The 4,460-square foot office facility, previously owned by Schlegel Construction Products, is almost directly east of the CRC’s current building at 14 W. Lakeview Blvd.

The purchase, approved by the CRC’s board of trustees, addresses most of the pressing space needs for the Clintonville Settlement House. It will allow a majority of the CRC’s growing array of services to be operated out of the High Street facility, which in turn gives the agency an opportunity to upgrade its material assistance efforts that have been in need of additional space for many years.

“For the past 32 years, it has taken a lot of creativity and hard work by staff and volunteers to make this space work,” said CRC Executive Director Bill Owens, referring to the Lakeview building which has been the agency’s home for most of its 41 years.

The biggest initial impact will be felt in the CRC’s Choice Food Pantry, which served more than 4,000 individuals during 2012 from space of about 175 square feet. With the Lakeview building freed up to focus on material assistance efforts, the Family Services Program has the potential to expand to 1,500 square feet or more – allowing for increased and more efficient processing and delivery of services to local low-income families.

The CRC also will be able to move its Senior Services Department to the High Street building, as well as staff for Kinship Care operations and other support staff.

The popular Kids Club afterschool and Summer Care Program will continue to use space at nearby Clinton Heights Lutheran Church, although its administration will operate out of the High Street site. Clinton Heights has been a generous partner to CRC throughout the years, offering rooms for Kids Club as well as Senior Services.

CRC’s board conducted a feasibility study two years ago and it was determined that the agency needed 14,248 square feet. Ideally these services would be located under one roof, allowing for greater utilization of all our programs and opportunities for people of all ages and circumstances.  Such buildings are difficult to come by in Clintonville, especially with the need for green space for the youth services. Three potential options identified in the feasibility study were purchased by other entities during the past year.

So when the Schlegel building became available, negotiations began. The facility is move-in ready and located in close proximity to the CRC’s other operations as well as on COTA’s No. 2 bus line. The off-street parking lot is part of the purchase.

This move is possible because of the CRC’s solid financial foundation, which has been developed through strong and ongoing community support.

The Lakeview facility, originally Clintonville’s first public library, will continue to provide clothing donations and will be available as a community meeting room and for the CRC’s weekly community meals (Sunday breakfasts and dinners on Tuesdays and Thursdays). Agency leadership will be exploring what renovations are needed there in order to address the community’s growing material assistance needs. The kitchen already is being upgraded, thanks to the contributions of two local donors, and a new children’s area and library will be developed soon with the support of many neighborhood volunteers.

The CRC is a Settlement House founded in 1971 that enables community members to assure that appropriate food, clothing, housing, health needs and social needs are available to all. It is funded by the United Way of Central Ohio, Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging, Franklin County Office on Aging, Columbus Foundation, city of Columbus, churches, citizen groups, businesses, individuals, fund-raising activities and specific grants; including a vital partnership with the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

CRC and the Mid-Ohio Foodbank have worked in partnership for more than 20 years. Starting in May 2011, the CRC formed a strategic partnership to “get more food out” to neighbors who are “food insecure,” Owens said. This facility purchase is part of that partnership.

The purchase also helps the CRC strive forward in meeting its vision: “In the best tradition of Settlement Houses, we respond to the needs of our diverse community to foster safer, healthier, and empowered lives.”

For more information, contact Bill Owens at 614-268-3539 or Bill.Owens@clintonvillecrc.org. You also can view our “Frequently Asked Questions” by clicking here.

What building did the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center purchase?

The CRC Board of Trustees has approved purchase of the one-story Schlegel Construction building at 3222-3224 N. High St. It is move-in ready, allowing the CRC to quickly relocate its offices to the site. This includes relocating its Senior Services department from Clinton Heights Lutheran Church.

When will the CRC move?                                         

We anticipate being able to relocate many of our offices the first weekend in May. Keep in mind we aren’t vacating the 14 W. Lakeview Ave. site, but freeing up a lot of space there to be to serve our neighbors more efficiently and effectively – and increasing our abilities to meet their needs.

What will be the environmental or community concerns (if any) that should be addressed with the event that CRC does purchase the building?

The only one we can envision is pedestrian traffic. The new site does provide the CRC with its first off-site parking lot, with 22 spaces. This will free up many on-street spaces along surrounding roads (The CRC currently has no dedicated parking spaces at its Lakeview site), but there could be a slight increase in pedestrian traffic at the intersection of Lakeview and High.

Are there any anticipated changes in programming and service provision model for clients of CRC, particularly those receiving material assistance?

What we have envisioned is moving all offices to the High Street location, keeping youth programming where it is and the Lakeview building remaining home to all of the agency’s material assistance efforts. At the Lakeview location we will have greatly increased space for food, clothing & housewares to be distributed, which we currently distribute on a smaller scale. We will continue to host  community meals (Tuesday and Thursday dinners and Sunday breakfasts) at Lakeview with increased space and the opportunity to utilize some equipment given to us by Children’s Hospital (i.e. steam table).

The Lakeview site also will continue to be available for community groups to host meetings here, free-of-charge.

How can the CRC afford this type of purchase?

The CRC enjoys a tremendous amount of community support, with a solid carryover amount that will allow it to carry a reasonable mortgage on this new property. Cost savings from eliminating the renting of space for Senior Services offices will help offset some of the expense, and the leadership team anticipates continued support of local residents and businesses as well as new opportunities to seek grants that will uplift the current and expanded services offered by the CRC.

It also should be noted that the great condition of the Schlegel site means move-in costs will be minimal for the CRC as the building already meets many of the agency’s office-space needs.

How long will this space meet CRC needs?

Our ideal space, as determined by the feasibility study completed two years ago, would be under one roof with square footage of 14,248 feet to meet our immediate needs. It would also have green space for outdoor youth activities.

This new space will increase our combined square footage to: Lakeview-3,460 square feet; Clinton Heights Lutheran Church (Kids Club)-3,200 square feet; and High St.-4,460 square feet, which equals a total of 11,120 square feet.   This is 78% of the space we need in gross numbers.

When you compare the needed space with the specific program requirements it looks better, especially for the Food Pantry and the Family Services Program. The pantry currently has 175 square feet with the needed space identified as 1,500 square feet. The pantry and related material assistance efforts would have up to 3,460 square feet of the Lakeview building for food storage.

Moving into a more modern, updated, energy-efficient and secure office space with dedicated room for administrative purposes will help CRC staff and volunteers improve the ways in which they meet the many and growing needs of the neighborhood.

Wait a minute. Wasn’t the CRC all set to move into another location a year ago?

No, CRC’s leadership was not ready to move on any property purchases last year. The feasibility study identified several sites that would have suited the CRC’s needs, but the agency was still in the preliminary stages of taking any action at that time. Since then, a few of those sites have been purchased by other entities or businesses. CRC leaders are enthusiastic about the possibilities this High Street site offers.

Greetings! We have some great news to share with you!

 Thanks to the ongoing support and financial commitment of our community including friends like you, the Clintonvillle-Beechwold Community Resources Center announced today that we have purchased the commercial building at 3222-3224 N. High St. The additional site will allow the Settlement House to serve our neighbors more efficiently and effectively.

 The 4,460-square foot office facility, previously owned by Schlegel Construction Products, is almost directly east of the our current building at 14 W. Lakeview Blvd.

 The purchase, approved by the CRC’s Board of Trustees, addresses most of the pressing space needs for the Clintonville Settlement House. It will allow most of our growing array of services to be operated out of the High Street facility, which in turn gives the agency an opportunity to upgrade its material assistance efforts that have been in need of additional space for many years.

  The biggest initial impact will be felt in our Choice Food Pantry, which served more than 4,000 individuals during 2012 from a space of about 175 square feet. With the Lakeview building freed up to focus on material assistance efforts, the Family Services Program has the potential to expand to 1,500 square feet or more — allowing for increased and more efficient processing and delivery of services to local families that have a low income or are living in poverty.

 We  also will be able to move our Senior Services Department to the High Street building, as well as staff for Kinship Care operations and other support staff.

 The popular Kids Club Afterschool and Summer Program will continue to use space at nearby Clinton Heights Evangelical Lutheran Church, although its administration will operate out of the High Street site. Clinton Heights Lutheran has been a generous partner to CRC throughout the years, offering rooms for Kids Club as well as Senior Services.

 CRC and the Mid-Ohio Foodbank have worked in partnership for more than 20 years. Starting in May 2011, the CRC formed a strategic partnership to “get more food out” to our neighbors who are “food insecure.” This facility purchase is a key step in that partnership.

 As you know, our Board conducted a space feasibility study two years ago and determined that for our current services we needed 14,248 square feet. Ideally these services would be located under one roof, allowing for greater utilization of all our programs and opportunities by people of all ages and circumstances. Such buildings are difficult to come by in Clintonville, especially with the need for green space for the Youth Services program. Three potential options identified in the feasibility study were purchased by other businesses and agencies during the past year.

 So when the Schlegel building became available, we began negotiations. The facility is move-in ready and located in close proximity to the CRC’s other operations as well as on COTA’s No. 2 bus line. A 22-space parking lot is part of the purchase which is a great improvement over our current zero parking spaces!

 This move is possible because of our strong financial foundation, which has been developed through generous and ongoing community support from folks like you.

 The Lakeview facility, originally Clintonville’s first public library, also will continue to provide clothing donations and will remain available as a community meeting room and for our regular weekly community meals (Sunday breakfasts and dinners on Tuesdays and Thursdays).

 Our leadership will be exploring what renovations are needed there in order to address the community’s growing material assistance needs. The kitchen already is being upgraded, thanks to the contributions of two local donors, and a new children’s area and library will be developed soon with the support of many neighborhood volunteers.

The purchase also helps the CRC strive forward in meeting our board-approved vision: “In the best tradition of Settlement Houses, we respond to the needs of our diverse community to foster safer, healthier, and empowered lives.”

 For any questions, please call me at 614-268-3539 or send us an email at info@clintonvillecrc.org.

Bring in a donation of canned food or other non-perishable food item, and a guitar, and staff members will restring the instrument for free. All donations will benefit the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center.

The offer will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is sponsored by D’Addrio Guitar Strings.

Music Go Round has two locations: 833 Bethel Road in northwest Columbus, and 1329 Stoneridge Drive in Gahanna.

For more information, visit the website musicgoround.com or call 614-457-9328.

The special evening will take place Thursday, April 25, at the Whetstone Park Shelterhouse, 3901 N. High St.

More than 300 volunteers helped the CRC serve thousands of clients during 2012. Their diverse efforts ranged from unloading food trucks from the Mid-Ohio Foodbank Tuesday nights to planting community gardens, and from helping senior citizens fill out their tax forms to collecting and cleaning used dolls to prepare for donations as Christmas gifts in December.

One such volunteer, student Lauren Salamon, was the volunteer coordinator for the CRC as an Ohio State University intern earlier in 2012. She enjoyed the experience so much she has been volunteering regularly since the beginning of 2013 even though her educational requirements were finished.

For more information on how volunteers help the CRC, please call Associate Director Stephanie Baker at 614-268-3539.

For more information on the CRC and the many services it offers, visit the website www.clintonvillecrc.org or call 614-268-3539.

For more general information on National Volunteer Week, visit the website:

http://www.pointsoflight.org/signature-events/national-volunteer-week.

Free meals will be made available to all children 18 years of age and under or persons older than 18 who are determined by a state or local public educational agency to be mentally or physically disabled.

The meals will be provided without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.

Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any USDA -related activity should write or call immediately to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th & Independence Ave. S. W., Washington DC 20250-9410; (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD).   Meals will be provided at the site(s) listed below. All sites are open sites.

1. Clinton Heights Lutheran Church/CRC Kids Club: 15 Clinton Heights Ave. Columbus, OH 43202-1244, M-F Breakfast 8:15am-9:15am and Lunch 12:15-1:15p (6/03-8/09/13)
2. Salem Elementary School: 1040 Garvey Rd. Columbus, OH 43229-4131 Lunch only M-F, 11a-12p (6/10-8/09/13)
3. River Lodge Apartments: 360 Broadmeadows Blvd. Columbus, OH 43214 Lunch only M-F, 12:30-1:30p (6/03-8/09/13)
4. Maynard Ave. United Methodist: 2350 Indianola Ave, Columbus, OH 43202 M-F, Lunch 12p-1p (6/17-7/19/13)
5. Masjid Omar a.k.a. Riverview Mosque: 580 Riverview Dr, Columbus, OH 43202 11:30a-12:30p (6/03-08/09/13)

Call Stephanie Baker or Beth Stewart-Magee at 614-268-3539 for questions.

For more information on the CRC and the many services it offers, visit the website www.clintonvillecrc.org or call 614-268-3539.

]]> http://clintonvillecrc.org/crc/?feed=rss2&p=1774 0 http://clintonvillecrc.org/crc/?p=1758 http://clintonvillecrc.org/crc/?p=1758#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:49:16 +0000 CRC Admin http://clintonvillecrc.org/crc/?p=1758 more »]]> As part of our goal to connect better with our community, we hope to turn our newsletter spotlight on some of our staff members and volunteers during the months ahead.

 We begin this “Getting to Know Us” series by introducing one of our new interns, Nikkole Weiss. The following is a question-and-answer interview she recently completed with us:

NAME: Nikkole Weiss

POSITION AT CRC: MSW Intern from the University of Southern California

FAVORITE TV SHOW: Army Wives

DID YOU GROW UP HERE? I graduated from Thomas Worthington High School in 2006, but Fayetteville, NC, is home.

IS THERE AN AREA OF SOCIAL WORK THAT ESPECIALLY INTERESTS YOU? WHY? My population of interest is military and veterans and their families. I volunteered for 7 years with the troop support non-profit organization AdoptaPlatoon as an Area Ambassador securing community involvement in AdoptaPlatoon-sponsored troop support campaigns (Worthingway Middle School of Worthington, OH, received media coverage for participating in “Stockings for Troops 2008). I would like to eventually work within the Department of Veterans Affairs, so USC’s Master’s in Military Social Work program was a fantastic fit!

WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE JOINING THE CRC? I attended Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, NC, and graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Psychology.

DO YOU HAVE PETS AT HOME? WHAT KIND AND WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES? I live with my mom who has 2 cats, Maya and London. I also have a 21-month-old son Bentley.

IF YOU COULD HAVE LUNCH WITH ONE PERSON, LIVING OR DEAD, WHO WOULD THAT BE? AND WHERE WOULD YOU TAKE THEM? I’d hate to choose just one person, maybe Anne Boleyn, Keith Matt Maupin, or my grandfather. But I really enjoy the Cheesecake Factory so that’s where we would go.

Thanks to Kroger’s Community Rewards program, shoppers can direct a portion of their grocery bill to the charity of their choice. We’re hoping you direct your percentage to the CRC! These are not additional dollars added to your bill, but a percentage of the money that you’re already spending. Once your shopping reward account number is linked to the CRC, there a re no other additional steps to take.

 

To do so, you must visit the website www.krogercommunityrewards.com, click on “Columbus, OH” and then click on “Enroll” to register for the first time. If you already are earmarking funds to go to the CRC, click on “Sign In.”

 

Participants must re-enroll to continue earning funds, even if they have joined the program recently. They must re-enroll after April 1 (no sooner!) in order to earn funds for the CRC for the upcoming year (May 1, 2013, through April 30, 2014.

 

If you have any questions about this program, call 1-800-KROGERS.

Thanks in advance!

Register your Kroger Rewards Card, choose Community Rewards and pick the CRC as a recipient for generous rebates to us from Kroger.

The school hosted a collection of non-perishable food items as part of Operation Feed, March 11-15.

Students and their families were encouraged to donate critically needed items such as peanut butter, tuna, canned fruit and vegetables and soup.

Students donated more than 1,200 pounds of food and more than $26 in cash, all which will go toward helping feed local families.

Schools throughout Clintonville have responded to the increased need for food the past few months, with Our Lady of Peace, Clinton Elementary and Indian Springs Elementary schools also hosting successful food collections.

The donations have been a huge help to the CRC and the families and individuals served by the agency. For information on how you can host or coordinate your own food drive, please call 614-268-3539 or send an email to the following address: info@clintonvillecrc.org.

This past February, artwork made by children participating in “Art in the House” — a program of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education – at Kids Club found its way to Kenya, Africa.

The theme of the arwork created by the children was “favorite animals in our neighborhood or found at the Columbus Zoo.”

For the past few years, Jim Arter – the Art in t he House artist at CBRC Kids Club — has taken artwork created by the children with him on his vacations to share with others. Thus far Kids Club artwork has been shown on four continents: Europe (Ireland), Asia (India), this year Africa (Kenya) and, as the children pointed out, also North America (Columbus, Ohio).

To accompany the artwork, there was a photograph of all the children participating in the Kids Club Program holding their art. The artwork of animals and photograph was shared with children attending school in the Massai Village at Massai Mara, Kenya.

A penpal exchange has been made with the Massai School and Kids Club.

The Art in the House students will be working on alphabet books to be sent to the children at the Massai School along with some basic school materials, such as paper, pens, pencils and erasers.

 The exchange proves once again, Arter said, that “Arts is the international language!”