CLINTONVILLE-BEECHWOLD COMMUNITY RESOURCES CENTER

The objectives for the leadership of the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center continue to be tightly connected to the mission here: “We deliver responsive services, cultivate partnerships, and promote opportunities to foster a healthier community” Our vision at the CRC is: “To be recognized as a vital human service agency in our community and a model for civil discourse on social justice issues.” As such, it is critical for the CRC to be in tune with the needs of the Clintonville community, and be able to respond to those needs quickly, efficiently and with compassion.

The CRC is well-rooted in Columbus Ohio with services operating out of five facilities, including a former library built in 1928, which houses our Family Services Choice Food Pantry that was remodeled in 2018. The staff, board of trustees and large cadre of volunteers hail from all walks of life here, including a variety of neighborhoods, churches, schools and age groups. This group of people currently provides a variety of services to the community, including a bustling Choice Food Pantry, an afterschool program, and a Senior Services program helping local seniors to maintain healthy independent lifestyles. The CRC also serves as a Fiscal Sponsor for a dozen local groups, helping the agency keep its ear to the ground as it supports a vibrant community.

The following five core values make CRC one of the leaders in the provision of social services in Central Ohio, and a model for other social service organizations:
Justice-Be an advocate for members of the community, striving to ensure equality and fairness in all CRC efforts.

Adaptability-CRC will be flexible in responding to community needs and rigid in adherence to our mission.

Efficiency-Be a good steward with the resources entrusted to us and will work to make the largest possible positive impact with our efforts.

Engagement- We will be constantly aware of issues in Central Ohio and we will demonstrate this awareness by encouraging and participating in communication within this community.

Dignity-The work of CRC will be characterized by our respect for the self-sufficiency, self-worth, social integration, and self-determination of the people we serve. We will work to increase the choices for members of our community and pledge to treat people’s information in a responsible manner.

“Action is indeed the sole medium of expression for ethics."- Jane Addams (U.S. Social Worker, 1860-1935)

The Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resource Center’s (CRC) leadership team follows the National Association of Social Worker’s (NASW) Code of Ethics. CRC follows this code because it provides the framework for how best to ethically serve our neighborhood as well as work with other non-profits, businesses, community members and leaders, faith committees, clients, staff, and volunteers. This code is required of all licensed social workers and failure to abide by the code leads to legal and/or professional ramifications.

In 2015 we won the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethics in Columbus, Ohio.

“The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.”
― Jane Addams
The CRC has followed its charitable guiding principles to serve the community for almost 50 years. With that broad base of support and connectivity, the CRC is well-positioned to remain in tune with community needs and to be flexible as those needs evolve and change.

A dedicated and well-trained staff makes sure the CRC achieves its goals year in and year out. As community needs evolve, the CRC has proven to be flexible in responding to new demands, as shown by its expansion of our Youth Services program, starting up our Village in the Ville Program, as part of our Senior Services and becoming a leader in the Columbus Area Network of Villages. The building purchased in 2013 and the renovations completed in 2018, expanded the capabilities of the Family Services program to meet the growing pressure placed on the food pantry and other material assistance efforts – including clothing, the Ohio Benefits Bank, utilities assistance and more. Staff members also are working with volunteers in the community to determine how to continue meeting the needs of the local seniors population that is growing.

Our organizational budget now has 8 program areas: Family Services, Kinship Care, Senior Services Outreach, Senior Services Personal Finance Management, Senior Transportation, Village in the Ville, Youth Services (Kids Club), and Summer Lunch. Since 2013, the CRC has greatly added to its capacity to serve neighbors by purchasing a new building, adding five new buses to our fleet of vehicles and expanding our Youth Services program. Senior Transportation was expanded throughout the city with our Community Aging in Place grant from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation. In 2018 renovations for our Family Services Center enabled us to improve our food distribution to those in need. Since 2012 through our partnership with the Mid-Ohio Foodbank we distribute fresh produce (Average 10,000 pounds) weekly to local neighbors and fill our choice pantry shelves with nourishing food. Four times a week we serve community meals. The CRC’s operating budget, which does not include the donated food, is $1,868,696 for 2019 and it will keep growing as our service area is expanded, the population continues to become more gray as the baby-boomers age, and our improved marketing efforts help more people know about the services offered here. For almost fifty years, we have proved to be good stewards of the funds entrusted to us: in 2018, after adding in kind donations, 88% of our revenue was spend on programs, 8% on Management and General (M&G) and 4% on Fundraising.