. This local nonprofit hosts a wide variety of creative, educational, and engaging artistic experiences that will make you smile, laugh, think, and connect with others in the Columbus community. No matter what your interest, talent, or skill level is, Wild Goose Creative has something for you. Event highlights include Bacon Camp, Third Thursdays, Speak Easy, Monday Night Live, and many more. The best part, everyone is encouraged to come and create. Watch their video to get a closer look at some of the awesome things Wild Goose Creative is doing in the community. Then visit www.wildgoosecreative.com to learn how you can get involved and give back!

Learn more about Wild Goose Creative by viewing their profile.

Don't have a workplace giving campaign?

Imagine not being able to read the words on this page. For many people throughout Central Ohio, this is their daily reality.“Newspapers had become a blur,” said Marian W. of Columbus, whose sight diminished due to stroke and macular degeneration. Thanks to VOICEcorps reading service, Marian and others like her now have a lifeline to the things that most of us take for granted.

VOICEcorps connects visually-impaired listeners in 21 Ohio communities with important news and information 24-hours a day, seven days a week through live radio broadcasts and their website. At VOICEcorps over 250 volunteers read national and community newspapers, popular magazines, book excerpts, comic strips, recipes, the weather and much more. “VOICEcorps is my lifeline and helps me keep in touch with the world and with reality. VOICEcorps is a very important part of my life,” said Marian.

VOICEcorps is the only service of its kind in the central Ohio area. In 1975, three central Ohio blind men learned of a similar service in Minnesota. The men traveled to Minnesota to learn more and upon their return, they knew they needed to start a similar service in central Ohio to help others as well as themselves.

VOICEcorps became a member of Community Shares of Mid Ohio because they recently lost their funding from the United Way of Central Ohio. As a member of Community Shares, VOICEcorps will join workplace giving campaigns throughout central Ohio. As a member charity of Community Shares, employees at workplace campaign locations can donate directly to VOICEcorps from their paychecks.

VOICEcorps provides listeners the same news and information that the general public receives while offering a unique volunteer opportunity.

“I like the idea that I am bringing something to someone’s day that they might not otherwise get…contact with the world. And, it’s fun to volunteer at VOICEcorps, too,” said Debbie S. a VOICEcorps volunteer reader.

Along with the regular volunteers, VOICEcorps hosts celebrity read-ins where prominent people from the central Ohio government, news media, and businesses can volunteer their time by reading on the air. All of the volunteers are advocates of the idea that news and other information should be accessible to all members of the community.

Many people volunteer regularly because they love the opportunity to give back and have fun doing it. “I have a good time volunteering at VOICEcorps. We’ve made nice friends here, and I hope we bring some humor and brightness into people’s lives,” said Kevin D. who hosts the Critic’s Corner show at VOICEcorps. VOICEcorps is always looking for volunteers to read on-air or to assist with office support during lunchtime hours. For information on how to volunteer or how to refer someone you know to the service visit: www.voicecorps.org or call 614-274-7650.

Learn more about VOICEcorps reading service by viewing their profile.

Don't have a workplace giving campaign?

NNEMAP recently became a member of Community Shares because many of the volunteers were involved in organizations that support workplace giving campaigns. As a member of Community Shares, NNEMAP will join workplace giving campaigns throughout central Ohio. This will allow employees at workplace campaign locations to donate directly to NNEMAP from their paychecks.

Community Shares sat down with a NNEMAP client to discuss how it has impacted her life.

Tammy G, a clerk at a local store, has been going to NNEMAP since she had an accident in 2008.

“The volunteers- these people truly care about these people on the streets. It’s not all these big agencies wanting to get all this funding and stuff downtown. It’s churches. It’s places like this.”

Although she has been homeless, she recently obtained an apartment that she will be moving into on Memorial Day.

“When I move in to my apartment, I want to come back here and volunteer my time, even if it’s sweeping or mopping the floor. Because when someone is good to you, you give that back.”

Near Northside Emergency Material Assistance Program (NNEMAP) is a program providing a little over 18,000 people at or near the poverty line with a three-day supply of food two times a month. They serve the Columbus area, incorporating the 43201, 43211 and 43215 zip codes.

After the construction of Interstate 670 in 1958, home values plummeted and there was a much larger population of Columbus residents requiring assistance than ever before. Fourth Avenue Christian church worked for ten years addressing this need, and in 1969, along with other area churches, became the Near Northside Emergency Material Assistance Program. NNEMAP now collaborates with 30 churches in Columbus as well as the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.

Although their primary focus is supplying food, NNEMAP provides a variety of other items and services for the homeless and disadvantaged. They offer assistance in determining eligibility for food stamps, which clients may apply for if they qualify. For children, kits of school supplies are assembled each summer for varying grade-levels based upon recommendations from Columbus area schools. For the percentage of NNEMAP clients that are homeless, special kits are made with only items that do not require kitchen appliances. Grooming kits are assembled containing necessities such as toothpaste, razors and soap.

In addition, NNEMAP offers a variety of vital medical resources. The Breathing Assocation medical van is offered several times a year, as well as referrals to other agencies when need arises. The Ohio Benefit Bank provides counseling services for individuals going through difficult times and facing economic hardship.

Because the majority of food donations come from the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, NNEMAP is able to stretch their dollars to provide significant assistance. A $25 donation will feed a family of four for two entire weeks! NNEMAP also participates in the Kroger Community Rewards Program, through which Kroger donates a portion a customers purchases directly to nonprofits like NNEMAP.

Learn more about NNMAP by viewing their profile.

Don't have a workplace giving campaign?

The advantage of donating through a workplace giving campaign from Community Shares of Mid Ohio is that every gift makes an impact regardless of the size. When we take all the gifts, big and small, and pull them together, they create huge impact in your local community. Below are just a few ways that your small gift can make a big change in your local community.

• $1 per week donation to NNEMAP Food Pantry, we can purchase over 750 pounds of food from Mid-Ohio Food Bank that will serve over 1,000 meals in a year!

• $1 a week helps OEFFA grow our local and organic food system by paying for 12 Good Earth Guides, OEFFA’s local foods directory which promotes local farms and helps consumers connect with farmers in their area.

• $1 per week buys a week’s worth of meals for a Project Openhand client