Who are the Community Builders: Director of Programs
This post is part of a series in the RIC’s campaign, “Fund our Community Builders.” Our community welcomes your gifts. Being able to provide equitable pay and benefits not only honors the expertise, kindness and hard mental and emotional work of the staff, but also helps ensure longevity in these important roles. Support the fund today.
Wafaa and Emelia celebrating a big accomplishment - becoming a US citizen!
Souad, Khalil, and Emelia at the 2021 Community Festival. Khalil began kindergarten during the pandemic, and Emelia was able to support his family through online learning.
Rachida and Emelia share a photo at our 2019 Community Festival.
Emelia Sheeley's Experience as Director of Programs
North Community Counseling Center offers weekly Women’s Empowerment Groups at the RIC
Emelia’s job includes coordinating volunteers, writing grants, managing OSU interns, all while meeting our neighbors for assistance. But one of her most important jobs is leading the RIC’s programs and community partnerships. She has worked hard to find ways to meet more of our neighbors’ needs. The RIC recognizes that we can’t do it all, therefore we lean into our partners to work together. During her 4 years working at the RIC, she has developed partnerships with many organizations and businesses, including Columbus Diaper Bank, Neighborhood Services Food Pantry, Columbus City Schools, Rasoul Law Office, and the Period Pantry.
One partnership is with North Community Counseling Center (NCCC). Every Friday groups of women gather at the RIC to listen and share with one another. These groups are led by a clinician from NCCC to provide vital support for our neighbors who speak Arabic and Bengali.
“I am very proud of the RIC’s resilience. We’ve gone through tremendous changes over the last few years, but we’ve adapted, and we continue to serve with care and dedication.” —Emelia Sheeley
One Friday when Emelia was at the office, a neighbor, Noor, came upstairs to show her what they had done during their meeting. She produced a little crafted box, decorated with paper flowers, and inside were tiny notes written by the other members of the group. The notes said things like “you are a kind person,” and “you are a good mom,” and Noor said that the next time she was having a hard day, she would open her box and read those notes to remind herself of her value, and that things will be okay.
Emelia remembers, “I’ve never forgotten the look on her face as she showed me her box! It touched me to see her so encouraged, and I felt very grateful to be able to offer our neighbors an opportunity to receive this kind of practical mental and emotional support.”
A Day in the Life: Our Director of Programs
First thing, Emelia checks her work number and begins answering messages from neighbors. Shereen has mail from Medicaid that she doesn’t understand, and Aisha wants to know when the next food distribution will be.
Next is a Zoom meeting with our 2 interns and their supervisor from Ohio State. They meet every other week to talk about how the interns are doing and set goals for their time at the RIC.
Emelia’s phone has started ringing! A local OB/GYN clinic is calling to answer questions about their practice and hours in response to questions from one of our pregnant RIC neighbors.
Emelia talks with Sarah, an asylum seeker from West Africa, and then with a social worker from the hospital. Sarah is in a desperate situation and Emelia is trying to connect her with the assistance she needs.
It’s already school pick up time, so she squeezes in a call with our executive director on her drive, to talk about next steps for a new grant.
Kids are home and starting homework, so Emelia fits in an update to the RIC Facebook page with an announcement of times for neighbors to pick up diapers.
While Emelia is cooking dinner, our community care coordinator is calling from the office with a question about a neighbor who is at the office.
From an open door to more than 20 programs including:
Food distributions with Neighborhood Services and Heart to Heart, 347 people served in 2021!
Cranbrook elementary School and Columbus City Schools
Rasoul Law Office - free legal advice clinic has served more than 100 people since it began in 2018
Value Life - referred 30 women who have received needed baby items, like car seats, pack n plays, and clothing
Summer Reading Program - 84 children participated in 2021
monthly COVID vaccine clinic w/ReachCare Pharmacy
Columbus Diaper Bank - 500 children served this year alone, began partnership in 2018
Partnerships with doctors and programs for educational talks for neighbors - colon and breast cancer screening, primary care cold/flu health, dentist for oral hygiene talk
Partnerships for interns with OSU college of Social Work, Capital University social work, OSU Honors and Scholars undergraduate volunteers, OSU International Studies interns
Period Pantry, for distributing supplies for menstruating women
Women’s Empowerment, partnering with North Community Counseling Center
Field Trip Programs to introduce our new neighbors to Columbus including going apple picking, Slate Run Farm, Scioto Mile splash pad, COSI, Columbus Zoo, John Beltz retreat center
Why fund our Community Builders?
We want to continue to help our neighbors connect with employment, and we aspire to be an attractive and competitive employer. Being able to provide equitable pay and benefits is important to the RIC; this not only honors the expertise, kindness and hard mental and emotional work of the staff, but also helps ensure longevity in their roles, which allows for trust to be built with neighbors, partners, volunteers, and other staff. Your generous gift will help the RIC continue to hire and retain top talent, in order to build relationships and support our neighbors.
Who is our Community?
Our neighbors. Our volunteers. Our partners. Our staff.