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IMPACT
REAL CHANGE AND REAL SOLUTIONS: HOW COSMO AND ITS
MEMBERS HAVE AN IMPACT
Community Shares of Mid Ohio
works with member agencies to bring about real change and real solutions in
our community.
COSMO has distributed over $2 million
since 1994 to member agencies and increased community exposure and funding
for local non-profit organizations through cooperative federation
participation, giving COSMO members access to over 125,000 new potential
donors. Read below for a small sample of what a
difference your donation makes in our community!
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Check out how a local mother was able to use Ohio
Literacy Network's GED Connection through Time Warner Cable to earn her
GED. |
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Jane Doe came to Deaf Services Center (DSC) at the end of
April with an outstanding electricity bill and a threat for disconnection if
she did not make full payment within three weeks. Jane is a deaf single
mother with a limited income and two young children. She moved to the
United States several years ago. Jane has
very limited communication skills and limited reading skills.
After looking over her bill statement, DSC contacted American
Electric Power (AEP) to find out if Jane was a recipient of their PIPP
program (Percentage of Income Payment plan). The AEP
representative explained that Jane was no longer in the PIPP program and
would have to reapply to get back into the program.
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Jane's sister had set up her account with AEP
but due to poor communication with her sister Jane was not aware that she was in the PIPP
program. Jane was not also aware that she would need to
sign up at the end of March each year to enroll again.
Jane only knew that she needed to pay the "due" amount that was printed on
her bill each month.
The deadline had passed to re-enroll and DSC explained the situation to the AEP
representative and asked for options that could help assist Jane. The AEP representative could
only recommend contacting Emergency HEAP's 800 telephone number.
DSC tried to contact HEAP's 800 number using video relay service
(VRS), but it was not possible because it only accepted calls from within
Ohio. VRS is a service covered
by the Federal Communications Commission to provide communication for deaf
callers and is located throughout the
United States.
The DSC worker decide to take another approach to reach HEAP
by going online and signing Jane up for an appointment to see a caseworker
at a local community center. Jane, DSC and an
interpreter from DSC met with the case worker in the middle of April.
DSC advocated on behalf of Jane requesting an exception to the
deadline for enrollment to the PIPP program. DSC was successful
in getting the caseworker to sign Jane up for PIPP. Jane
was no longer in threat of disconnection of her electricity. DSC took the
time to help explain to her how PIPP works and taught her how to read her
electric bill and where to look to see when her PIPP ends next year. DSC
encouraged Jane to be prepared to contact AEP next March to enroll again for
the PIPP program
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A letter from a camper about Camp Sunrise:
To Whom it may concern,
Sometimes I feel
like Camp Sunrise is like a second home. In several aspects, it’s
even better then home itself. At Camp Sunrise, there is no discrimination,
jokes, profiling, or any negative attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS. This is a
camp where kids and teens can come to try to get away from some of the
pressures and stress that dealing with this terrible disease causes.
Obviously, proper daily medical care of those who need it is still given by
skilled nurses.
Personally, I love
everything about this camp. Whether it be the arts & crafts, sports, or
expressive arts, this camp is 95% perfect. The remaining 5% that keeps it
from being absolutely perfect is a result of it only being a week long. This
perfection comes at a price though. Although its free for the kids and teens
who attend, everything still needs to be paid for. Without proper funding,
myself, along more than a hundred kids, would not have a week to look
forward to in August.
Those who help run this
camp -the volunteers - they ALL look forward to it despite knowing they
don’t receive a paycheck. They do it out of love and compassion. Those two
factors are what drives the hearts of the directors to keep a camp like
Camp Sunrise running. The one thing that could ruin it all is not having
enough funding. The cost consists of food, lodging, busing, renting, sports
equipment, arts and crafts supplies and several other things. I am 17 and
have been coming to Camp Sunrise since I was 4 years old. I am not
exaggerating when I say, that I would rather spend a week at Camp Sunrise
than anywhere else in the world.
Rob
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The Native
American Indian Center of Central Ohio [NAICCO] is the only place in Central
Ohio specifically addressing the needs of Native Americans. At
NAICCO, each person is treated with respect, compassion, integrity, acceptance,
encouragement of spiritual, physical, mental and
emotional growth, and wellness and recovery.
NAICCO
supporter Diana Durfey-Coy says, "I contributed some coats and shoes
to NAICCO. The next time I went there I noticed someone there
wearing one of the coats I had contributed.
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said to go to the back door to get meals. Then I went to a powwow
and spoke to a man about NAICCO. I asked what the organization was
about and did for people. He told me that they have a Sage and Cedar
program, provide meals for people, and also a sobriety program offered to
people. He was referring to the community around NAICCO as well as
the Native Americans."
"I wanted to give more to NAICCO
because they do provide services and items donated directly to people that
need the assistance. I am not a wealthy person but still I really
wanted to help. At work we received pledge cards for donations to
Community Shares, which is made up of different organizations in the
community. I immediately looked to see if NAICCO was one of the
organizations and it was. I donate a little bit out of each
paycheck. I know that the money I donate will really make a
difference in someone's life. I feel good knowing that, even though
it is a little bit of money, I am really helping."
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Cat
Welfare: Reaching out to the under-served areas in Central Ohio,
Cat Welfare is a unique no-kill shelter that sponsors a monthly
spay/neuter clinic for stray, abused and feral cats.
We try to ignore her...the scrawny
calico cat hanging around the back porch door looks innocent enough.
But she's harboring a dark, secret life of motherhood, birthing an
average of 18 kittens a year in a continuous cycle of pregnancy.
Over 10 years she and her offspring will produce 420,000 kittens
adding to the stray feline overpopulation problem that plagues our
community.
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NOMAD/Mash Unit and Shelter Outreach Services of Ohio provide spay/neuter
surgeries, rabies vaccinations and flea treatment to cats and kittens
living in low-income neighborhoods around Columbus. Last year 203 spay and
neuter surgeries were funded with Community Shares donations, and this
year 100 surgeries have been performed so far.
Breaking the cycle of homeless cats and
kittens...it takes a community to do the job. A community dedicated
to the welfare of cats, and generous Community Shares donors like you.
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