News

OneSource Center for Nonprofit Excellence is coordinating a region-wide FREE toy distribution for children during the months of May, June and July – collaborating with nonprofits and corporate sponsors to share some joy with area youth.  Please spread the word to your friends, the community and nonprofit clients!  The event titled “Unplug and Play” is nationally sponsored by Toys for Tots and Good360. 

Information on multiple distribution dates (June and July) and locations is available at the OneSource Center website:  OneSourceCenter.org/Toys  The event is open to ALL children.  A flyer that can be distributed to community members and nonprofit clientele is available on the website. 

OneSource Center for Nonprofit Excellence, a regional redistribution partner for Good360, coordinated the shipments of 16,000 toys to regional nonprofits who will distribute them.  CEO Christie Brown said, “The last year has been especially challenging to children nation-wide.  It is an honor to partner with Toys for Tots, Good360 and regional partners to get toys into the hands of kids and encourage them to step away from technology and have some good old-fashioned play time with toys.  The joy on the children’s faces when they receive the toys is incredible!”  

Nonprofit partners, foundations and regional sponsors for the distribution events are: Activities Beyond the Classroom, BKD CPAs and Advisors, Brighter Days for Kids, Brighton Center, Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, Ethicon HOLA, FC Cincinnati Foundation, Good360, Messer, Inter Parish Ministry, OneSource Center, 2021 Avondale Community Makeover (sponsored by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, P&G, the Cincinnati Reds/Reds Community Fund and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden), Toys for Tots and the Wegman Company.

Photos from some of the incredible toy distribution events
What joy it has been to see the happy smiles of children receiving toys so they can Unplug and Play!   Thanks to all the partners and volunteers who have made these events possible! 

Women have made great strides in the workforce over the past 50 years but are still underrepresented in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In response, the Civic Garden Center created “Green Girls in STEM” – an immersive year-long, hands-on program for young women in high school to explore STEM careers, sustainability, and leadership development. Green Girls in STEM provides experiences that leave students feeling more connected to nature, their communities, and the wider world. Applicants should be creative thinkers and willing to work collaboratively with others. No experience is necessary, just an interest in STEM, the environment, and leadership development. The program is FREE, and applications are due May 24. A brochure is available here. More info on the Civic Garden’s website.

While many agency executives think “consulting” automatically means strategic planning, board development or even financial recommendations – sometimes consulting means logistics planning, modifying work process solutions, writing revisions to job descriptions or even doing grant research.  

For Dress for Success Cincinnati, having OneSource Center as a resource on all these topics has been a tremendous support as the organization prepares for its upcoming move to Norwood in June.   

According to Executive Director Lisa Nolan, when she and her team need help, she asks “How can we utilize OneSource Center’s services to assist us in this effort?”   

The mission of Dress for Success is to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Wanting to best utilize volunteers and the tremendous number of clothing donations coming through their facility, Dress for Success collaborated with OneSource Center to build efficiency systems into its inventory process and to make recommendations on staffing for the Donation Center. 

“Often what happens in organizations is that once work practices and department responsibilities are established, they are simply repeated over time without questioning if they are still the best approach,” said OneSource Center’s VP Consulting Services Vickie Ciotti. (more…)

The Center for Addiction Treatment (CAT) was able to find just the “perfect” artwork at OneSource Center’s redistribution warehouse this week.  Five new pieces of art will “finish off” their newly renovated Monarch Center for its grand opening on Friday, May 7.  The CAT’s Monarch Center will house the organization’s Intensive Outpatient Program and Family Services programs. 

CEO Chellie McLellan said their staff started visiting the warehouse on Open Shopping Days (the last Wednesday of the month when all nonprofits can shop without membership) but today signed up for an annual membership to take advantage of 5-day-a-week accessibility to nonprofit savings.  She said the annual membership fee was minimal and the organization can stretch its budget significantly here by taking advantage of these offerings.

“OneSource Center’s warehouse has become the place we go to first when we need office furnishings or mission items.  Having the location near downtown makes this a convenient, quick stop and we love the idea of recycling – re-using something for good that might have been discarded.”