2 minute read
CandO: Bringing People Together Through Service
By: Meggan Thompson
At the request of the leadership of Junior League Cincinnati, President Tara Mosley and PresidentElect Kate Fortlage in partnership with the Community and Outreach (CandO) Committee shared a goal: provide more opportunities for more members to serve in more ways than ever.
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The women of C and O, affectionately referred to as CandO, got to work to get it done. First, the group looked at previous JLC partnerships & incubated projects and finalists from last year’s program acceleration work. The aim was not to reinvent the wheel, but to oil it and put air in the tires. CandO wanted to ensure the Junior League Cincinnati kept its word to all of these groups by continuing our collaboration with these organizations. In the fall, JLC members provided 322 volunteer hours to 11 organizations throughout Cincinnati;an additional 10 organizations are planned for partnerships in the spring of 2022. The Community and Outreach Committee has eight members, and each member is tasked with identifying and nurturing relationships with two community organizations as the point person for the duration of the year. To appeal to the greatest number of members, CandO provided a very wide breadth and depth of service events. League members were able to choose from online drives, such as the coat drive completed in December for the Boys and Girls Club; or in-person events like the graduation ceremony for Children’s Home of Cincinnati. The types of events are dictated by the partner organization’s needs and are presented as ‘Done in a Day’ tasks, or donation collection drives. Moreover, service opportunities were added during daytime shifts, and also made available to families to participate. This allowed more women than ever to connect, while providing valuable resources to various city groups. New partnerships blossomed with Saturday Hoops and Keep Cincinnati Beautiful. Previously incubated relationships with the Cincinnati Children’s Theatre, Fernside Center for Grieving Children and Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank were rekindled; and the Junior League Cincinnati had the opportunity to sponsor a dental activity connected to the exhibit created from our past project, GrinUp at the Children’s Museum. Additionally, a new opportunity through Refugee Connect came to fruition that created learning, not just service, connections for League members. Bringing people together through service to foster internal relationships is the secondary focus of Community and Outreach. All CandO events are posted on the Digital Cheetah intranet calendar, as well as the private Facebook page. These events are great, safe spaces to meet other Junior League Cincinnati members, learn about community needs, and serve amazing and worthy organizations and to learn new skills.
In the Fall, members provided 322 volunteer hours to 11 organizations throughout Cincinnati, with an additional 10 organizations with which the League will partner with in the Spring. Now that we are half-way into the league year, CandO Chair Sunny Grothaus reflects on how far the committee has come in reaching the goal set at the beginning of the year, “Our Cando committee has worked diligently to provide thoughtful volunteer opportunities to the league this year. And it’s rewarding to see almost every single event fill up. We are so grateful for the commitment of our league members!”
