ENG 101 College Writing

Our class was part of a nation-wide movement of student philanthropists. The Doris Buffett Learning by Giving Foundation generously funded our class with a grant of $3,500, supplemented with $500 from the Scripps Howard Center, to contribute to 1-2 northern Kentucky non-profit organizations of the students’ choice.

Nearly every student at NKU completes a first-year writing course. After many years of teaching this course, I have experienced first-hand a basic truth: Helping students write effectively requires engaging them to care about what they are trying to communicate in writing. In my ENG 101 Mayerson/Learning-by-Giving class, I teach the same skills as other writing courses but in the context of community needs.

Ultimately, I want my students to discover that the ability to communicate effectively with writing is not only a personal good, leading to one’s own individual success, but also a public good, leading to the betterment of society. 

This was a special year because our benefactor, Doris Buffett, passed away last year. She was an extraordinary human being who lived a life of caring for others.

I thank our benefactor, Doris Buffett, an extraordinary human being who lived a life of caring for others—and I thank the Learning by Giving Foundation—for supporting our mission to teach in the context of community engagement.

Reflecting on DCCH Center for Children & Families

DCCH is a non-profit organization that seeks to help society’s most vulnerable people, disadvantaged kids who come from environments that put them at a high risk of abuse, sexual assault, and neglect. They provide an essential service beyond what the state government is capable of, with only a fraction of the funding. Our contribution to this non-profit will give them the ability to provide essential needs to the children in their care by allowing them to replace some of the furnishings in the rooms that the children live in.

Our funding will help them to remodel and renovate their Residential Building. Coming from broken homes without a support structure to teach them how to deal with life’s struggles in a healthy way, many of these children act out physically as a coping mechanism, damaging their own spaces and belongings in the process. These funds will help DCCH provide for “the physical restructuring of bedrooms to increase durability, privacy, and safety, as well as cosmetic updates like paint and furniture.” Having a safe place to sleep and to call their own is, in many cases, a luxury for these children which many of us take for granted every day. - Students Andrew White and John Hensey

Reflecting on Freestore Foodbank 

The Free store Foodbank was started in 1971 by a man with a heart to help others. Frank Gerson, a worker at Cincinnati’s incinerator, saw usable household items being tossed away. He began collecting those items and distributing them to disadvantaged families. He set up a public charity, resigned his job, and started a company out of his flat. The Free Store began providing food to our hungry neighbors. It is now one of the Feeding America network’s over 200 food banks, serving communities across the country.

Our contribution will help fund their Power Pack Program. On school days, low-income children receive free or reduced-price school meals. These same children may be forced to skip meals on weekends and during school breaks. Every Friday of the school year, the Power Pack program collaborates with schools to provide food assistance packs to food insecure children in order to mitigate hunger on non-school days. Each Power Pack includes a variety of items such as sunflower kernels, low-sugar or whole grain cereal, fruit and vegetable juices, complete pasta meals, and educational snacks. These foods are high in protein, fiber, and iron, and they require very little preparation. Packs are assembled by volunteers, which significantly reduces program costs and allows more funds to be allocated to food costs. - Students Uddipti Upadhya and Isha Karki

DCCH's Residential Treatment Program provides survivors of child abuse with basic necessities such as a safe, clean place to live, food, clothing, medical and dental care, specialized education, therapy, and regular physical education.

They will use funding from this grant to help underwrite costs of updating bedrooms in their Residential Building. Updates would include the physical restructuring of bedrooms to increase durability, privacy and safety, as well as cosmetic updates like paint and furniture.

A reflection from the Grant Coordinator, Stacy Neurohr

I was so grateful for the opportunity to speak with Professor Cullick and the “Benefactors” group in his ENG 101 class about DCCH Center for Children and Families. This is the second time DCCH Center has collaborated with NKU through the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project, and once again, the students were engaged in the process and asked great questions. I’m honored to share DCCH’s mission and possibly inspire the next generation of philanthropists.

DCCH provides around-the-clock care for children ages six through 14 who have been removed from their homes due to extreme abuse and neglect. Children live full-time on DCCH’s campus for six to 12 months while they heal physically, attend our on-campus specialized educational center, and engage in life-changing therapy. The generous gift from the Mayerson Student Philanthropy will help underwrite costs of updating bedrooms in our Residential Building to increase durability, privacy, and safety, as well as cosmetic updates like paint and furniture. On behalf of the children in our care, thank you!

For more information, https://www.dcchcenter.org/

Freestore Foodbank’s Power Pack program began in 2004 and is based on Feeding America’s national BackPack initiative. Children who are low-income children receive free/reduced-price school meals on school days. During weekends and school breaks, these same children may be forced to skip meals. The Power Pack program works with schools to provide packs of food assistance to food insecure children every Friday of the school year, to alleviate hunger on non-school days.

With 105 school sites across 18 counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, this program serves 5,600 children. Each Power Pack contains over a dozen items including sunflower kernels, low-sugar or whole grain cereal, fruit and vegetable juices, complete pasta meals and educational snacks. These items are high in protein, fiber and iron, and require minimal preparation. Packs are assembled by volunteers, greatly reducing program expenses and allowing more funds to support food costs. All food is purchased for consistency and quality with a total cost of $5 per pack.

A reflection from the Foundation Relations Officer, Lissa Urriquia Gapultos

Over 50 years ago, Freestore Foodbank had its humble beginnings in Frank Gerson, an employee at the City’s incinerator who could not bring himself to burn items that were still in decent condition. His simple goal was to make discarded items available for free to anyone who had a need. His apartment housed an ever-changing collection, and soon earned the name Free Store. As needs in the community shifted, Free Store began distributing food to address increased hunger. This led to Free Store evolving into Freestore Foodbank, and becoming a founding member of Feeding America in 1979. While the organization’s core operations is food assistance, the needs of community has compelled us to add supportive services and workforce development opportunities, guiding individuals and families in need toward stability and self sufficiency. 

Thank you to Dr. Cullick’s Window Side Team for your engaging questions and genuine interest in our programs. You are part of a generation who will set things on the right path. Keep up the great work! Freestore Foodbank is appreciative of the NKU Mayerson Student Philanthropy project and the Doris Buffett Learning by Giving Foundation, for not only supporting our Power Pack program to ease weekend hunger for children, but also for recognizing the importance of the many programs and services in our region, and instilling a sense of philanthropy in tomorrow’s leaders. 

For more information, https://freestorefoodbank.org/