LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: low-income children

  • The Loveland Initiative thanks the community

    The Loveland Initiative thanks the community

    by Terri Rogers,

    The Loveland Initiative held its 23rd Annual Backpack Program for the 2019/2020 school year. We are so happy to announce that, together with our donors and volunteers, The Loveland Initiative sorted, packed and distributed 300 backpacks to help students

    Terri Rogers is the Executive of the Loveland Initiative

    right here in Loveland, Ohio, get off to a great start for the new school year!! What joy it is for students to personally pick out their own backpacks. You can tell by looking at their smiling faces. They are so proud of what they have chosen. The backpacks they choose from are endless, all donated and collected each year for students returning to school.

    This service is important because:

    (1) We make a positive impact on the lives of children and families in our community.

    (2) We expanded services to other low-income children within the community.

    (3) We relieve the financial burden of back-to school-time for families.

    (4) We help to reduce peer pressure and build self-esteem so that students are focusing on learning. It is about generating excitement and joy at the prospect of students returning to school.

    Each year, I am amazed at the amount of support that we receive from the Loveland community. A HUGE thank you to EVERYONE who collected supplies and/or backpacks for us. A HUGE thank you to New Hope Baptist Church for hosting us for the fifth year in a row, and for the use of their facility. A SPECIAL thank you to JackRabbit and VIBE Nutrition for serving as a collection spot. A HUGE thank you to ALL our volunteers, YOU were invaluable! A HUGE thank you to Loveland Magazine for their promotional support. Without support from our awesome community, we could not do what we do.

    Thank you for making our 23rd annual backpack program an enormous success!!

    Please HELP the Loveland Initiative CONTINUE their MISSION

  • A thank you from the Loveland Initiative

    A thank you from the Loveland Initiative

    by Terri Rogers,

    On August 16, 2019, The Loveland Initiative, held its 23rd Annual Backpack Program for the 2019/2020 school year. We are so happy to

    Thank you for making our 23rd annual backpack program an enormous success!!

    announce that, together with our donors and volunteers, The Loveland Initiative sorted, packed and distributed 300 backpacks to help students right here in Loveland, Ohio, get off to a great start for the new school year!!  What joy it is for students to personally pick out their own backpacks. You can tell by looking at their smiling faces. They are so proud of what they have chosen. The backpacks they choose from are endless, all donated and collected each year for students returning to school.

    Terri Rogers is the Executive Director of The Loveland Initiative

    This service is important because (1) we make a positive impact on the lives of children and families in our community, (2) we expanded services to other low-income children within the community.  (3) we relieve the financial burden of back-to school-time for families and (4) we help to reduce peer pressure and self-esteem so that students are focusing on learning. It is about generating excitement and joy at the prospect of students returning to school.

    Each year, I am amazed at the amount of support that we receive from the Loveland community. A HUGE thank you to EVERYONE who collected supplies and/or backpacks for us. A HUGE thank you to New Hope Baptist Church for hosting us for the fifth year in a row, and for the use of their facility. A SPECIAL thank you to JackRabbit and VIBE Nutrition for serving as a collection spot.  A HUGE thank you to ALL our volunteers, YOU were invaluable! A HUGE thank you to Loveland Magazine for their publicity support. Without the support from our awesome community, we could not do what we do.

    Thank you for making our 23rd annual backpack program an enormous success!!

    CLICK HERE to learn more about the Loveland Initiative and the community programs they provide.

  • New program to place former foster children on a path to self-sufficiency

    New program to place former foster children on a path to self-sufficiency

    Hamilton County, Ohio – GreenLight Fund Cincinnati and Hamilton County Job and Family Services are teaming up to bring First Place for Youth to Cincinnati. First Place for Youth is an innovative program aimed at helping foster children transition to adulthood using a youth-centered, trauma-informed approach. The program will help nearly 100 children a year in Hamilton County with housing, education and employment services.

    First Place for Youth originated in California and has a proven track record in helping youth develop necessary skills for adulthood. 91 percent of participating youth are employed when they graduate from the program. The education and workforce based program uses housing as a stabilizing force. Young people in the program live independently in apartments and receive wraparound support, education services, employment services and other help to become self-sufficient. This model, which is new to Cincinnati, will be operated by an existing, local non-profit organization who will be chosen later this month.

    First Place for Youth anticipates helping nearly 350 young people over the next four years, 90 percent of local transition-age youth.

    Moira Weir, director of Hamilton County Job and Family Services, which operates the local foster care system, said approximately 100 children a year “age-out” of the foster care system at age 18 or 21, meaning they are not reunified with their biological parents or adopted by new parents. First Place for Youth anticipates helping nearly 350 young people over the next four years, 90 percent of local transition-age youth.

    Weir’s organization worked with the University of Cincinnati’s Economic Center on a recent study that found children aging out of the local child welfare system eventually cost local residents $17.7 million in social expenses and lost productivity each year. Those costs are related to the youths’ involvement in the criminal justice, homeless and health care systems, as well as lost productivity because they are not employed at the same level as their peers in the general population.

    “You can imagine what life is like for an 18-year-old who is suddenly on their own with no family to turn to in times of trouble,” Weir said. “Research shows these young people are more likely to drop out of school, be unemployed, suffer physical or mental health problems, become teen parents, end up in the criminal justice system – they are more likely to fall victim to a host of social problems. We are excited to supplement our existing services with this incredibly innovative program GreenLight is bringing to our community. We are grateful for a community-based approach to this problem.”

    The GreenLight Fund works to improve the lives of low-income children and families by partnering with local community leaders to identify gaps in services in our community and then scours the country for innovative approaches to filling those gaps. Once a solution is found, GreenLight invests an initial $600,000 and draws on community connections to launch the solution in Cincinnati. GreenLight then measures results to ensure real change is happening.

    “We are thrilled to partner with Hamilton County Jobs and Family Services to support youth aging out of foster care in our community,” says Tara Noland, GreenLight Cincinnati’s executive director. “This proven, trauma-informed and data-driven model will drastically change the future trajectory of nearly all local youth who age out of care, helping them enter adulthood successfully and ultimately become thriving members of our community.”

    GreenLight Fund Cincinnati has raised $1.8 million in funding from organizations such as the Cincinnati Business Committee, the Cincinnati Regional Business Committee, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Bank of America, Duke Energy and others. Launched in 2015, it has served more than 1100 children and families through two portfolio organizations, the Center for Employment Opportunities and the Family Independence Initiative. First Place for Youth will be GreenLight’s third investment in Cincinnati.

    First Place for Youth has an extensive database of outcomes that make it a proven program ideal for replicating in our city. Hamilton County Job and Family Services will match GreenLight’s initial $600,000 investment with $6.5 million in ongoing support.