OBB Central Region Sites and Counselors Recognized at the Community Meeting and Training

At the recent OBB Community Meeting and Training the Central Region was represented in a big way!

• Over 200 people from throughout the region were in attendance.
• Lucinda Mitchell, an OBB counselor for Faith Mission and The Open Shelter, was awarded the Counselor of the Year Award. Both of the sites Lucinda volunteers for serve the homeless and marginally housed populations in Columbus; populations that are extremely vulnerable and underserved. Lucinda was nominated for the award because she consistently delivers a high level of customer service to the people she serves.
• The partnership of The Well at Sunnyside and the Community Action Commission of Fayette County was awarded the Neighbors Helping Neighbors award. These sites jointly applied for and were awarded a capacity-building grant last tax season. By combining their resources, reputations in the community, and the added support of funds from OASHF this partnership served far more people than each entity could serve alone.

As you Regional Coordinator I would like to say thank you to each and every one of you. Not only for representing the Ohio Benefit Bank so well at the Community Meeting and Training, but for the tireless work you do each and every day to make sure Ohioans have access to the resources they so desperately need.

Keep it up, and don't hesitate to be in contact!

OBB Community Meeting and Training press release

Below is the text for the OBB Conference press release. If your organization would like an editable Microsoft Word copy for you to put in your agency contact information and send to your local press, please contact Sarah at solinger@oashf.org

COUNSELORS COME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

3rd Annual Ohio Benefit Bank Conference Brings Together Over 500 Counselors from across Ohio

Columbus, OH – It has been nearly 4 ½ years since The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF) first took The Ohio Benefit Bank on an expansive, 88-county, Ohio road show. In that short amount of time, OASHF, along with the Office of Governor Ted Strickland and over 1,000 community and faith-based organizations from throughout Ohio, have impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ohioans.

September 1st and 2nd marked the third annual Ohio Benefit Bank Community Meeting and Training hosted by OASHF. As in the years past, the meeting and training was being held at the Crowne Plaza and gave individuals involved in The Ohio Benefit Bank network the opportunity to come together to learn of fellow counselors successes, as well as news ways in which to utilize The Ohio Benefit Bank to better serve those in need.

This year’s meeting was slated with a number of special guests, including Key Note speaker, Douglas Lumpkin, director of The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). From the time that Director Lumpkin took the reins at ODJFS, and even during his tenure as the Director of Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services, he has been a key player and vital partner in the utilization of The Ohio Benefit Bank. Knowing the hardships that are being faced at the county department of job and family services, matched with the increasing number of Ohioans in need, Director Lumpkin has stated, “We know we are in difficult times, but we are committed to working with our partners – including our partners at the counties and at the Benefit Bank – to find ways to be more creative, more innovative, and to leverage all the tools at our disposal to do a better job of serving our customers while also operating more efficiently. We already have done much, but we know we can do more. Together, we need to ask: How do we make the world work better?”

Along with this year’s Key Note Speaker, The Ohio Benefit Bank Community Meeting and Training was also attended by Lisa Roberts, the director of the Friends and Neighbors Food Pantry, Jack Frech, director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services, Barb Packer, with Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio, as well as Justin Balding, producer for NBC News. Featured in the Dateline NBC America Now: Friends and Neighbors, Lisa Roberts worked with Justin Balding and his associates at NBC News, in an effort to shine light onto the reality that is southeast Ohio; a region of the country that has been plagued with poor economic conditions for the greater part of the last 60 years, since the fall of the coal mining industry. By opening the doors to the Friends and Neighbors Pantry, Lisa explained the turmoil that the Great Recession has played on the lives of our country’s most vulnerable population, the poor. In a time when much effort is placed on assisting those who are asking for help for the first time in their lives, American Now: Friends and Neighbors gave viewers the chance to see the impact that is being felt by those who already feel forgotten.

Throughout the meeting, special recognition will be given to Ohio Benefit Bank sites, along with individual Ohio Benefit Bank Counselors, whose exemplary work and dedication to helping those in need has stood out among the Ohio Benefit Bank network. Awards presented during the meeting include, Counselor of the Year, Site of the Year and the prestigious, Neighbors Helping Neighbors award, which is given for innovative excellence and collaboration.

For more information on The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks call 614/221-4336 or visit www.oashf.org

For more information on The Ohio Benefit Bank call 614/221-4336 or visit www.obb.ohio.gov

For more information on The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services call 614/466-2100 or visit www.jfs.ohio.gov

Contact: Charles Barber, Communications Manager for the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks at 614/221-4336 ext. 243 or 614/493-7502 (cell)

The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks is Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger. OASHF helps provide food and funding to support the infrastructure of 12 member foodbanks representing regions throughout the state of Ohio. Over the past year, Ohio’s foodbanks have distributed more than 136 million pounds of food and groceries to more than 3,000 member charities, including food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and food assistance organizations.


The Ohio Benefit Bank is an internet tool that through the guidance of trained counselors assists low- and moderate-income Ohioans get connected with work supports, income enhancements and assistance programs, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, food assistance and Medicaid programs. Since the program’s inception in 2006, The Ohio Benefit Bank has assisted over 164,000 become connected with tax credits and work supports with the potential value of over $349 million.


The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services offers a wide range of services to individuals and families as a means to finding a solution to their temporary challenges. Services provided through ODJFS include unemployment compensation, health care, cash assistance, food assistance, child care, child support enforcement and administration, and employment and training assistance.