Johnmark Oudersluys had a decision to make.
It
was summer 2004. Should he stay with his company, Chiquita, in Costa
Rica, or should he move to its headquarters in Cincinnati?
Whatever
he decided, it would change his life. Oudersluys needed to do his
research. A native of Kalamazoo, Mich., Oudersluys began looking for a
sense of what life was like in Cincinnati, including what opportunities
could be had for a young professional. One of the things he found was
the Give Back Cincinnati organization.
He decided to make the move.
"I
went to the first (Give Back Cincinnati) event, talked to some of the
leaders, asked how I could get more involved, and joined the board the
next year," says Oudersluys, 35. "When I started with the group it was
about 1,200 people; now the organization has grown to 5,000 members.
Some of our events have grown into initiatives that require year-around
planning: Fall Feast, Give Back Beyond, Paint the Town, and Fuel, which
we have under our program umbrella."
It is those events that are changing the area communities for the better.
"I
am a sucker for the big bang events," Oudersluys says. "There is
nothing like seeing over 1,000 volunteers mobilized to paint dozens of
homes in a neighborhood in a single day during Paint the Town "” the
immediate transformation is amazing. Fall Feast is another event where
thousands of people come together to share a meal during Thanksgiving.
"The
hope is that the long-term impact of those events, bringing people
together, breaking down socioeconomic divides, and people knowing that
others care for them in the community, will continue to create positive
ripples in our city," Oudersluys says.
Of
course, he is a bit biased. Ninety percent of his friends "” people he
spent time with during those big events "” are people he met through
Give Back Cincinnati. Then again, he also met his fiancé while
volunteering with Give Back on a trip to help rebuild New Orleans.
Ryan Cowan, president of Give Back Cincinnati, says he loves the single-day events.
"I'm
partial to our Hands On events," he says. "Volunteers can plug-in and
make a difference." All the supplies are available, the work is planned
out, breakfast and lunch are provided, and there is an after-party to
celebrate the success of the day.
"The best
part about these events is that you go into a building or neighborhood
that needs a few touch-ups, then at the end of the day you walk around
and all of the hard work the volunteers did is visibly noticeable.
Everyone can walk away feeling great about the work they did that day.
Once the hard work is done, volunteers meet up and continue to build
the newfound friendships they started during the day at the
after-party."
Matthew Lafkas, a 29-year-old Cincinnati native, also met his fiancé at a Give Back Cincinnati event.
"I
got involved with Give Back Cincinnati out of college when I was
looking for a way to become more involved with the Cincinnati
community," Lafkas says. "I enjoyed the fact that it was guilt-free
volunteering, which fit my schedule well as an auditor at the time. I
was able to volunteer when I had a free Saturday and everything was
planned for me. Over time, I became more and more involved, until I
found myself on the board of directors and helping with many aspects of
the organization."
That is the attraction, Oudersluys says. Making a difference "” on your schedule.
"We
feel it is important to make an impact but also to have fun," he says.
"More importantly, we know that relationships drive our organization.
Those relationships fuel my investment in the community and make it a
lot of fun to work on projects with new and old friends."
LEARNING TO LEAD
It takes a certain kind of person to be a member of Give Back Cincinnati, says Joe Hansbauer, chairman of the organization.
"These
are good-hearted individuals looking to make an impact in their
communities," he says. "They're social, they want to meet other people
in their area. Some want to be leaders. They want to help improve the
city and the surrounding area."
Hansbauer says
90 percent of the group's members are between 22-35 years old, and that
60-65 percent of members are female. Folks are local and not. Only two
of the group's eight-person executive team hail from Cincinnati (Sean
Stallo, vice president of operations, and Tricia Giessler, membership
director).
"I'd say that's pretty
representative of the rest of our organization," says Communications
Director Lauren Doyle. "Many of our members are not native to the city,
but have adopted Cincinnati as their second, and often permanent, home."
VOLUNTEER BUG
Most
importantly, Hansbauer says, members' commitment to volunteering grows
to the point that many choose to work in the nonprofit sector, or start
businesses to help others. Some start their own nonprofits.
Hansbauer
knows exactly how this feels. After working at another business, he
caught the volunteer bug and ended up interviewing for "” and landing "”
the Executive Director position of UGive.org, an online system that
allows high school students to find and sign up for service
opportunities. The organization works with the students' schools to
track their service hours.
"My involvement in
UGive was directly related to my involvement with Give Back
Cincinnati," Hansbauer says. "I wanted to move from the corporate world
to something different. There's a tremendous amount of corporate and
business talent at Give Back. If we can pull some of that across, it's
needed in the nonprofit world. Compassion and heart are
definitely
important, but we also need a focus on business and strategic planning.
Those talented people can make a huge impact."
Paying it Forward
There
are other examples. Give Back founder Ryan Rybolt helped start
Infintech, a company that processes electronic payments. Matthew
Lafkas, who served on the Give Back Board of Directors, started Vestige
(re)Development Group, which focuses on industrial redevelopment,
particularly in Over-the-Rhine.
Member Brent
Nawroth leads the group's Paint the Town effort, and was recently named
the Outstanding Adult Volunteer of the Year by the Ohio Community
Service Council. Other members serve on boards for, among other
entities, the InterFaith Hospitality Network's Board and the Cincinnati
Ballet. Johnmark Oudersluys, who has served on the group's Advisory
Board and Operations Board, is executive director of the CityLink
Center, a faith-based community of integrated social and health
services.
"Members of our group have passions
that usually perpetuate continued involvement beyond our years with
Give Back, whether that is serving with a program or different
organizations," Oudersluys says. "(Two other members and I) recently
launched an enterprise, Distinctly Local, to help highlight local
businesses, drive young professional retention, and drive economic
vitality of the small business sector. A group of us also started
Crossroads Church's GO New Orleans trip, which has now brought over
1,250 people in three years to help rebuild New Orleans."
Oudersluys
says Give Back Cincinnati teaches leadership "on the fly," and that it
"connects the social entrepreneurs of the city."
Lafkas says the group encourages leaders to stick with a project from start to finish.
"Leaders
have to build new relationships with partner groups, plan events that
have never been accomplished, find ways to fund these activities,
organize the labor force and equipment "” the list of unknowns can go on
for days," he says. "(Give Back Cincinnati) encourages our leaders and
volunteers to take charge and deal with obstacles in real time. I love
knowing that I am helping, but I enjoy simply seeing how many folks are
active and adding value to our community. The passion for this city is
undeniable once you begin speaking to all of our citizens."
GIVE BACK CINCINNATI INFORMATION