September 24′ CEO Blog

What an incredible month September has been! The sun has been shining, and our future is looking bright, thanks to the 95 non-profits and thousands of donors who supported Connect to a Cause on September 19th. This event is truly one of my favorite days of the year. Seeing our community come together over the last 5 years for such a meaningful cause is inspiring, raising over $1M to support Lorain County non-profits. If you missed the event, do not worry! You can still connect with your favorite cause anytime by supporting their work in the community or their endowment at peoplewhocare.org. We look forward to sharing the collected amount raised via social media and our website on October 1st at 10:00 a.m. 

I want to congratulate A.G. Miller, our Community Engagement Committee Chair, for receiving the Civic Champion Award at the 10th Annual Diversity and Inclusion Conference. A.G. truly advocates Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging and his dedication to fostering an inclusive community is truly inspiring. Additionally, our recent Hispanic Fund and Women’s Fund events celebrated the achievements of our scholarship and grant recipients, highlighting the incredible impact of women and girls in our community. Our affiliate funds continue to make a positive difference daily throughout Lorain County. 

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize and honor our Hispanic and Latino communities’ rich cultural contributions, history and achievements. We are proud to spotlight Lorain County’s own Mateo Medina, an extraordinary athlete and person whose story continues to inspire us all. 

Fall is a season full of opportunities to connect and engage. Join us at an upcoming Neighbor Night in your community and get to know your neighbors, or explore our VolunteerConnect Database to find ways to get involved. From supporting Imagination Library to helping with scholarship events, there are plenty of ways to make a difference. 

We are also excited to welcome Cole Thompson as our newest Community Engagement Fellow. A Community Foundation scholarship recipient and former intern through Leadership Lorain County, Cole is passionate about supporting our community and we are thrilled to have him back on the team. 

Finally, I want to express my deepest gratitude to Laura Malone, whose last day with us was during Connect to a Cause, an event she played a pivotal role in shaping. Laura has been an invaluable member of our team, and we are grateful for her dedication and contributions to the Community Foundation and the Lorain County community.  

We wish her all the best as she embarks on a new journey. We are pleased to announce that the Development Officer job description is available. We encourage you to review it and share it with your networks to help us reach potential candidates. Thank you for supporting our search for the next community team member. 

I am excited to announce that we will share the total amount raised through Connect to a Cause on October 1st via our social media channels and website. Stay tuned for updates! 

Be well, 

Cindy