The 2021 Avondale Community Makeover, culminating with a huge volunteer work day on July 29, 2021, was an incredible success as community partners, leaders and volunteers worked together for astounding success. The project spanned six work sites and utilized over 300 volunteers.
OneSource Center, a partner on the Community Makeover project, was responsible for working with the Taft Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati (BGCGC) team to help update furnishings and overall agency facility updates — providing items from its redistribution warehouse. Through corporate furniture donations made to OneSource Center’s redistribution warehouse, items were available for greatly reduced pricing — stretching Makeover budgeting for other needed project elements. The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and OneSource Center volunteer teams, under the leadership of a P&G team lead, helped paint, clean, design and refresh the space creating a welcoming and inviting space for Avondale participants in the BGCGC program. OneSource Center furniture and program elements were utilized in the Taft BGCGC Teen Room, classrooms and in staff offices. Connected to the Taft BGCGC, the Crest Smile Shoppe also received a paint refresh, plus new waiting room furniture and office chairs through OneSource Center.
Emily Yellman, Taft BGCGC Director, said the teamwork was incredible and the transformation of the space “magical.” “The refresh of our Taft BGCGC location will mean so much to the students involved in our program. Having so many volunteers here in one day allowed our program to continue uninterrupted and checked so many projects off our ‘facility dream list.’ Thank you to all project partners who helped create an incredible learning environment. Your work will have an impact on our community for years to come.”
Another element to the 2021 Avondale Makeover project was the opportunity for community children to have access to FREE toys through the “Unplug and Play” program. This “Unplug and Play” program was coordinated regionally through OneSource Center, and nationally through a partnership with Marine Toys for Tots and Good360. The program regionally distributed 16,000 FREE toys through six distribution events, and over 5,000 FREE toys were distributed through several Avondale distributions.
The 2021 Avondale Community Makeover coordinated the work of project partners Reds Community Fund, P&G, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati Community ToolBank, Cincinnati Recreation Commission, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati and the City of Cincinnati Government.
“OneSource Center is proud to work with community partners to help nonprofits thrive, and this is just one example of how this collaboration can make an impact in our region,” said OneSource Center CEO Christie Brown “Thank you to all the partners who worked together for such an incredible project in Avondale.”
More coverage of the community-wide project are located here: Local 12 News WLWT-News 5 ’21 Community Makeover Comes to Avondale
Grant resources continue to be available to all nonprofits in our region through the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library’s Grant Resource Center! Through COVID, Kent Mulcahy and the grant resource team have made adjustments to accommodate nonprofit leaders, and this adaptability continues even now in the midst of the downtown library’s major renovation. According to Mulcahy, the Foundation Directory Online database is still available for use at the main downtown library — but only through appointment due to construction restrictions. A change (starting immediately) is that Mulcahy will also be available to meet customers in-person at any of the library’s 41 locations to sign them on to the database.
