The Dan Beard Council is considered to be on of the "stongest" councils in Boy Scout of America…read more This is determined by a membership of more than 20,000 youth. The Council services Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA/Boy Scouts, Sea Scouts, Venturing, and Explorers in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area. Local Units are under the auspices of the Council, and their chartered organizations. With three Scouts of my own, I am very familiar with the Dan Beard Council. Both my husband and I have served as registered Scouters (volunteers) in one compacity or another. The council is then broken up into districts. Some of the people in charge are paid employees while others are volunteers. The Scouting Units are run by volunteers. In most cases those volunteers are parents of Scouts. Despite all using the same books for requirement, units run drastically different from unit to unit. It's okay to take the time to find the right unit for your child. Just like some children have different abilities and interests so do Troops. Along with the fees from National, each unit charges their own fees. What that covers also differs. For the same camping trips one unit may charge $10 while another charges $40. It is okay to visit the Troops to see which is right before you join. It's okay to ask questions. The Dan Beard Council is also responsible for the running of Camp Friedlander, Camp Michaels, Camp Craig and Cub World. These camps are available for Scouts to have a safe space to camp, and use for outdoor activities. Reservations must be made prior to camping. Some properties are also used for summer camps. Summer camps are for Scouts. There is also one week of camp that is offered to Scouts and non-Scouts who are hurting financially. It is called Challenge Camp. The council building also holds the Dan Beard Scout Shop. It is basically a resource for leaders to purchase advancements, and awards. It is also a place for Scouts to purchase uniform, manuals and other Scouting related items. Please see my review of that for more details. While the Council isn't perfect, I am rounding up to the 5th star. Many try. It can be hard for an organizations that runs so heavily on volunteers to get the support and help that they need at times.

I love the Urban League. Incorporated in 1949, the urban league of greater cincinnati continues to…read morehelp Cincinnatians find jobs, develop workforce skills, build wealth, help youth get a quality education and advocate for equality. The urban league facility is located in the heart of Avondale on Reading road. It is a great place to volunteer or get help in achieving your goals.

In 1993, the Inner City Youth Opportunities organization was founded by Jeanne and Phillip Bell…read more They saw inner city children struggling in the classroom and with family problems, and they wanted to help. Seeing the positive impact that sports has on the development of children, the Bells took to combining their love of tennis with helping local inner city kids succeed in the classroom and out in the real world. By combining tennis, academic intervention, and youth development programs the ICYO strives to teach the children important life skills to succeed (according to ICYO Newsletter and website). Through the Academic Intervention Program, the ICYO offers tutoring and homework help four days a week, assisting with anything from reading, writing, and spelling to organization skills, math, and even computer/keyboarding. During the summer months, Mrs. Bell runs a tennis program at Withrow High School, Monday through Thursday for three hours. I was a volunteer three years ago and it was such a great experience and it felt really good to help the many children with their tennis, watch them enjoy it, and just to be their friend while I was there. Transportation (and meals) to all ICYO events is free, and for those really interested in tennis, they will take them around to play in the area tournaments. Although I was too young to see it at the time, playing in these tournaments and sometimes seeing the Bells spending their Friday and Saturday nights watching their program's kids play tennis is truly remarkable. The best thing is when they issue their seasonal newsletter and you can read some of the success stories. The most important thing to the Bells and their staff and many volunteers is teaching the children life skills and leading them down the right path towards earning a high school degree. In the summer tennis program in 2005, I worked alongside a man who was ICYO's first high school graduate in 2000, an honors student and National Honors Society member, and then a 2005 graduate of Kent State University where he was on scholarship for football. Without the ICYO program, it's not likely he would have been able to achieve what he did, and he recognized that, which is why he gave back to the program in which he grew up. Inner City Youth Opportunities is an excellent program and the number of nationally and community-based partnerships they are involved in shows that too. Whether it's from tutoring, tennis, or a trip to a Xavier basketball game or Camp Ernst, for example, ICYO provides great opportunities for inner city children of Cincinnati to have fun, while also growing as both persons and students. It's truly outstanding and touching what the Bells have been doing these last 15 years with the ICYO program, and I'm glad to have been a part of it.

What a gorgeous space! Great views from the windows, high tech environment and the art on the walls…read moreis gallery worthy. What I like about this place is that I absolutely have no idea what they actually do here. I've been here dozens of times and they have played host to the continuum of care for homeless service providers in Cincinnati as well as offered community trainings for resources to help veterans, student loan forgiveness for folks working in non-profits along with other things that promote positive change in the community. I've really enjoyed the space they provide here to affect so much change in our area and want to give them the kudos they deserve. Not so humbly submitted, Michael C.

very inspiring and was there when I need them first they really helped me out and I appreciate them…read morefor helping me get my high school diploma felt good to have on a gown and walked up to get my diploma !!!!!!!

The Ohio River basin drains a beautiful area of farms and forests. It's home to about 10% of the…read moreresidents of the USA in 13 states. ORSANCO brings the main states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia together to reduce pollution in the Ohio River. The beauty of this arrangement is that the commissioners include appointees by the governor of each member state. That gives the states a direct two way connection with the water quality of the river, affecting each state. I've worked in water pollution research and drink Cincinnati's water from time to time. It's improved, but it is not great! One factor was discharges by chemical factories in West Virginia of carcinogens. Valves would be opened secretly in the dark of night with no evidence left behind. Our lab discovered some in the river far downstream from their untraceable sources. That's why even today I wouldn't eat bottom feeding fish from the river though some people do. "The solution to pollution is dilution" is an old saying. Industry, farms, and small to large businesses discharge chemicals and biological waste which makes its way into the river. Each one of us release prescription and over the counter drugs in our personal waste. We release yard chemicals, cleaning fluids and solvents too. Of course we all benefit from commercial and personal release into the river of things that should not be in the river. That means we are all responsible for measuring what is in the river and over time making it cleaner. It is important because the people in our region drink that pollution. Cincinnati city water comes from the Ohio River. We cook with it. It irrigates our crops. It enters the wildlife, there it can bioaccumulate up the food chain. ORSANCO compiles measurements of hundreds of pollutants at locations along the river. They publish them and work with the states to reduce pollutant discharges over time in a planned, non-disruptive way. Unfortunately they are considering resigning this responsibility. The cost today with modern labs and their instruments to make those measurements is very small. But the information is critical. That's because measurement is the only basis for improvement, or for measuring decline. But measuring water purity is not as simple as it might seem. You have to look for each impurity individually. Here is a list of what ORSANCO measures. http://www.orsanco.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Draft-2018-Pollution-Control-Standards-Marked-Version.pdf The red lines are what they are considering dropping. They could get some stars back by not stepping back from their responsibility. Several of the commissioners are strongly against ORSANCO reducing its responsibility, 188 of the pollutants they measure and manage are not independently managed by the EPA or the states. ORSANCO is an accomplished example of state collaboration for the public good, in a literal every day way. They are good and great. We hope more people will learn about their work and follow them online. And we and we hope that will return to good and great by continuing their responsibility on our behalf.

Awesome people who do tons of outreach and really work hard to educate the public about current…read moreenvironmental issues.

I attended the Firemen's Festival a few years ago and I enjoyed it. It's a great gathering event…read morefor the community. If you haven't seen old friends in a few years, you would probably see them here. The festival is normally during the summer. They serve plate lunches (chicken/fish fry) for a reasonable price. You are able to purchase beer from the many booths. I give the firemen credit for their service. They volunteer their time to help the community. I would love to attend another festival in the future.

The Boone County Sherrif ran a red light and then got mad when I honked his horn when he was about…read moreto hit me. And he still didnt yield! They dont control traffic. Absolutely ridiculous that people doing 85mph can pass a cop without them doing anything. No wonder when they run lights themselves. Slow down before you kill someone jerk!

The concierge service was positively stellar, whitehead and phillips were top class corrections…read more Would definitely be jailed here again.