Baileys Trail System is our one big shot at economic transformation in Athens County and the region.

The construction of the full 88 miles of the Baileys Trail System in the Wayne National Forest is our one big shot at transforming our ranking as the poorest county in Ohio. Our greatest asset in Athens County, after the people, is the beauty of our natural environment. From the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, we celebrate rock cliffs, rivers, lakes, trails, wildlife and wildflowers. Yet, we have not told the story of our rich resources much beyond our own knowing. The Bailey Mountain Bike Trails are designed to preserve the trees and resources in the Wayne as they meander around hills and valleys, over streams and boulders and through lush meadows. Bike enthusiasts will come seeking food, lodging, beverages and things to do with their families. They will return home with stories and “selfies” to share with friends and colleagues. And we believe, they will come from far away to ride the longest trail east of the Mississippi!

The trail, once complete, will attract not only over 200,000 visitors per year, it will give local business a huge boost, improve tax revenue and housing. Many, many partners have worked diligently, without conflict or power grabs, to see the goal of completing all 88 miles through. I know I won’t be able to name them all, but in addition to the Wayne National Forest, these groups are on the ground, working hard to make this dream happen: Ohio University, Hocking College, the City of Athens, Athens County, the Village of Chauncey, Town of Nelsonville, United States Department of Agriculture, Athens City-County Health Department, Hocking Athens Perry Community Action Program, Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau, National Forest Foundation, Department of Natural Resources, Athens Bicycle Club, Athens County Foundation, Rural Action, Appalachian Regional Commission, Local Business, and many more.

Why should we think about the future? For the people of Athens who wish to stay here and prosper. To preserve our beautiful environment. To boost our economy and tax base to provide needed services and infrastructure. To offer assets that would attract young talent to come here to work and live. And to attract visitors to stay in our hotels, eat our food and enjoy our wonderful county!

So what is our hesitation? Will we let our fear of scarcity allow us to fall into attrition, a state of stagnancy? Or will we embrace opportunity, a chance to celebrate our past while planning for the future, for our children and their children. Will we walk forward toward growth and abundance or shrink backward toward safety and stagnancy? Will we take a risk, for once, to benefit future generations?

Although I’ll never ride a mountain bike, I for one will take a step into the future and continue to work to see this one is a lifetime opportunity to fruition. And I will walk these beautiful trails!

New Directions

Using all our resources for Athens County!

We have a new strategic direction at the Athens County Foundation. After studying the results of the recent Athens County Report and looking at other community foundations’ models for impact, we are expanding our toolkit of resources for greater outcomes for our community! First, some background on the foundation.

The Athens County Foundation was started by Ohio University first lady Claire Ping nearly 40 years ago. Mrs. Ping and her friends were looking for a way to keep wealth local and build resources for our future. The community foundation they formed has been serving Athens County ever since by providing grant support to local nonprofits.

The Athens County Foundation was built on the donations and bequests of local citizens who trust us to carry out their passion for supporting our community through shared vision and resources.

Last year we published the Athens County Report highlighting the challenges and opportunities currently facing the County. After careful consideration, the board of directors of the Foundation decided to engage directly in tackling some of these challenges facing people in Athens. This year, the Foundation will focus its resources on developing a deeper understanding of what the needs are and who is doing good work in three areas.

The first, creating economic vitality, is the way forward out of poverty. Our challenges include: Athens County has the widest income gap in the state between the “haves” and the “have-nots”; wages for women fall far below that of men and; only about 50% of people in the county have access to broadband.

It is for these reasons that we have chosen to support work to increase broadband breadth and connectivity in Athens County. There are several initiatives and many people working on this problem. More to come on our progress!

In addition to getting people connected, the Foundation aims to nurture startups in Athens County that align with our Mission Related Investment policy. As an endowment based foundation, we have the potential to unlock capital for slower returns, but more immediate impact on our local economy. We look for projects that offer a double or triple bottom line, that is, they return income to the foundation, employ more local residents and contribute to improving the lives of our citizens. As the board finalizes policies guiding our mission-related investment work, we will seek local opportunities to invest in startups that align with our mission and values. To that end, the Athens County Foundation Women’s Fund will be working with Appalachian Growth Capital to establish a new micro loan fund for women of the region.

We are also interested in supporting a shared vision and opportunities for economic development of Athens County. With upwards of 10 organizations who state economic development as one of their missions, generating a clear, marketable and unified vision is tough. It is our hope that these hard-working groups will come to the table to start a conversation about collaborative outcomes.

We see specific opportunities on the horizon for local entrepreneurs including the Bailey’s Trail in the Wayne National Forest and the repurposing of Maryhill Hospital in Nelsonville. Both of these new endeavors will drive more people through our county for adventure or healthcare. What will they need in the way of food, services, shopping, and lodging? Who is poised to benefit?

Our second focus, individual health and wellbeing, is based on the belief that everyone deserves access to a healthy life. Locally, we are faced with not enough dental providers, especially ones who take Medicaid. With this new initiative, we hope to increase access to dental care as well as prescriptions for people who do not have Medicaid or private insurance.

There is also a growing substance abuse epidemic in our communities. We could increase access to information and programs that seek to combat addictions. Many groups are working on this problem from all angles and we could possibly help amplify and communicate their work.

Athens County has a lot of children who are not prepared to enter school. We see that families need assistance in preparing children to enter P, K or 1st grade through better access to food, clothing, reading, and health.

Our last focus is creating Vibrant Communities. In addition to some of the challenges mentioned earlier, we also see limited housing stock, especially for seniors and limited access to transportation options. Yet, we have vast recreation and natural environmental resources that can be used as an economic driver making Athens County a tourist destination. To this end, we hope to reconvene the Senior Housing Task Force, help Mt. Zion Church shape a vision for the future and continue talking about broadband for all.

We hope to invest time, talent and money into these key projects over the next few years. While we continue to make grants to projects throughout the county, three new task forces will look for deeper impact in these three focus areas. Look for significant investment this year in a few key projects.

Bringing people together to work on issues, share ideas and inform investment has been an important tool used by the foundation and we will continue to host community conversation around key issues. Most recently, we were contracted to help with the school facilities community task force.

We believe we have the resources to move forward together.

We are passionate about this work. We hope you’ll join us by continuing to support our work in Athens County!

Hosting a community conversation

Change is hard for most of us. My community is particularly challenged by change. In fact, in one recent issue of our local newspaper three stories ran that amplified the voice of a few loud citizens who opposed three separate new proposals in our community. In our communities and even our country conversations with those who think, act, look or believe differently than we do are extremely difficult or nonexistent. We seem to have lost the skill to hold both mutual respect and differing beliefs in the same place. Some would say that social media pushes these divisions even wider apart by providing a space where we talk to only like-minded folks. Yet, civil discourse is an essential component of our democracy.

About ten years ago the Athens County Foundation began to host conversations in the community to better inform our investments and to be a catalyst for new projects and partnerships. We are a community foundation serving Athens County for the past 37 years and providing over 2 million dollars in grant support to local nonprofits and governments. The board of the Athens County Foundation began looking at the problem of Civil Dialogue and what other communities are doing to encourage it. Over the years we have trained a core team of facilitators in “the art of hosting” practice which is a process to support conversations that matter. We now have 15 trained practitioners working throughout the County.

The Art of Hosting is a group of practices and techniques that allow people to self-organize and harness collective wisdom, ranging from World Cafés to Open Space Technology. In just a few years, Art of Hosting has evolved from a handful of meeting facilitators to thousands of practitioners who are helping corporate and civic leaders worldwide set the stage for honest and meaningful conversation.

This past fall, The Athens Foundation was asked to facilitate a difficult conversation in our community. The Athens City School Board was facing a challenging dilemma. They manage a collection of old and not so old buildings built for about 1000 more students than currently are enrolled. Additionally, the State of Ohio has continued to drastically cut back on school funding. Predictions are that funding will only get worse. Faced with less students, less money and too much space, much of it needing serious work, the school board decided to ask a 16 member, steering committee, representing all the school PTO’s, the teachers union, local citizens, teachers and parents to spend some time contemplating the problem and coming up with some recommendations.

Three art of hosting practitioners were engaged to host 6 months’ worth of conversations with the Athens City Schools Facilities Steering Committee (SFC) and to help them draft a recommendation for the school board about how to plan for their future building needs.

We were asked because these practices can radically shift the quality of any conversation toward a more civil and democratic process, whether with one person, or in a small circle or with hundreds of people. Here are some of the agreements that we use to promote deeper, richer and more respectful group work:

• Focus on what matters. We have no time to lose for what doesn't.
• Suspend judgments, assumptions, and certainties. No one knows it all and it is not about             knowing who is right or wrong. It is about exploring together and discovering what we do not know or see yet. In the case of the school committee, we asked them what they needed to know and provided all the background, data and research they asked for.
• Speak on at a time, with clear intention. This is a hard rule to follow with a room full of   passionate people. But when everyone feels heard, people begin to listen on a deeper level.
• Listen to each other carefully with your full attention. This means side conversations are discouraged.
• Listen together for insights and deeper questions. Go beyond what you already know
• Link and connect ideas. This where discovery and innovation happen.
• Slow down. Slowing down helps to foster more reflection. It also allows for the space for ideas to emerge.
• Be aware of your impact on the group. Do not monopolize the speaking time. Make sure everybody has an opportunity to contribute.
• Focus on what is in the middle, rather than what is in your mind.
•  Accept that divergent opinions are okay. We don’t usually need to reach a consensus.   Innovation comes from putting different perspectives together. In the school facilities       conversation, the committee decided to present divergent opinions.
• Contribute with your minds and heart. Bring your full self into the room. Allow yourself to be both a professional and a human being. The SFC shared cookies, personal stories, tears and      laughter.
•  Play, doodle, and draw. Use a large paper, markers, crayons, play dough event toys in your  group as a space to capture the results of your collective reflection.
• Have fun! What if enjoying ourselves was the key to improving our learning and performance?

We are passionate about this work because we have seen what it does. In this time of uncivil discourse, Facebook diatribes and tweeted rants, it’s restorative to sit in a room with diverse people and perspectives and listen to understand. What emerges is often unexpected, delightful and absolutely right for now.

In my next piece I will write about how this process played out in the Athens City Schools Facilities Steering Committee.

Rural Action Grant

Rural action is in its 9th year running youth summer camp. Their goal is to contribute to the overall wellness of youth and to also give children the tools they need to care for the land and improve their quality of life through environmental stewardship. These camps run for only one week, but in that one week kids have an opportunity to learn about the nature around them, which is a big change of pace from being cooped up in a classroom all school year. From hiking to canoeing to hanging out on the beach, kids get to do it all in a week's time.

The campers lead by Joe Brehm, Rural Action's new Environmental Education Program Director, see many different parks in Southeast Ohio in the week they have together. They began the week at the Glouster Community Park, followed by the Trimble Community Park, and then they traveled to the Wilds, located in Cumberland, Ohio, where they were able to get a look at the wide array of animals such as Rhinos and Giraffes. Thursday they traveled to Monroe Outlook and they ended the week at Burr Oak State Park on Friday. Guest speakers teach the kids in small groups. While I was there the children were learning more about a fish's natural habitat. Later, every camper was given a fishing rod and they were taught how to tie a fishing hook and learned how to properly cast a fishing rod. Earlier in the week the kids were taught a survival program by the Program director Joe which included how to properly make fire without a set of matches.

None of these camps and the learning experiences that go along with them would be possible if it wasn't for funding from outside organizations such as the Athens Foundation. Rural Action receives a substantial EPA grant during the school year which helps with environmental learning projects in the classroom, but this grant does not apply to extracurricular activities such as these camps during the summer. That is where the Athens Foundation and other organizations come into the picture to help Rural Action with their mission of fostering social, economic, and environmental justice in Appalachian Ohio. The Athens Foundation awarded Rural Action a $3,000 grant to fund these youth summer camps. Specifically, this money has gone towards paying for increasing transportation costs for the children to and from parks. This money has also gone towards giving the kids two meals a day as well as more supplies and equipment such as butterfly nets and fishing rods. Besides the summer camps, the money will also be used to conduct eight library programs throughout Athens County focusing on environmental and leadership issues among youth. Also, money will be used to provide outdoor programming for at least sixty children through Kids on Campus and Trimble Elementary School. The rest of the money will go towards outdoor leadership activities at the Hocking Valley Community Residential Center that will include at least twenty at-risk youths. The Athens Foundation can undeniably say that the grant money they have awarded to Rural Action is being used to enhance the quality of life of people throughout our region in a productive way.

Athens Food Security

Worldwide around 852 million people are chronically hungry due to extreme poverty, while up to 2 billion people lack food security intermittently due to varying degrees of poverty (source: FAO, 2003).

Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past several decades.

Southeast Ohio ranks 2.5 percent higher in food insecurity than the national average. There are over 13,000 people (or around 20 percent) of people in Athens County are food insecure. 40 percent of the residents in Athens County qualify for food stamps.

The Southeast Ohio Food Bank is the only food bank in Ohio that serves in an area with no metropolitan draw. There are 21 food pantries or meal sites in Athens County alone. While they serve all of Athens, the volunteer leadership within these pantries is aging and fresh produce storage is a problem for them. Also, food producers do not donate as much to food banks because of improved quality control. These factors have reduced donations by as much as 60 percent.

There are several state programs which directly benefit Athens food security. The first, the Ohio Agricultural Surplus Program pays Ohio growers and farmers fair market value to harvest products and transport them to food banks and their networks. Two million of the eight million pounds of food distributed by the Southeast Ohio Food Bank came from this program (or 30 percent). Second, there are Purchase Programs designed for the state to purchase canned goods in bulk for food.

Because of increased demand for food, it has become increasingly difficult for food to be distributed to families across the area. Due to the economic downturn, demand for food from food banks has dramatically increased and pantries are not able to be open for enough hours because they are run solely by volunteers.

Those who run food the Southeast Ohio Food Bank not only aim to increase the number of volunteers in food banks and increase the amount of preservable food given to them, but they aim to educate those who are in need as well.

They hope to help educate in the areas of food preparation, self-sufficiency and preservation.

The proceeds from the first annual Athens Key Event on September 24, 2011 will benefit food security initiatives in Athens.

The Women's Fund commemorates its fifth year anniversary

On June 7^th, The Athens Foundation will honor members and donors of the Women’s Fund with a special evening reception. The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Eclipse Company Store, located in The Plains.

Celebrating its 5^th year anniversary, the Women’s Fund Celebration will honor members who have met their pledge goals of $5,000 over a five-year period as well as new donors who have recently pledged to the Women’s Fund. In addition, the gala aims to honor the founders of the Women’s Fund, who created a legacy of stewardship and philanthropy in the region.

The Women’s Fund is especially important for Kate Leeman, one of the original founders of and contributors to the Fund.

“I first became interested in this project because, although women and girls suffer the most from poverty, they simultaneously offer the greatest hope for change,” Ms. Leeman said. Her longstanding involvement with The Athens Foundation and the Women’s Fund stems from her desire to help educate women and give them opportunities to succeed, in turn encouraging them to give back to and better their communities. “With the Women’s Fund, I think we were hoping to encourage local nonprofits to develop programming specifically targeted to meet the needs of low-income women and girls,” she continued.

The Women’s Fund endowment is used to award grants for projects that may not receive support from more traditional sources. These include start-up or ongoing social, educational and artistic endeavors for and by women and girls.

First Annual AF Key Event

The Athens Foundation will host their first annual Key Event on September 24, 2011.
The event is modeled after the Key Event held at the West Chester Liberty Community
Foundation and will raise money for Food Security in the Athens area as well as support the ongoing work of the Foundation.

The event will take place in the Baker Center Ballroom, and in host homes throughout
Athens. Upon arrival at Baker center, attendees will take part in a live and silent auction in which they will bid on vacation destinations and other luxury items.

At the auction, the attendees will select a “key” to their dinner destination, which will be revealed at the end of the auction.

Each key gives the recipient access to a host home in the Athens area. There will be
approximately 20 homes available each with a gourmet chef from a restaurant or caterer in the region. Guests will join their hosts in their homes and will be treated to a homemade gourmet meal prepared right in their kitchen.

The following chefs have been secured for this year’s event:

Hilarie Burhans – Salaam

Matt Rapposelli – Ohio University

Tom Landusky – Hocking College

Libby Markham – Busy Day Market Catering

Doug Weber – Hocking College

John Gutenkanst – Avalanche Pizza

Fran McFadden – Ohio University

Andy Henry – Inn at Hocking College

Ty Williams – Athens Country Club

Anthony Schulz – Inn at Cedar Falls

Scott Bradley – Zoe’s

Kevin Hurst – Lattitude’s

Jon Lang – Ohio University Inn

Barbara Fisher – Salaam

Early online bidding will begin soon on the Athens Foundation website.

For more information about the event, please continue to follow our blog, and check our website.

Federal Valley Resource Center

The Federal Valley Resource Center is using their spring grant money from The Athens Foundation to bring the buildings up to safety code. The $2,550 is being used to purchase the proper exit and safety lighting and fire extinguishers for all 24 exit doors and seven hallways in the three buildings. The safety essentials will be put up with volunteer labor.

In May of 2003, the Federal Hocking School Board initiated the formation of the Federal Valley Resource Center to manage the campus for the benefit of the community. The Center serves eastern Athens County and is the only site in the area that can meet so many community needs. It is equipped with exercise machinery, a gymnasium, a concert hall, a thrift store and a computer lab. A senior club meets in the basement of the Center, and karate classes and summer programs for children are available. Reasonably priced hourly or monthly rentals are available for studios, offices, classes and parties.

Grant Application Deadline

The Athens Foundation is accepting applications for grants now through September 15th. Grants will be awarded to projects focused in the areas of health, social services, animal welfare and community improvement. Grant application forms can be found on our website at www.athensfoundation.org/GrantApplicationForms.

The Women’s Fund is also accepting grant applications now through September 15th. The Fund supports social, educational and artistic projects aimed at improving the quality of life for low-income women and girls in Athens County. Grant application forms can be found on the Athens Foundations website at www.athensfoundation.org/GrantApplicationForms. The Women’s Fund is a component fund of the Athens Foundation, and in just over 20 years it has donated $1 million to local charities and has an endowment of over $3 million. Any money that is donated to the Women’s Fund is used to support projects that are unfortunately not supported by other traditional sources. It only took $50 donations from eight local women to start the fund, so get your grant applications in and “be the candle that lights the way for Athens County’s women and girls.”

Nelsonville Community Center

Athens Foundations spring grant recipient, Nelsonville Community Center, is using their $2,550 to educate the community by promoting healthy living through a substance prevention program called LifeSkills Training.

The LifeSkills Training program is proven to reduce the risks of alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse and violence by targeting the major social and psychological factors that promote the initiation of substance abuse. The program was implemented on Auguest 1 and will continue until December 31 with Boys Group on Mondays, Girls Group on Tuesdays and Power Pals on Wednesdays from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM.

The Nelsonville Community Center is a non-profit organization that welcomes all Nelsonville and surrounding community residents. At pre-school age, classes are offered to teach children social interaction, school readiness and educational play. School age children are educated in drug and alcohol prevention, safety education, health, nutrition and social development. A Parent Support Group provides knowledge and education to families about healthy living. The Nelsonville Community Center also provides community lunches, emergency food boxes, a free clothing bank, a community garden, a summer feeding program and an Ohio Benefit Bank site.

Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center

The Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center received a spring grant of $1,100 from the Athens Foundation, and they’re using the money to help enhance the local community by making arts programs accessible to people of all ages and abilities.

The grant money was used to purchase two 46” LCD monitors that will be programmed with historical and artistic content in order to enhance the printed material for the students and the visitors.

Founded in 1978 by Athens natives Harriet and Ora Anderson, the Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center is an art gallery that offers exhibitions, events and educational programs. The Barn helps increase tourism in Southeast Ohio, having exceeded 18,000 visitors in 2009 alone, including artists and individuals from 24 states and three foreign countries. The Center hosts four exhibitions each year and offers classes year round.

Because the Dairy Barn is notorious for their educational programs that help develop art appreciation among all ages, this year a new educational program was created; Project MOO CALF. This project is an educational outreach program that includes free Mentoring and Onsite Outreach for Children to inspire Arts Learning Fun. As part of the project, six educational panels will be created per exhibition, as well as education gallery guides and educational materials for hands on activities per exhibition. According to the Dairy Barn’s Executive Director Andrea Lewis, “Because children and the audiences are changing, we wanted to go into new media.” With the help of the two LCD TV’s, “each exhibition [will] have a specialized youth component that is digital in nature,” and with this, art programs really will be accessible to people of all ages and abilities.

Non-Profit Conference

"An opportunity for non-profits to network and hone their skills."

On August 25, 2010, non-profits of Appalachia Ohio will unite to network and build their leadership skills.

The conference, sponsored by both the Athens Foundation and the Regional Nonprofit Alliance at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University, will be held from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and will feature workshops on social marketing, finance, board leadership and non-profits role in community leadership.

Speakers include Professor Robert Stewart, Director of the EW Scripps School of Journalism, and Hans Meyer, Asst. Professor of Journalism discussing the basics of social media marketing. Linda Thornton, CPA and Emily Prince, Executive Director of ARTS/West will be talking about finance for non-profits, and Professor Judy Millesen and Carol Kuhre will meet with board members to discuss board leadership. A special presentation will be made by Kathy Merchant who will talk about "Doing well by doing good: the role of non-profit organizations in driving success in school."

Kathy Merchant is the CEO of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation. She has received numerous achievement awards including the Ohio Philanthropy Award, the YMCA Career Woman of Achievement Award, and was named a "Top 50 Power and Influence" leader by The Nonprofit Times. Merchant chairs both the Strive Partnership and the Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network. She is known for serving in a number of leadership positions for non-profits including the Center for Effective Philanthropy, the National Center for Arts and Technology, and the Cincinnati USA Chamber.

If you're interested in hearing Merchant speak among many other community leaders, call 740-594-6061 or email susan@athensfoundation.org to register.

Factory Street Studio

Factory Street Studio is one of the Athens Foundations’ spring grant recipients. The dance studio received $1,350 in grants and will be using the money to make renovations to the dance floor and a broken door.

The scuffed up, over-sanded hardwood dance floor will be replaced with a permanent Harlequin Standfast floor made of PVC. It is a specialized floor made specifically for dance studios and has a 30 year lifespan. The downstairs exterior door is no longer capable of opening and thus it will be replaced with a new door, eliminating the safety hazard the current broken door poses.

Factory Street Studio is a pre-professional and recreational dance organization which was founded in 1978 by two Ohio University dance graduates, Cita Strauss and Marina Walchi. The studio’s mission is to provide an educational program to South East Ohio dedicated to teaching creative dance, movement, and other artistic expressions. The staff aims to maximize students self-esteem and personal growth as well as dance technique and cooperative spirit.

At Factory Street, courses are offered in modern, ballet, jazz, tap, pointe, hip-hop, and modern composition. Twenty eight classes are offered every 14 week semester, with two concerts yearly. The studio has recently added two new programs to the course; taking upper class students to the Ohio Dance Festival and a visiting artists in composition program. Student age ranges from pre-school to adult.

By receiving this grant money, Factory Street is able to increase their ability to attract more students because as the quality of the building improves, enrollment in courses increases. And as more students get involved, the studio is given a greater opportunity to “encourage personal growth and cooperative spirit through creative dance and movement.”

Shade Community Center

The Athens Foundation’s most recent grant recipient, Shade Community Center, is using its' $3,000 to fulfill their mission of “strengthening lives in the community” by purchasing new computers to replace the outdated systems available to community members. The goal of replacing the outdated computers is to provide a local site for township and community members to learn Windows 7, Microsoft Office and other computer programs that may not be available elsewhere. By offering use of computer programs free of charge, the public is given the opportunity to advance their skills for better job opportunities, school projects, or even homework. When school is in session, classes will be available for members to learn how to properly use the programs.

The Shade Community Center Association was established in March of 2005. Weekly events are held at the Center, including Shade Senior Citizens Association, Shade Lodi History and Genealogy Association, Jerseyville Jammers Music Group, quilting, open gym, and Annual Community Appreciation Day. Shade is also notorious for throwing a kickin’ Halloween bash. Weekly hot lunches are offered, the computer lab is equipped with high-speed Internet, and a library is available to the public. There’s a basketball court and baseball field open to the community, and a new walking path surrounds the field. The Center is also the only emergency shelter between Athens and Coolville.

Space is available to rent by the public, and classroom size individual offices can be leased for permanent use. If you’re interested in renting out the Center, contact President Pat Davidson at davidson@ohio.edu.

Eduacting area youth at the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery

The Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery is pursuing its mission of providing hands-on educational experiences for youth in the Athens area. The "movable museum" recently displayed one of its first exhibits, a kaleidoscope that offers insight into human perception, at Kidsfest in The Convo.

A computer literacy program at The Gathering Place

Bridgebuilders: An afterschool program at Trimble

Every day after school, Melissa Bailes offers students in Trimble Township the opportunity to engage with one another and themselves. They don’t need to pick up a football or play an instrument or anything. They just need to show up.

Bailes and the Bridgebuilders program hope to combat teen alcohol and drug abuse with mental and physical stimulation for the student population. The goal, as assessed by the Child and Family Services in Athens County, is to involve 100 percent of the students from fifth to eighth grade in some kind of after-school and summer activity.

Bailes has approached the problem by putting much of the program, which began in August, in the hands of its participants.

More than 30 students came into school on a Saturday afternoon, believe it or not, for a chance to set fire to the strings in a Guitar Hero competition that the program sponsored.

Bailes described the environment as “awesome”.

A group of students watched a stage performance of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Christmas play at ArtsWEST. Another visited the Athens Historical Society on a field trip. Students even took a few steps in a dance class. Still others joined a discussion group centered on nutrition and self-esteem.

The target students are not involved in other after-school activities and those who come from home environments where abuse is an everyday reality and the parents are often addicted to drugs, especially prescriptive ones. Children Services has reported that 85 percent of domestic abuse cases in Athens County involve substance abuse in some form.

According to a survey by Bridgebuilders, more than 7 percent of the students said they had used someone else’s prescription pain medication as a recreational drug. Even then, it ranks only fourth in the students’ drugs of choice.

“There are kids who don’t see much hope,” she said. “Now they’re excited. They come to me all the time and ask: ‘What are we doing next?’ These are kids who have never been to a play.”

The program is continuing to expand. Bailes is about to start a club called “Men of Strength”, focused on helping young male teens mature into men and not perpetuating domestic abuse in an area where it is common.

Finding community support is crucial for Bridgebuilders to maintain its success. Bailes plans on opening up a game night to involve families of students and other community members. Other possible plans include collaborations with the art studio at the Dairy Barn and Stuart’s Opera House.

Teen Power! Fighting violence with knowledge

When Kate McGuckin describes dating violence among teens, passion pierces through in her voice. Her fight is not only with individual instances of violence, but with an entire culture of aggression.

“We live in a very violent society,” said the director of My Sister’s Place, a domestic abuse shelter in Athens, “and the media glamorizes violence. We have a huge barrier trying to compete with the media.”

So, with aid from the Athens Foundation, My Sister’s Place recently partnered with Girl Power! to produce its first sessions of “Teen Power”, a program on dating violence for young teens. More than 40 area girls from ages 8 to 14 attended. The curriculum educated the girls on the characteristics of a healthy relationship, how to recognize abuse in a relationship, and what resources are available if they fear they are victims of abuse.

Teen dating violence is a tangible danger in Athens and across the nation. Studies of eighth and ninth grade students found that a quarter of them had suffered nonsexual violence in a dating situation and eight percent had been abused sexually.

The problem, as far as McGuckin can tell, forms from a combination of early exposure to sex and the prevalence of violence in television, movies and music.

“People are dating younger,” she said. “They are exposed to strong media messages about the importance of being popular, having a boyfriend, and seeking external validation through a relationship.”

In summary: “There’s a lot of peer pressure to be popular.”

So the Teen Power program responded by offering an opportunity for these young women to understand their own power against violent behavior and to prepare them for successful and healthy relationships as they enter the dating world. The girls designed t-shirts, posters and postcards reflecting those themes. The art was distributed to various local venues – libraries, schools, health centers – to raise awareness. Some girls wrote poetry; others cooperated to produce a play.

The key was peer-to-peer interaction and connection, which would ensure the lessons learned in Teen Power could translate into real-world scenarios.

“It was their program,” McGuckin said.

The authorities appear to be taking notice of the problem as well. Ohio passed legislation this last year mandating an education of dating violence in the school system.

McGuckin envisioned Teen Power as a program that could be replicated in the school environment. There is also room for expansion, and McGuckin hopes the opportunity for another session comes up.

“We would certainly like to continue this,” she said.

Ohio University Kids on Campus

The youth of Appalachia is taking part in activities that provide creative outlets and indirect learning through Ohio University's Kids on Campus.

Although the organization has many programs designed for children, the wood-working shop has been one of the most popular, says Eric Tabler, facilitator of the class, adding that the hands-on work the students are doing is very rewarding. Another benefit of the class is that it gives students practice with mathematics without the conventionalities of a classroom. As a high school Spanish teacher, Tabler has had experience in a classroom setting, and because of his previous knowledge of wood-working and the enjoyment he receives from this hobby, he chose to facilitate this class.

Kids on Campus is a program that provides youth with activities they may not normally be able to take part in. Its goal is to enrich the lives of these children by providing them with classes such as wood-working as well as academic programs and tutoring sessions. Tabler believes this is important for children today. The organization also extends these services into the school year by providing after school sessions.

The Athens Foundation assisted Kids on Campus by granting it funds to buy the supplies needed to execute its classes, such as the wood and tools for the wood-working class.

Athens Photographic Project

Breaking barriers is what the Athens Photographic Project is all about, says Project Director Nate Thomson.

By enrolling individuals recovering from mental health problems in photography courses, the Project is interested in providing students with an artistic outlet in which they are able to overcome the obstacles their illnesses have put in the way of continuing on with an enriched life. Thomson told the Athens Foundation that sometimes patients see themselves as their diagnosis rather than a contributing member of society and that his organization provides them with a way to realize otherwise. "The nature of the arts is to challenge self-identity," he said, and by engaging in photography students are able to bring out parts of their persona they would have instead suppressed. He added that "it's fine art, but it's also answering a need."

A student and future mentor of the program Beth Klaus offered advice to those waiting to take classes. She said to never give up, adding that she never would have gotten as far with the program if she had. One of the most important successes she's had with the Athens Photographic Project include having new experiences. "It expands your horizons," she said. Involved since 2000, Klaus said that the classes "really started making [her] smile when [she] got her hands on the manual [camera]...and being in total control." She is ready for the challenge of becoming a mentor of the program.

Thomson reported that a major obstacle of the program has been keeping the program alive. State funding for mental health is being cut, causing programs like this one to suffer. He said there is a gap between being perceived as a community member and a mental health patient, and his ogranization is trying to bridge that gap. However, there is no lack of participation in the program. Twenty-five students are enrolled for the advanced class in the Fall, and 40 are on the waiting list. "We're looking at how we can continue to replicate the program model by pairing with other organizations and creating opportunities for visiting artists to lead classes," Thomson said. The grant the Project received in the Spring of 2009 is helping to fund these efforts.