LOUISVILLE’S PHILANTHROPY MAGAZINE
ISSUE 5 / 2017
A Publication of the Community Foundation of Louisville
Robert Kittendorf
WHAT MAKES A COMMUNITY?
Kentrel Duncan Gwendolyn Kelly
Mary Ann Lewis
Robin McNeill
Second Chances
A Guide To Preserving Your Ethical Values
Who Inspires Us
Contents /
Perspectives: Susan’s Musings
Photo by Chris Witzke
THE GOOD NEW DAYS
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to hear Thomas Friedman talk about his book, “Thank You for Being Late,” the title of which was prompted by a meeting in a coffee shop, when the person he was due to meet ran late. This gave Mr. Friedman a few minutes to take a breath and contemplate. I am thankful when I get a few minutes like that. I feel like I am always moving too fast and never seem to have the time to be present. Mr. Friedman’s book left me with one major thought: acceleration. If we think things are moving fast now, just wait — everything will keep getting faster. And faster. Everything. In his book, Friedman momentarily waxes nostalgic about the good old days in his hometown. Some of us talk about wanting to go back to the good old days, especially when there are so many challenges right here and now. My good old days were spent walking to half-day kindergarten all by myself. I spent my time there reading, napping and going on the swings. We were a community of tiny children, and our days were magical. We depended on each other and our wonderful teacher. As I get older, the years fly by. I want to focus on being more present in this fast-paced world. I want to be anchored in community. Community is never without its
flaws and challenges. I worry about inequality and inequity, and rail against them when I can. I hate it when I know a family does not have enough food to eat, when a mother silently has to bury her daughter from the ravages of heroin, when a community mourns the tragic loss of a little boy named Dequante, killed by gunfire sitting at his kitchen table. Even then, I choose community. I am renewed by the formal and informal connections we make every day. Like when I visit Day Spring Community Living and witness the women in the Ladies Cottage, who spend their days working, watching favorite shows and planning their community dinner. Their community has become a family. Their years together have defined them, and their laughter and banter fills the bright and airy cottage. This spring, I cleaned out my closets and delivered shoes and clothes to the Kristy Love Foundation. I love feeling like I am a part of an organization simply by doing my share. And when I think about doing my share, I am humbled by Hal Warheim. He was a renaissance man. He traveled through life with a mission and purpose, and a passion for people and place. He was a champion for good. We all need a champion like Hal. My community is Louisville. It is my remarkable colleagues. My strong Board. My coaching group. My passionate, lively and funny friends, my amazing daughter and our most improved dog. What if we turned the corner on the good old days and called them out as “good new days?” What could each one of us do? Stand up. Step up. Call out. Right a wrong. Praise a right. Let’s make these the days where community matters, wherever you live. The good new days. SUSAN A. BARRY, JD President & CEO Community Foundation of Louisville
EDITOR
ISSUE 5 / 2017
feature
Cara Baribeau
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Peg Fagan Sheldon G. Gilman Anne McKune Erica Rucker
WHAT MAKES A COMMUNITY? Exploring what binds us together.
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
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William DeShazer Chris Witzke
COPY EDITOR Amy Higgs
DESIGN Joe Weber, Bisig Impact Group
PUBLISHER Community Foundation of Louisville
ON THE COVER Kentrel Duncan, Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year; Robert Kittendorf, South Louisville Community Ministries; Robin McNeill, Gilda’s Club participant; Gwendolyn Kelly, Artist, West Louisville Women’s Collaborative; and Mary Ann Lewis, Day Spring Community Living resident.
PHOTOGRAPHY ForGood is a publication of the Community
William DeShazer
Foundation of Louisville. At the Community Foundation, we are a force for good and invite others to engage in creating a community where people and place thrive. We are committed to promoting the understanding and participation in philanthropy in all of its different shapes and forms. This publication is an expression
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SECOND CHANCES Giving second chances to those who thought there were no more chances left.
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Photo by William DeShazer
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of that commitment that we hope helps to inform, inspire and create a community of thoughtful citizens dedicated to improving the world around them. Visit cflouisville.org to learn more.
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A GUIDE TO PRESERVING YOUR ETHICAL VALUES There’s more to leave behind than financial assets.
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WHO INSPIRES US Hal Warheim’s legacy of creating community and being a force for good.
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Photo by Chris Witzke
Nonprofits
worth knowing
At a time when more and more households have parents who work outside of the home, out-of-school time (OST) programs fill a vital role for families and provide a sense of community and stability for the kids who participate. Studies show that not only do OST programs improve school engagement, increase academic success and contribute to healthy lifestyle options, they also reduce violent and anti-social behavior, decrease substance use and abuse and prevent involvement in the juvenile justice system. High-risk youth are shown to benefit the most from these programs. OST programs vary in their approach to supporting and nurturing youth; each provides a different type of community for the families they serve. AMPED, Cabbage Patch and Lighthouse Academy are just three examples of organizations doing great work in this area. AMPED (The Academy of Music Production, Education and Development): A youth program that aims to provide
/ B Y AN N E MCKUNE
riving home from work after my hour-long commute every day on a long, winding, country road, I passed a house where an elderly man sat on his front porch, rocking slowly in an old glider. I had been introduced to him only once when I first moved in to my home. For these past fifteen years, I have lowered my window, given my horn a tap, waved, and shouted, “Hi, Charlie.” I felt compelled to acknowledge him in this way because I could not imagine going through a day without hearing someone say my name. I felt he needed to hear his name spoken at least once, if only by me, a relative stranger. I used to wave at his wife, too, when she was out walking their toy poodle. She was a sweet, small woman in a long, wool coat and kerchief, no matter what the season or weather. I called her my dried apple doll grandma. I didn’t know who she was, but I would slow down and say, “Hi, Grandma,” and she would smile and wave back. But then came the day that she was not out, and Charlie was walking the dog. I knew that he was now alone, and the imperative to acknowledge him grew stronger. My window was rolled down before I came around the corner, and even if he were not on the porch, I would tap the horn and call out to him, hoping that in his aloneness he’d hear me. As long as there was a light on in the house and the blue glow from the TV screen shining out of the window, I felt that he was all right.
D
Photo by William DeShazer
a safe and productive environment for youth to explore their creativity through music. AMPED strives to give youth the life skills, support and resources that they need to be successful. Cabbage Patch Settlement House: Equips and empowers at-risk children, youth and their families to be selfsufficient by helping them maximize their economic, educational, emotional, moral, physical, social and spiritual potential. The Cabbage
$100 to the Academy of Music Production, Education and Development (AMPED) provides funding for one student to attend the two-week AMPED Summer Camp or 10 hours of after-school tutoring.
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I Believe
/ BY PE G FA GA N
To Recognize Our Humanity
Patch Settlement House is a local, nonprofit, Christian organization. Lighthouse Academy at Newburg: Provides youth in the Newburg community with a safe place to learn and grow through educational, spiritual and economic programs. Lighthouse Academy focuses on homework completion, reading and math tutoring, after which children participate in enrichment programs such as gardening, music and crafts.
High-quality, out-of-school time (OST) programming is an integral part of ensuring all of our community’s young people have access to the resources they need to be successful. Caring adults provide mentorship, educational programming helps improve students’ academic success and activities keep kids engaged and out of trouble – all of which helps participants become healthy, effective members of society. Your small, unrestricted gifts can go a long way toward providing vital support to some of our community’s most vulnerable kids.
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$200 to the Cabbage Patch Settlement House provides an at-risk child with six months of art classes. By filling out-of-school time with adventure and recreation, Cabbage Patch helps children gain selfconfidence and engage in character-building activities.
$300 to the Lighthouse Academy at Newburg provides one student with a week of themed summer programming, including breakfast, lunch, hands-on STEM programs, literacy building programming as well as a full field trip that includes admissions and transportation.
But the inevitable day came; Charlie’s pickup truck was for sale out on the front lawn. A few days later, a realtor’s sign was posted, and I knew that Charlie was gone. I still honk and wave and yell, “Hi, Charlie” as I pass, albeit without as much gusto as I had in the past. The house is dark now. It is my belief that all of us need to be acknowledged at least once a day—that we need to hear our names spoken aloud by another person to cement our place on this planet, to know that someone sees us and recognizes our humanity, the truth of our being. I feel that it is incumbent upon all of us to acknowledge each other each day, in this way to speak to that truth.
Peg Fagan lives, writes, and makes fabulous pies in the wilds of Upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with her life partner, Greg, and two spoiled dogs, Gus and Grady. When not wrapped up in love and play with her grandchildren, she is the executive chef and owner of The Flying Avocado Whole Foods, LLC, where she tends to work a little too hard. She is grateful to live a life that is full to overflowing, and she would not have it otherwise. Well, maybe except for the work part.
“To Recognize Our Humanity,” Copyright ©2015 by Peg Fagan. From the book This I Believe: Philadelphia, edited by Dan Gediman and Mary Jo Gediman, Copyright ©2015 by This I Believe, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
“I COULD NOT IMAGINE GOING THROUGH A DAY WITHOUT HEARING SOMEONE SAY MY NAME.”
Learn more at ampedlouisville.org, cabbagepatch.org and thelighthousecenter.org.
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“We’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places,” says Angela Renfro of Kristi Love Foundation.
hen Angela Renfro was just nine years old, she was turned out on the streets by a family member. She worked as a prostitute until age 29. After 20 years on the street and surviving the abuse of several johns, including the one who gave her the moniker Kristi Love, Renfro had enough. She wanted to change her life. Being homeless so young, Renfro did not complete middle or high school. She finally got her diploma at the age of 40 and started to explore higher education, but was called by something greater. “I took all my school money to start Kristi Love,” she says. “I took every last drop of it.” With the little education she had, she put all of her money forward and began her mission to save the lives of
Rachelle Starr, Founder and Executive Director of Scarlet Hope and Scarlet’s Bakery, with Crystal Dawes who is proudly sharing the blueberry scones made in the bakery.
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From that point on, her luck would completely change. Tearfully Renfro shares, “When Susan came to visit us — to even have anyone come to us at that capacity, that important — we didn’t feel that we’re important. We never think people look at us like that, to even give us a chance.” It turns out this chance was all she needed for her organization to take off and change the lives of over 700 women and girls. From the Community Foundation, she got her first grant and assistance with setting up her board of directors. This spring, Kristi Love Foundation hosted its Survivor’s Luncheon with a keynote by Cindy McCain, co-chair of the Arizona Governor’s Council on Human Trafficking.
Angela Renfro, survivor, Founder and Executive Director of the Kristy Love Foundation.
as many young girls and women as possible. “We were trying to find a breakthrough, and we didn’t know where we were going to get it from,” she says. She weathered many odd looks when trying to explain her
mission to help women who were involved in prostitution and human trafficking. But what Renfro didn’t realize was that her mission was being shared, and soon she would meet Community Foundation of Louisville President and CEO Susan Barry.
Angela Renfro helping participant, Jenna Heck, with her computer skills.
Answering the Call Rachelle Starr was driving to work at a local media company when she passed Theatre X in Jeffersonville. A feeling overwhelmed her, and she knew that she had to stop, “I felt the overwhelming sense that God wanted me to approach the ladies.” She didn’t stop that day, but spent some time reading about the issue of prostitution and human trafficking. Worldwide, human trafficking represents a $32 billion industry, with most of that money coming from industrialized nations like the United States. The number of people who are bought and sold range from 600,000 to 800,000 each year. These are largely women and girls, but some are young men. Many are also victims of childhood abuse, both physical and sexual. “I started to learn and research about trafficking and the exploitation of women. It was about a year later that I decided if we were going to build relationships with them, we were going to have to go where they were.” She went to Theatre X and then began visiting women in similar
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secnahc situations at other clubs around the local area. She didn’t know whom she’d meet or how she would be received, but she went nevertheless. From this, Scarlet Hope was born. The organization’s mission is to share the hope of Jesus with every woman in the adult entertainment industry. “Obviously, I didn’t know much about this population or this profession, but as I got to know them I realized a lot of them are single moms,” she says. “When you’re a single mom and you’re trying to raise three children, it’s really hard to make enough money and to provide for kids.” Starr did something that few had done — she listened to the women and helped however she could. Sometimes it was serving meals. Sometimes it was helping a mother get clothing or food for her family. After four years of working with women in local clubs and adult theatres, Starr got an idea from her former life as a baker. “When I first started this organization, I would basically hire and teach women to do the wedding cakes with me,” she says. “I’ve always wanted a bakery where I could employ women that needed a second chance but also train and equip them for success for a long, long time.” In December 2015, Scarlet’s Bakery opened. Located in Shelby Park, Starr thought the location would serve the business well in several capacities. “Practically it’s a very easy place, a central place to get to. We primarily chose it for our participants. Transportation is the third largest hurdle for women who want to leave trafficking and exploitation.” The other two major hurdles are having enough money to live and being able to afford and find adequate childcare. These issues are at the forefront of Starr’s decision to found Scarlet Hope and Scarlet’s Bakery. The organization is determined to support and reach women wherever they are and offer
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A GUIDE TO PRESERVING YOUR ETHICAL VALUES
Rachelle Starr, Founder and Executive Director of Scarlet Hope and Scarlet’s Bakery.
tangible opportunities for change. “We’ve been doing this for nine years now, in the clubs. I’ve been working towards this for 10 years. Now that we’ve had a presence, we serve about 350 to 400 people every week,” says Starr. “We get calls from Atlanta, we get calls from ladies in other parts of the country that met someone in the club, or someone that knew us. Our reach now has gone much further
and deeper, and we serve any woman that comes to us, no matter what she’s been through.” Both Kristi Love Foundation and Scarlet Hope are committed to helping and serving as many women as possible, whatever that may mean. With the support of organizations like the Community Foundation, they are able to save lives and offer second chances to those who thought there were no more chances left.
BY
SHELDON G. GILMAN
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A GUIDE
A
TO PRESERVING YOUR ETHICAL VALUES
Planning your legacy is an opportunity to share more than just money with your heirs. It is a unique chance to develop and implement an inheritance plan for the disposition of both your wealth and ethical
re you in the process of planning
to use some portion of your family’s resources to
how you will pass on your assets
help specific charities or groups in our community.
values that will benefit not only your heirs’ physical comfort, but also their moral and spiritual growth.
to your heirs? If so, in addition to your financial assets, have you thought about how you will also
When planning your legacy, think about this:
bequeath your ethical values to those you love?
•
When trying to articulate your charitable objectives, consider the following questions.
Some people can trace their roots back
Our ethical values are personal, moral beliefs that
to eight great-grandparents, but very few
govern our behavior and these intangible assets
could name more than two or three of them.
may be our most valuable possessions.
Legacies can easily get lost over time, which
Are you currently involved with any nonprofit organizations? In what capacity? As a donor, volunteer Q. or board member?
makes it all the more important to develop a Lawyers sometimes hesitate to introduce the
plan to preserve your family’s values for future
idea of charitable giving because they fear clients
generations.
might be offended by the suggestion of leaving
•
Think about where you earned your wealth.
some of their money to a non-family member. But
Is it important that some of it remain in
planning for your legacy after you’re gone is a
Louisville or Kentucky? If your children and
necessary discussion, especially as many of us
grandchildren move away, the assets they
treasure our values and traditions more than our
inherit from you may end up benefiting a
financial assets. Families should work together
different community than the community
with financial and legal advisors to ensure their
where those assets were earned. This is an
wishes for doing good in the community are
important aspect for developing your plan to
carefully communicated so their ethical values will
preserve your ethical values.
live on for generations. On the following pages,
•
Do you typically support the same organizations every year, or do these vary from year-to-year?
Q.
How do you decide which nonprofits to support?
Q.
Who is involved with the decisions to give?
Q.
Do you have a charitable cause or general area of interest that you care about most?
Q.
Do you give the same amount every year? Upon what does it depend?
Q.
Which donations have given you the greatest satisfaction or the most regret?
Q.
Would you prefer to give anonymously or publicly?
Q.
Do you have any charitable vehicles in place, such as a private foundation or donor advised fund?
Q.
Do you want to donate primarily during your life, at death, or provide a gift that continues in perpetuity?
Have you helped your children financially
you will find tools to help you capture the legacy
during your lifetime, such as providing for a
you would like to leave. With careful planning
college education or a down payment on their
your ethical values will live on for many years –
first home? Will it make a significant difference
well beyond the next generation.
if they inherit “only” 90% of your assets? Setting aside a portion of your assets for
How do you identify your own ethical values?
charitable giving and charging your heirs with
First, determine what is important to you. What
executing your wishes can create a culture
Have you involved your family in your thoughts and plans for sharing your ethical values and charitable Q.
causes or issues do you care deeply about? What
of giving in your own family. This will allow
giving? What is your plan to make your heirs aware of how important charitable giving is to you and
aspects of your community do you value most?
your benefactors to work together to make a
how you want it continued?
Next, decide what kind of a plan would best
difference in the lives of others long after
illustrate to your heirs that you expect them
you are gone.
W illiam J ames : “The great use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.”
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M u hammad A li : “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
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A GUIDE
T
TO PRESERVING YOUR ETHICAL VALUES
ake a strategic approach to integrating your charitable objectives into your overall wealth
Once you have considered your priorities for charitable giving, you may want to create a personal
management and estate strategy. You can work with an attorney, financial planner or
statement of ethical values for your heirs. This statement can prove to be a valuable means of
gift planning advisor at the Community Foundation to begin your charitable giving plan. The Community
communicating to your heirs why you want to leave a legacy through charitable giving and what
Foundation will work with you and your professional advisors to determine the “right” solution to
ethical values are most important to you. Be as specific as possible.
accomplish all of your charitable goals. The formative events of my life include the following:
Some of the more important lessons I learned from our ancestors were: Before you meet with an advisor, give some thought to the following questions: Some of the more relevant life lessons I learned were:
Q.
Are you interested in formalizing a legacy gift? Some of the best decisions I made involved the following:
Q.
Would you like to create a forum for engaging family members? Some of the worst decisions I made, that I hope my heirs will not repeat, were:
Q.
Would you like to establish or continue family traditions? Some of our country’s political (or community) leaders who influenced me were:
Q.
How much control do you want to have over investments and grant making? Some of the religious influences (or values) that influenced me were:
Q.
How costly — both in terms of time and money — is it to establish and maintain the gift vehicle? Some of the charitable causes that were important to me were:
Q.
Are there required annual distributions? I created opportunities for others (charities) and I recommend my heirs continue to support
Q.
Can you give anonymously?
You and your family can use this guide to foster meaningful conversations about your legacy, charitable goals and ethical values. If you are interested in creating a legacy through philanthropy, contact your professional advisor or the Community Foundation of Louisville to develop an estate and charitable gift plan that will ensure your wishes and values are preserved and honored for generations to come.
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them because:
Sheldon “Shelly” G. Gilman is a partner at Lynch, Cox, Gilman & Goodman, P.S.C. where he concentrates his practice in the areas of financial planning and tax matters. After earning his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University, Shelly served four years as an Army JAG officer. Shelly has been a 30-year member of the Kentucky Bar’s Ethics Committee and has been deeply committed to giving back to his community. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Federation; the
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; Louisville Orchestra; American Civil Liberties Union – Kentucky; President, Congregation Adath Jeshurun; Chairman, Louisville Minority Business Resource Center; and is a member of Vietnam Veterans of America. He was the inaugural recipient of the Wilson Wyatt Award for his role as a professional advisor who demonstrates excellence in philanthropic advising. Shelly and his wife, Nancy, have two accomplished sons, Stephen and Scott.
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What Makes a Community? BY ERIC A RUCKER PHOTOGR A PHY: W IL L I A M DE S H A ZE R
When you hear the word “community,” do you immediately think of an area defined by geography? In Louisville, this might mean our broad Metro community, or much smaller neighborhoods like Belknap, Shawnee or St. Matthews. Many of us develop a sense of who we are based on where we live. Community can be that and so much more.
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Perhaps your greatest sense of community comes from a support group, people with whom you share faith, a hobby or a similar life circumstance. These communities, the ones that we make, can give us our greatest sense of belonging. Keeping a community connected is not an easy task in this age of solitary “social” technology. People often feel engaged without having to leave their homes or see another person. As Tom Stephens, Director of the Center for Neighborhoods, says, “We’re incredibly interactive without interacting with anybody.” “A lot of it still goes back to the basics of sitting down face-to-face with somebody, getting to know them, building the relationship that hopefully will build and grow over time,” he adds. The Center for Neighborhoods works to foster community development by partnering with engaged citizens to build healthy, safe and sustainable neighborhoods. Through several initiatives, the organization supports existing geographic communities and helps create social communities through engagement; education and training; data and digital mapping; and assessment, planning and design. “For us, it is about creating tangible change, both physically and socially,” says Stephens. By definition, a community is any group of people within a larger society united through a common location, interest or characteristic. Hal Warheim, the subject of our Who Inspires Us column on page 16, was certainly a community maker in so many of these ways. Other community builders are moved by their faith, as we see in our sidebar on Community Ministries on page 15. Some join through the impetus of illness or necessity, or merely common interests. Regardless of the path, what we do in our communities can have effects that last for a lifetime.
A community to light the darkness
“‘You have cancer’ are some of the most feared words in the English language,” says Gilda’s Club Executive
Top: Robin McNeill, Jessica Flores and Ben Sanders connecting in their weekly support session at Gilda’s Club. Right: Families enjoying dinner prepared by volunteers at Gilda’s Club before support sessions begin.
Director Karen Morrison. The organization offers a supportive community to help those affected by the disease not only cope with their fears, but live as fully as possible. Community comes in many forms at Gilda’s Club. From therapeutic groups and dance classes to crafts and friendly gatherings to discuss books, Gilda’s Club allows those affected by cancer to live their lives with joy, style, purpose and laughter. Gilda’s Club recognizes that each person’s cancer journey is unique. “It is defined by them and those who live with them,” adds Morrison. “If
a person with cancer wants to come to the center and not discuss cancer, that’s fine. If they want to only talk about their illness, that’s fine, too.” “Some people hit the gigantic pause button on life when they get a cancer diagnosis. It begins to consume their whole life. They put everything else on hold,” says Morrison. “Our philosophy is that you continue to live your life while cancer is a part of it.” “The symptoms that we treat — fear, anxiety, depression, helplessness, hopelessness — those symptoms impact the entire family,” she adds.
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What Makes a Community?
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Anyone in the family is welcome to visit and participate in Gilda’s Club programs, free of charge. “I never thought I'd voluntarily commit to something for so long, but I have been a regular for over a year and a half,” says club member Robin McNeill. “I’m always interested in knowing how my Tuesday and Wednesday night support group friends are faring and, occasionally, trying something new.”
Building community through the creative arts
In West Louisville, where poverty is rampant and opportunity is slim, the West Louisville Women’s Collaborative is carving out a place for shared creativity and the pursuit of peace in an area often recognized for everything but those things. By combining creation and community building, the group hopes to address issues of blight and abandoned properties in the neighborhood. The Collaborative creates with the idea of community in mind. The public art projects they have tackled have been heavily influenced by the community in which they are situated, but also have been created with hands-on participation from members of the community. “The main idea is to get people from all over the city to come, not just to that place, but to think about other places that could be made to feel welcoming for people, no matter where you live or what neighborhood you're from,” says Louisville visual artist, Collaborative member and Community Foundation of Louisville Board Member Gwendolyn Kelly.
intellectual and developmental disabilities,” says Sarah Trester, Executive Director of Day Spring Community Living. The organization is focused on small group community living, which provides better one-on-one care and an enriching experience for the residents. Currently, Day Spring Community Living enhances and empowers the lives of about 120 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in 70 locations throughout the Louisville area. The residents are encouraged through a small and close-knit support community to strive for their best. "I love my community,” says resident Mary Ann Lewis, who lives in a Day Spring Community Living home located on Illinois Avenue near the Louisville Zoo. “The staff is so wonderful, and my friends are so wonderful there. It's just a wonderful place to live.” “In most settings, residents have access to staff support on a 24/7 basis. Staff assist in areas such as personal care, health and nutrition, community access and transportation,” says Trester. Day Springs Community Living’s model of care creates an experience
for residents that is a more dignified and therapeutic approach to the issues of developmental or intellectual disabilities than in years past. Parents of residents say the organization alleviates the worries that come with a child who needs 24/7 care for the rest of their lives. “Being a widow, I always worried what her future would be like without me,” says the parent of one resident. “Now I know she will be well-cared for, with ‘family’ to love and support her future needs. This is such a reassuring feeling.”
A place to belong and grow
“The Boys & Girls Club has always been a place where I felt I belonged,” says Kentrel Duncan, Boys & Girls Club of Kentuckiana (BGCK) member and 2017 City-Wide Youth of the Year. Duncan, 16, is a tall, soft-spoken young man with an easy smile. He’s been involved with BGCK since he was in middle school and he is proud of his accolades and the support from his BGCK chapter, which has helped him find multiple summer jobs. With incidents of bullying, drug use and other risks on the rise, there has never been a more critical time for establishing safe communities for today’s youth. BGCK is one of
the organizations in Louisville continuously working to create these safe, functional and education spaces and programs for such youth. The organization began 57 years ago to inspire and enable young people to realize their full potential. Duncan is one of many like him to have benefited from BGCK services. In just the last year, the Clubs have provided out-of-school programming for over 3,000 young people. They have also served more than 79,000 hot meals for food-insecure youth. The clubs pride themselves in their impressive accomplishments; 98 percent of members finish high school. Many of the students go on to secondary education and maintain a lifestyle of activity and leadership. The out-of-school support the kids receive through the BGCK community gives them a stable, caring and nurturing environment to set them on the path of purpose and achievement. With continued community support, these clubs work to provide a safe and valuable experience for kids and families of at-risk youth, so more students like Duncan can stay on track to graduate and realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.
Creating your own community
Community can be many things. It can be a neighborhood. A support group. A club. Even a home. We are all connected by many different communities. How we choose to
Parkland Boys & Girls Club members discovering their expressive skills.
participate, to grow and thrive in those communities is up to us. While a community might frequently be tied to a place, it is so much more than geography. Organizations like Gilda’s Club, West Louisville Women’s Collaborative, Day Spring Community Living and Boys & Girls Clubs demonstrate that in very different ways. What really creates a community are the people who choose to engage in it, and it is those connections that help make a community where people and place thrive.
LOUISVILLE-AREA COMMUNITY MINISTRIES For many, faith plays an important role in the communities they make. Driven by the need for services or the need to serve others, community ministries are binding many together in care for the vulnerable neighbors in our communities. The Association of Community Ministries has 15 organizations under its umbrella, with programs as diverse as the populations they serve. Offerings may include child care, food pantries, tutoring, emergency financial assistance, clothes closets, youth sports and much more. The list below shows the diversity of communities being served through these ministries.
Trading isolation for connection and meaning
It wasn’t all that long ago that people with developmental disabilities were marginalized and isolated from mainstream communities. Nonprofits like Day Spring Community Living are changing all that. “We value the gifts that every person brings to life in our community, and we believe that all are enriched by the presence and participation of people with
Central Louisville Community Ministries Eastern Area Community Ministries Fairdale Area Community Ministries Fern Creek / Highview United Ministries Highlands Community Ministries
Jeffersontown Area Ministries Ministries United South Central Louisville St. Matthews Area Ministries Shively Area Ministries South East Associated Ministries
South Louisville Community Ministries Southwest Community Ministries United Crescent Hill Ministries West Louisville Community Ministries Sister Visitor's Center
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HAL WARHEIM A Force for good
Hal Warheim at Warheim Park.
H
al Warheim had a vanity plate on his car that read “PROSIT.” When friends and Warheim Park Association members asked him about it, he would say it was a toast to good health. Prosit stuck with them, and after Hal died in March, they looked it up. They learned it came from old German and Latin, and roughly translates as “may it benefit.” Hal’s story and his gift of the park to the neighborhood is a testament to his belief that we each should live a life that benefits others. Born in Hanover, Pa., in 1931, Hal was a modern-day renaissance man who lived a life of passion, adventure, intellectual pursuits, travel, the arts and rich friendships. Before moving to Louisville where he created a family of community, worked as an ordained
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minister and became an attorney, Hal earned several graduate degrees and worked for the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland. He was a preacher and pastor of churches in St. Louis, a researcher for the United Church of Christ and field education supervisor and tutor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. When he moved to Louisville’s Belknap area in 1968, the neighborhood located near Bellarmine University was surrounded by an overgrown thicket known as “the woods.” When Warheim saw this, he had a vision to create a meeting place where neighbors could become friends, and friends could become family. This would become Warheim Park. “He took pleasure in watching others enjoying the park,”says friend
and Advisory Board member Melissa Firestone. “He encouraged others to share their thoughts about the park in a blank journal he left in the gazebo. He replaced the journals when they were full and read aloud from them during Warheim Park Association board meetings.” Hal started an Endowment Fund for Warheim Park at the Community Foundation of Louisville for operating expenses, major repairs, capital improvements and land acquisition in 2006. He also worked with the Foundation to ensure that some of his other philanthropic goals were met through his estate plans and a permanent endowment fund. But Hal wasn’t only working to make his own neighborhood better, he worked hard to create fairness and justice throughout the city of Louisville. He served on the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Kentucky. He led demonstrations for the Committee for Open Housing and worked to organize Religious Leaders for Fairness. He was arrested for his participation in both. “These experiences and their consequences were extremely costly to me personally, but their benefits were probably greater,” Hal once said. “I participated in a period of American history when significant moral progress was achieved, and I was a member of the movement which achieved it.” Hal left behind a legion of friends who are mourning and celebrating his life with their own acts of generosity and spirit. His ideas of community, fairness and justice are his legacy, and his park will continue to provide a place for his community to meet and reflect. May we all live a life of such benefit to others. To Hal Warheim! Prosit!
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