My first experience with Columbus Gives Back was working with the group as a nonprofit partner. I…read morewas in need of volunteers for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, a 5K walk. The leadership was great at communicating throughout the recruitment process. At the event, all staff members who worked with the volunteers loved doing so and the volunteers had great feed back too. I've also had the pleasure of volunteering myself. I love that the group offers a variety of organizations to become involved with. The flexibility has provided me a volunteer experience that works with my schedule. The other volunteers have always been wonderful and I know I'll continue to volunteer and recommend to friends. Thanks to Columbus Gives Back!

I can't even begin to describe how much volunteering with Columbus Gives Back has changed my…read moreinvolvement in Central Ohio. I have made legitimate friendships and had meaningful volunteering experiences. Sometimes, you just need to do something for someone else and CGB is an easy way to connect to volunteering events in the Columbus area. My favorite events locations include Meals on Wheels with LifeCare Alliance and the YWCA Family Center. Not only has CGB helped me help out the community, but I've had a chance to try some amazing restaurants with the volunteers after the events. I would highly recommend volunteering with this group if you're looking to meet people and do something good in the Columbus area.

I highly praise this organization. I have noticed that…read morethere are millions of dollars raised for the Race for the Cure and Cancer Research projects. This is going on while families and survivors are out there starving, using up their savings and having to almost beg for health care, meds, or such and just day to day rent, mortgage, utilities, and food. This is the only organization in central Ohio trying to help families survive daily expenses. This organization is in need of funding because right now they have a waiting list of families in need of help. If a fraction of the funds given to the American Cancer Foundation, Race for the Cure, the Stephanie Spelman or Susan G. Komen foundations were given, the organization would be able to help and take care of those in need on the waiting list. They also would be able to hire people to go do outreach and home care. This organization needs continued funding and help to help others. So if you can, give into this excellent reputable organization then please do.

Boisterous: that's the best word to describe the Saints Drumline. They are high-energy and…read moreheart-thumping loud. You can hear them from a mile away, and the sound will draw you nearer. But, when you get to the source, you might be surprised to find children. The Saints Drumline is a thirty-member youth group. The members are mainly minorities from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The students gain confidence by learning how to expand their talents, work as a unified group, and express themselves in front of a crowd. They practice two times a week, two hours a night at the Rosewind Community Center. The students and their families also participate in fundraisers to purchase equipment and uniforms and meet other expenses. All in all, it's a very noble effort. I've seen different members of the Saints perform several times over the past couple of years. I've watched them during Short Stop Youth clinics, the Gallery Hops, and the 2007 Short North Gala. Each time, I have been very impressed. From what I can tell, most of the kids are elementary and middle school age. I don't know a lot about drums, but as an average spectator, I always find their performances fun. And I'm not alone. I've stood on High St packed shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers to watch the Saints. They keep pretty good time. Their beats are creative. And they have the biggest grins when they're performing; they're hams for sure. I couldn't find a performance schedule for the Saints online. I think they're one of those groups that you stumble upon by chance. But they're very active, so if you're out and about at events, you have a good chance of seeing them.

Northwest Masonic Temple is a very active location with several Masonic lodges calling it home, as…read morewell as a number of other Masonic bodies that are affiliated with the organization. The temple building place host to a church, and ESL courses are sometimes run by outside organizations from time to time. It is a hub of the Worthington and Linworth community and provides value to local residence by being active and engaged and enriching citizen lives. Membership inquiries are welcomed, and the organizations that reside here can be located in contacted via their website presences.

I had the pleasure of volunteering here recently and was so impressed with the services they…read moreprovide. Their mission is to provide brand new clothing to school aged children through a needs based application program in Central Ohio. They have provided clothing to over 750,000 children since the organization was founded. They started our volunteer experience with a tour of their facility. We got the chance to meet the exec director and several of the board members. All were very welcoming. You can see that they are passionate about the mission and proud of the organization's over 100 years of service to the community.

Volunteered here with my work the other day great parking lot and easy to find. It is so awesome to…read moreknow they service 18,000 kids in the Columbus community. We were able to package 2,500 coats for the upcoming pass out day in August. Amazing time here!

Background on the Wellness Community: created to help people affected by cancer through…read moreparticipation in the variety of support groups, seminars & workshops, exercise programs, stress reduction and creative expression. All programs are provided at no cost to the patient. Funding comes from event like the Night of Chocolate. The Night of Chocolate is what I'd like to tell you about. This year it was held at the Holiday Inn at the Airport. After registration (pre-paid $125 ticket) you wonder into a crowd of people enjoying cheeses, and wine, and various other food tastings provided by some of the donating sponsors. The Night of Chocolate is a silent auction spiced with a raffle options for things like a two day borrow of a super high-end car, like a 2005 Lotus Elise or a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette. My favorite booths were the Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, the Schearer potato chip (lime!), and the Maramar Chocolates. If you attend next year, do not leave early! You'll miss the chocolate unveiling. It's absolutely wonderful!

Such loving and wonderful staff, and I love that they have chapel every week! We are also members…read moreof the church, so we enjoy knowing the staff well and feeling they are part of our church family!

My granddaughter Grace was born at 26 weeks weighing only 1# 6oz. She struggled hard to survive and…read morewhen she was 2 , her parents enrolled her at DCA. I immediately noticed that most of the staff did not smile or interact in a happy way with the little toddlers . They constantly barked out corrections to the kids and someone was always in the director , Traci's office being talked to . They eventually kicked our little girl out of the school because she had occasional accidents in her pants. No consideration given to the fact that she might be somewhat behind because of her extreme prematurity. She was very upset to leave all her friends and cried when she couldnt return to class. The staff atDCA are very impatient unless your child is perfect and few are. They really shouldn't be in the childcare business in my opinion. They really put the " Christian"in Delaware Christian academy..... not. Save $200 a week on go elsewhere! Today was her first day at her new school and she told her mom , " I don't have to be nerbous at school" broke my heart. 2 thumbs down for DCA Irately

It was pouring rain when a family member told me there was a baby duck in the garage. At first I…read morethought, "Oh, a duckling," and went out expecting something small and harmless. It was hiding beneath the car -- frightened, alert, and surprisingly difficult to catch. Every time I tried to reach for it, it scrambled away awkwardly, and when we finally cornered it, I noticed its tail was injured. It looked serious. So I did what most people would probably do when they see an injured animal: I tried to help it. For me, it stopped being "a duck" in the abstract. It became this specific little creature I was trying to save. I searched for someone who could help, and that led me to the Ohio Wildlife Center. Their website says, "Wildlife Help Starts Here." But for me, it felt like wildlife help ended there. I understand that wildlife rehabilitation is complicated. They cannot save every animal. There are limits involving resources, suffering, survival odds, and quality of life. Rationally, I know that. But emotionally, I could not stop thinking: I never wanted to be the person delivering this tiny creature to its death. Maybe I should have asked a different question before bringing it in: "What percentage of animals brought here are killed?" But it would not have mattered anyway. When I called, I got an automated response and brought the duck in regardless, hoping for the best. My mistake. Maybe I am applying human standards to an animal. Maybe I am projecting my own instinct to survive onto it. But I cannot help feeling that existence itself matters. If it were me, I would rather have another day alive -- even injured, even imperfect -- than have someone else decide my life was no longer worth continuing because recovery would be difficult, inconvenient, or incomplete. That is the part that stays with me. Not death itself, because death comes for everything eventually, but the feeling that I unknowingly became part of ushering it there. If I had left the duck alone, maybe it would have lived longer. Maybe it would not have survived at all. I do not know. But I walked in believing I was helping save it, and instead I was confronted with the fact that they were going to kill it. What made it harder was how sudden it felt. The moment I walked inside, they took the duck immediately. No pause. No goodbye. Just gone. To them, perhaps it was routine. To me, it was still this frightened little thing I had crouched in the rain trying to protect. Maybe "murder" is the wrong word. Maybe "kill" is more accurate. Either way, the result is the same: death. Nonexistence. The extinguishing of something that, only moments before, was alive and fighting to keep moving. I care about animals. So when you try to do what you believe is the right thing, only to realize the outcome no longer belongs to you, it leaves a mark. And then, on top of all of that, they wanted my personal information. I remember looking at them like they were delusional, "Are you serious?" You are telling me this duck is going to die, yet you still need my details? For what? Do they keep records of where animals came from they've killed? Stats? Maybe. But in that moment, it felt absurd. In an era where everything is collected, tracked, harvested, monetized, and stored, I could not help reacting with suspicion and disbelief. At this exact moment I felt emotionally blindsided and disgusted. This is one of those questions that comes up everywhere -- from medicine to animal care to end-of-life decisions. Wildlife rehabilitators usually focus on survival and minimizing suffering. But the animal wasn't necessarily at risk of dying from the injury itself. I tend to see it more simply -- that existence still matters, even when things are imperfect. That's where we differ.

The OH Wildlife Center is a non profit that operates the state's largest wildlife hospital. They…read morealso house and rehabilitate native wildlife species. Throughout the year, they offer various educational and special events that are open to the public. I was so excited to take a fundraising yoga class here. Kelly was our yoga instructor and she is also an OWC volunteer. She gave us some great tips for protecting wildlife at home and took us on a short tour after class. We got to meet several of the residents including Waldo the turtle, beautiful red foxes, feisty raccoons, owls and a shy little coyote pup. They provide signage with more information about the animals, and many of them had been injured, abandoned, or kept as pets and released illegally. It was wonderful to see them peaceful and well cared for. They mentioned that they are always looking for more volunteers. Check out their website for more information or to donate.