Hat's off to the Class of 2023!
It’s a touch bittersweet each year when we see our kiddos walk through the halls of Gladden for the last time as a preschooler. While we’ll miss their faces and families around here, we send them off with the knowledge that they’re better prepped for success thanks to our staff and their 4-star-rated expertise! A special thanks to our board members for volunteering to serve food and to Avondale Elementary for letting us take over the playground for a bit! See more photos of the day from Megan Leigh Barnard HERE.
Aloha for Summer!
Meanwhile, our afterschool kids celebrated their end of the school year with a luau recently, setting the stage for more Gladden fun as part of our summer camp. This year, we thank Battelle for funding the second year of our Mind Map Program, which saw our kids learning more about STEM careers at places on-site like our partners at Orange Barrel Media.
Game On!
Our Team Sports program has been as active as ever, wrapping up our spring soccer season with a banquet and then prepping for the t-ball/baseball/softball season. Our team got a little extra boost this year from our sponsors and participants at this year’s Chip-In Challenge at Topgolf. Thanks to Huntington, AEP, NiSource, Kaufman Development, Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Easton Community Foundation, Loop, and many more, we were able to raise more than $30,000 for the program! Special shout out to long-time partner VORYS for winning the championship, and earning two free weeks of advertising at Broad and High, thanks to Orange Barrel Media! For more photos from Katie Forbes, see HERE:
The Power of Partnership
At Gladden, we can’t carry out our mission without the incredible support of our community and corporate partners. This spring, we were able to reorganize our space at Gladden, refresh and repaint our pantry, and perform some yard work for our senior outreach clients thanks to the sweat and support of the community-minded teams at Aramark, Crane Group, IGS Energy, and Columbus Gives Back! Aramark helped us put together 100 cleaning buckets for our Homeless Prevention and Family to Family program, lead our outdoor landscaping overhaul, AND helped us paint our Food Pantry from top-to-bottom. Crane organized our second-floor game room, and IGS delivered senior yard cleanup for our clients. Our seniors also helped us plant a new herb garden with help from our friends at Franklinton Farms and were also treated to lunch courtesy of the team at Mount Carmel at our most recent luncheon! Extra shout-out to Columbus Gives Back for their monthly cleaning of our pantry for the last two months!
Get Ready to March!
This year marks the 15th annual Marching for More, our annual fundraiser at Ohio Stadium in collaboration with The Ohio State Marching Band! Save the date for October 11, and stay tuned for details of how you or your team can sponsor the event!
Want to Help?
We’re always looking for volunteer help, specifically to deliver pantry boxes on Fridays from 9:30–11:30 a.m. Interested? Click here!
