Celebrating 25 Years of Saving Lives

Established in 1985, Lifeline of Ohio is an independent nonprofit organization designated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services to promote and coordinate organ and tissue donation after death. Serving 37 counties in central and southeastern Ohio, Lifeline of Ohio works diligently to inform residents about organ and tissue donation to help them make an educated decision, so they may register with the Ohio Donor Registry. [Read More]

The Pleasure Guild’s roots can be traced back to early beginnings of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In 1890, a group of women and girls from the King’s Daughters of St. Paul Episcopal Church regularly got together to sew for the Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati. It was during these gatherings that they decided Columbus needed a similar hospital. Putting their efforts together, the group raised $125 to start a fund, which established a nine-bed hospital serving the children of Columbus. [Read More]

1981 was the era of Cold War politics. For the United States, the Soviet Union was “the enemy.” Missiles and other arms build-ups were occurring around the world. Feeling a profound need in our society for people of different faiths and spiritual backgrounds to come together to work for peace, a center for peace was born in 1982 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ohio. [Read More]

It can be difficult for a non-profit organization to create the attention it deserves to raise awareness for the cause, or the assistance it needs to procure in-kind items for an upcoming event, the office, or a program. It may also be confusing for a donor or business with items or services to donate to know best where to give them. Well, there is assistance out there and it is FREE.

The In-Kind Connection is a complimentary service, sponsored by columbus imPRessions, that helps non-profit organizations that need assistance accruing in-kind donations or with creating awareness. columbus imPRessions runs the web site to spread the word using various social media channels to help make a connection. [Read More]

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) was founded over 20 years ago by a coalition of domestic violence programs, initially meeting as the Ohio Rural Concerns Network. The Network was organized to support and strengthen Ohio’s response to domestic violence through technical assistance, training and coordination, to promote systems change and coordinated efforts through public policy development and implementation, and to assure public awareness of the problem through community education. [Read More]

Created by three men who were blind, VOICEcorps began in 1975 as the Central Ohio Radio Reading Service. Living with visual impairments, Irwin Hott, Fred Allemeier and Stanley Doran were not able to use standard print to fulfill their need for daily information. Because of this, they wanted to fill the gap with a solution to that problem not only for themselves, but also for all people throughout central Ohio who could not access print. On November 17, 1975 they went on the air with their first broadcast bestowing them the distinction of being the first ever reading service founded by people who are blind. Since then, the organization has grown becoming a 24-hour service in 1992 and changing to VOICEcorps in 2004. [Read More]

The Central Ohio Chapter of National Hemophilia Foundation traces its roots to 1972 when a staff member at Children’s Hospital wanted to provide a support group for the children and parents attending the hospital’s hematology department. Because of the success of these meetings, it formally affiliated with the National Hemophilia Foundation in 1974. The chapter provided a very limited number of programs to the bleeding disorders community, mainly due to the fact that it had no staff, no office, and meager financial resources. That was until Jim Wasserstrom, a local business owner and a hemophiliac, became president in 2008. He quickly transformed the chapter into a fully thriving organization that now has two full-time employees, an office, and a multitude of new programs and events.

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Community Service With A Social Twist

Columbus Gives Back was founded earlier this year, in March of 2009, as a way to volunteer in the community and meet new people. Community service has always been very important to founder Juliana Pernik. She started volunteering in junior high, continued through college and after relocating to Columbus she began volunteering in the area inviting friends to volunteer alongside her. It was through encouragement and support of her friends that she decided to organize their efforts and offer the volunteer opportunities to the public. Columbus Gives Back was founded on the premise that small contributions can make a collectively large impact. It is entirely volunteer run and because all members hold day jobs and have competing demands on their time and energy, Columbus Gives Back tries to be as low-key and flexible as possible. [Read More]

A $5,000 inheritance can make a big difference. That’s how Dress for Success got its start. In 1996, Nancy Lublin received that inheritance from her great-grandfather and wanted to use it to make a difference in her community by helping women with new beginnings. She took the money and opened the first Dress for Success in the basement of a church and immediately made a positive impact on the community. Since that time, the organization has grown to over 86 affiliates in both the United States and Europe. While Dress for Success is a national organization, each affiliate is self-sustaining and responsible for raising its own funds, creating community awareness and securing support to keep the agency operational. [Read More]

Down syndrome personally touches Lito Ramirez everyday. He is a parent of a two-year-old son living with the medical condition. Down syndrome also drives Lito. Having more than 15-years of senior level experience in strategic communications, brand development, fundraising, health care experience, physicians relations, public policy and government relations it would seem as if all this experience led him up to this moment. [Read More]