Testimonials
"Lucas High School graduate Greg Spoerr was the recipient of scholarships from the University Club Educational Foundation – William Weldon Scholarship Fund
He wrote us an email to let us know what he is doing after college graduation.
“During my time at Ashland University, I worked as an intern at a local company called Lippert Enterprises. They offered me a full-time position upon graduation, and I have been working here as a Marketing Specialist ever since. We work with construction equipment and heavy-duty truck parts. I still live in Richland County and plan to buy a house in the area in the near future."
"Other Special Instructions for my Donation:
Approximately 15 years ago, I was the recipient of the Richland Foundation Scholarship Award. I received the award twice throughout my four years at The Ohio State University. I went on to medical school at the University of Cincinnati and am now a practicing orthopedic surgeon in Maumee, Ohio, just outside of Toledo. This scholarship made my time in college less stressful and I was able to focus on my studies more. I am now able to give back to my community by providing a valuable service to the community. I am also able to earn a good living for my family. This scholarship played a small but valuable part in my success. As a token of my gratitude, I would like to repay my scholarship in hopes that the Richland Foundation Scholarship Award may continue to improve the lives of future recipients. Please put my donation towards a general scholarship fund for deserving students who need financial assistance."
"Thank you to the Richland County Foundation for supplying the grant to allow me to have an internship at Richland Soil & Water Conservation District. I had the opportunity as the communications intern to work closely with Theresa Sutter, as well as everyone in the office.
For this internship, I focused on creating educational videos which we called “In the Know” videos. They were based on the services provided at Richland SWCD like the permitting process, nutrient management, etc. For these videos, people in the office like Erica Thomas, Jordan Keller, and Dan Harrold helped bring my vision to life by being the speakers.
I also created storytime videos in partnership with the Mansfield Richland Public Library that featured children’s books read by people in the community. The videos were targeted to children in kindergarten to third grade and were posted on the website and Facebook.
I have learned a lot the past few months at Richland SWCD, and I cannot thank you enough for the opportunity. "
"Dear Richland Foundation,
It was a magical day for my Fourth Grade students, and it was largely due to your generous grant money. In June when I thought about teaching hands-on Science during COVID-19, I began to search for resources to still allow my students to fully experience our Electricity Unit, even during COVID. Normally, we have a few circuit kits that students share in groups and between classes. That was just not going to be possible this time.
I found individual circuit bags that each child could use, and literally see the light go on as they assemble circuits. The problem solving and perseverance that comes from these lessons are incredible. With your grant money, each student made parallel circuits, even though we are in remote learning. They loved it!
A mom told me how thankful she was to have actual hands-on experiments while learning remotely. Another mom sent me a message that this was her child's favorite lesson in the three weeks we have had remote learning. They were all so excited and experienced the lesson in a much fuller way. They will remember how the circuits were made on their trees for a long time!
Thank you for helping us to have this special learning opportunity! We are so grateful! "
"I want to sincerely thank you for the generous grant this school year. My students have truly enjoyed guided math and all the fun math games and manipulatives that we have been able to use this year. I am so grateful to have these resources to engage learning in my students in a fun creative way but also have these educational resources for future 2nd graders. "
"I am writing to share a genuine “thank you!” for continued funding from the Richland County Foundation this year. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve children from Richland County with your support ...
I also wanted to share our online camper application in case anyone at the Foundation knows a child/family who would be interested in attending a camp session at Flying Horse Farms this year.
https://flyinghorsefarms.org/camp/how-to-enroll/
Our data shows that conversations with friends, family, and community members are often how children and families who can benefit from camp learn about Flying Horse Farms, and I thought the Foundation might be interested in sharing information with others in the local community.
Applications are accepted until March 16 for summer camp sessions and July 15 for fall weekend camps, and the website shares contact information for anyone who might have questions about the camp experience."
"Thank you again for awarding me with a Teacher Assistance Program grant this year. My sixth graders are just wrapping up their work with the many picture books I was able to purchase with money from the grant. They used these picture books as inspiration in their own writing, and many of the students remarked that this was their favorite unit of the year. With much appreciation.
"
"Thank you for the very generous gift to support the African Art Experience Class. We are so honored to be a recipient of this grant.
With this gift, we were able to offer an experience for students of all ages. Ruthie Akuchie was the instructor and taught a variety of projects including African masks, cloth dolls, sunset paintings and string art. Students were able to hear from three speakers about African art, culture, and life. We were able to reach 25 people from the community of all ages and backgrounds, many of whom were new to the Art Center. The class was a great success and enjoyed by those who attended.
"
"I wanted to express my thanks to you for allowing Love In The Name of Christ of Greater Mansfield to participate in the Osborne Meese Academy. This academy has been such a great resource for our small organization. As a new Executive Director, I learned so much about how nonprofits are to be run and board development. The different topics covered, from marketing to strategic planning, were all relevant to our development as a non-profit. Barb Keller, our Board Treasurer, also attended the training and she found them extremely beneficial.
I took some time to reflect on our goals set as an organization before attending Osborne Meese classes. Here is a breakdown of our goals and how we met them.
1. Learn to build our individual donor contributions.
We applied what we learned to raise more money than last year during the Richland Gives Campaign. In 2016 we raised $1,725 by 11 people. We raised $4,215 by 28 people in 2017! We also received the $1,000 matching for being one of the first to raise $1,000 and an additional $500 for exceeding our funding from last year by 30% (or in this case, even more)!
2. Become connected to 2-3 other non-profits.
During Osborne Meese, we successfully connected with other non-profits and have a better understanding of others including, Habitat for Humanity, NAMI, The Bird Sanctuary, and more. CHAP, another non-profit in the program, invited us to present at one of their meetings.
3. Raise additional funds to hire a part-time Clearinghouse Coordinator.
When I began, only 3 of our board members were giving annually. After Osborne Meese, I can confidently say that all of our board are financially contributing to Love INC! This year we hosted our first big fundraiser, which was a Trike Race. That was a big success for us and raised over $3,000. We should be able to hire a Clearinghouse Coordinator within 2018.
I have been telling everyone how wonderful Osborne Meese is and suggesting it for any non-profits within Richland County. I studied non-profit management in college and still learned a lot of additional information from your excellent speakers. Please extend our warmest thanks to OANA and all involved.
"
"Another great performance by the Crestview 5th and 6th-grade classes. #CougarPride featuring our new ukuleles thanks to a grant from Richland County Foundation."
"I just wanted to thank you and the Fran and Warren Rupp Fund for the interns. This year's summer interns, Whitney Gibbons and Emily Smith, are phenomenal young ladies and are an incredible asset to our summer operations. We have seen a record number of visitors already this summer and their professionalism and work ethic have been invaluable!"
"On behalf of the Little Buckeye Children's Museum, I would like to thank you for creating Richland Gives which provided us with the capacity to raise funds for the following year. Your commitment to help nonprofits in Richland County is inspiring! With the creation of the Osborne Meese Academy, you have made a significant difference to Little Buckeye Children's Museum and have set us on a path of growth that will allow us to positively impact Richland County.
At Little Buckeye, we understand that exploration and play are critical to child development, imagination and creativity. We know that play benefits children socially, emotionally and intellectually! We also know that not every child gets the opportunity to play in a safe and creative environment. Little Buckeye Children's Museum provides that opportunity with the help of generous donors like you!
Thanks again for your generous support!"
"Four classes from Malabar Intermediate School were fortunate enough (with your help) to go on a field trip to the Ohio Statehouse and Ohio Supreme Court. It was an amazing day!! We have been studying government and what better way to conclude the unit than to go see it all in person. Students learned about branches of government, the constitution, how important civic participation is in a democracy, the value of being an informed citizen, what compromise means, and how laws protect our rights. All students created a government lap book before the field trip. The lap book compared the Ohio government with the United States government. I wanted to take a minute to THANK YOU and let you know what a cool opportunity this was for our students."
"Students are playing on the new playground and they absolutely love it! All kids are able to play together and it is a wonderful experience to watch students of all abilities interact together. Thank you for making a difference in our community and in our students' lives. We are deeply blessed by your generosity. In Service to Children"
"I took some photos of my second graders with their books bought with my Teacher Assistance Program funds. This literature is wonderful! My students love it!
Thanks again for the support."
"On behalf of Mansfield Memorial Homes, we would like to thank you, Allie, Maura and your Board of Trustees for providing us the opportunity to participate in the 2016 Osborne Meese Academy.
Osborne Meese along with Mrs. Paul Tappan and George Keyser had the vision to develop the founding mission of MMH. Therefore, being a part of the Osborne Meese Academy had special meaning to our organization.
I thank you for your investment in assisting Richland County nonprofit agencies with extremely talented and qualified speakers providing this class with their knowledge and valuable tools. We have used many of these tools already.
These sessions have assisted us as we have formed a new Governance Committee. I have been working with an Ashland University Intern to assess how we align with the Standard of Excellence application process. We will use tools from Joel Kessel and Allison Black Cornelius in the beginning of the year as we develop a strategic plan and update our Mission, Vision and Values statements. We have hired of director of marketing and she is utilizing the tool from Joel for an integrated approach to marketing, (PESO) in putting together her marketing plan. The one-year membership to OANO was very helpful as we reached out to them several times for resource assistance.
Being a new leader in the community I found the ability to network with members from other nonprofits very valuable as well. We are working side by side with many of the organizations that participated. Of course, we work very closely with the Area Agency on Aging as we have nine Passport contracts with them. Pastor Tom Roepke, Linden Road Presbyterian Church, assisted us in setting up our first Richland Gives site. We are working with Luke Beekman, Mankind Murals, to look into an opportunity of placing a mural on the west end of our seven-story apartment building. NECIC worked together with us on a Fiskers Grant to enhance our courtyard. We are currently finding ways to work together with Richland Public Health.
These are just a few examples of how this year-long academy has been such a blessing to continue the mission of MMH. Thank you once again for all your support!"
