Human Service Chamber of Franklin County

This Tuesday, Major League Soccer will be honoring four incredible nonprofit leaders as Hometown Heroes at the Historic Lincoln Theatre from 11 AM to 1 PM, and we want you to be there for this free event! RSVP at https://lnkd.in/eRWkfCJy and we'll celebrate over a delicious lunch with the honorees, Dr. Gina Ginn, Benjamin Levey, Dr. Dorothy Hassan, and Neethi Johnson, and alongside stars from the Columbus Crew and Major League Soccer!

Four years ago, we added a member to our team whose charge was to support our nonprofit sector’s voter registration and voter engagement efforts. In the years since, we have very happily created digital resources and brokered and engaged in partnerships with a national entity called “Nonprofit Vote.” As recent events have underscored, and with the anniversary of our nation’s founding tomorrow, this work remains vital. And not just to our civic health. As the National Council of Nonprofits affirms, “Charitable nonprofits improve our lives, add vitality to our communities, contribute to our local and national economies, and enhance the health of our democracy.” We very much agree. That’s why we’re thrilled that several of you are working with Nonprofit Vote as we speak, and why we’re thrilled to announce the addition of our Democracy Fellow, Lauren Sands! Lauren will activate and support our members in engaging in nonpartisan voter registration and voter turnout efforts. She will develop and implement resources and strategies to increase voter registration and participation in Franklin County. Accordingly, Lauren aims to engage with diverse communities and reach populations typically overlooked by our political processes A recent graduate of Oberlin College with a BA in Sociology, a minor in Africana Studies, and a concentration in Education Studies, Lauren brings a rich community service and leadership background. During her college years, she played on Oberlin’s varsity volleyball team, assuming the role of team captain in her fourth year. As an Oberlin native, Lauren was deeply involved in community initiatives, particularly in youth outreach. She actively contributed to the Ninde Scholars Program, supporting underrepresented middle and high school students in accessing higher education. In April of 2024, she received the Student Excellence in Education Programs Award from Oberlin’s Bonner Center for Community-Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Research for her work with the program. Lauren also volunteered at the Lorain County Urban League, assisting with their Scholastic Read and Rise literacy initiative, and worked as a Peer Advising Leader, helping new Oberlin students transition into college. Having recently relocated to Columbus, Lauren continues her passion for community engagement and commitment to uplifting marginalized voices. We could not be more excited to welcome Lauren to the team for this critical work, and we hope you’ll join us in this work!

A lot of our members have great new jobs posted at humanservicechamber.org. While you're resting this holiday week, look for your next professional opportunity:

Thanks to our members at The Childhood League Center for inviting us to a policy roundtable on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome yesterday, and for the work of our members at Maryhaven, Inc. and St. Vincent Family Services, who also participated. And thank you to Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services and Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio (she/her) for their attendance and insights today as well!

Proud. 🌈

We have bittersweet news to share about our Director of Communications, Bria Bennett. First, please join us in congratulating 👏 Bria for having just graduated from New Leaders Council Columbus alongside other accomplished and dedicated young leaders in our community! But not only is Bria graduating from NLC Columbus, she is "graduating" from her role with us at HSC to take on an exciting new challenge as the Communications Director for our friends at the Ohio Organizing Collaborative! Bria has been with us for 13 months, and our organization, our sector, and our nonprofit community are stronger accordingly. She has built a unique cohort of professionals with a 70-plus member strong Communications Collaborative; she has revitalized our monthly newsletter and our social media presence with thoughtfulness and care for our community, and she has become a trusted counsel for our members as they have navigated communications needs at a time of great disruption in how people distribute and consume information. Bria will be returning to an organization where her career began as an intern in 2014, an organization for which we have immense respect. We couldn't be happier that someone of Bria's caliber will be contributing to the work that the Ohio Organizing Collaborative and its team are doing in our state. Please join us in congratulating and thanking Bria for all her work, and the good work to come!

We are thrilled to announce and celebrate the graduation of Lindsay Barber, our Operations and Membership Manager, from Leadership Columbus last week. This remarkable achievement comes as no surprise, and we feel incredibly fortunate to have you as an integral part of our team. We also proudly recognize and celebrate the graduation of those from our membership organizations including Stephanie Baker, Executive Director, Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center, Rob Yurisko, Program Director, House of Hope, Arlene Reitter, Resource Development and Marketing Director, Community Housing Network, Inc., and Jose Guajardo, After School Program Manager, Directions for Youth & Families.

Please join us in welcoming our new Operations and Membership Manager, Lindsay Barber! Having previously worked for three HSC members over the last seven years, Lindsay brings diverse and invaluable experience in the fiscal, operational, staffing, and fundraising needs of nonprofits--and a strong passion for HSC's work! Day to day, Lindsay will support HSC's operations and will serve as another point of contact for member organizations as we seek to help the helpers of our community. And last but not least, we are very grateful to The Columbus Foundation for the support that made it possible to add Lindsay to our team!

Our Director of Climate Strategy has been busy this week!

We are tremendously proud to celebrate our Deputy Director, Bhumika Patel, who was among the Columbus Business First 40 Under 40 honorees last night! Bhumika works extremely hard in support of each of our members, and of every member of the Columbus Region. Here are some of Bhumika's most notable achievements since joining our team in winter 2021: > Has onboarded ~80 members to our roster of health and human services organizations; > Has attracted and managed over $1 million in grants to deliver back-office services and resources to our members; > Has launched a group purchasing power program at no new cost to our members through a relationship she built with the National Human Services Assembly; > Has made health insurance accessible to all our members with 50 or fewer employees thanks to a relationship she built with the Southern Ohio Chamber Alliance; and > Created a resilience-based leadership initiative in collaboration with the Columbus CARE Coalition to help nonprofit executives gain the tools they need to create a healthy, thriving work environment. Bhumika has made herself indispensable to us at HSC, and to the breadth of the nonprofit community. An ebullient presence, Bhumika always centers people most in need, and can navigate the heaviest of issues with calm, levity, and wisdom. Please join us in congratulating Bhumika!