FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                 For more information, call

March 31, 2004                                                             Barbara Poppe, 614/221-9195   

 

 

Franklin County Board of Commissioners receives CSB’s

Mel Schottenstein Leadership Award

 

 

As a founding organization of the Community Shelter Board, it seemed only appropriate for the Franklin County Board of Commissioners to receive the 2004 Mel Schottenstein Leadership Award.  Arlene Shoemaker, Dewey R. Stokes and Mary Jo Kilroy were present at the Huntington-sponsored reception to accept the award.

 

“This is the 10th anniversary of the community coming together to honor the legacy of Mel Schottenstein.  The Franklin County Board of Commissioners worked with Mel Schottenstein and others to establish CSB in 1986 and they have been key supporters ever since”, said Thomas E. Hoaglin, Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated and 2004 Lead Corporate Sponsor for this year’s Mel Schottenstein Birthday Celebration.

 

The Mel Schottenstein Leadership Award is given annually to an organization or individual in the community that has demonstrated outstanding leadership and vision toward solving the problem of homelessness in our community. 

 

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners was selected as this year’s award recipient for its unparalleled support of the Community Shelter Board and the community’s strategy to end homelessness.  The Commissioners took a leadership role in developing and funding the Rebuilding Lives plan to provide targeted and cost effective ways to address and end homelessness.

 

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Mel Schottenstein Birthday Celebration that benefits the Community Shelter Board and its partner agencies.  Hoaglin said Huntington was proud to be the first and now 10th Lead Corporate Sponsor of the event.  “For ten years running, no other event of its kind raises the level of corporate dollars and community support like this one…. the funds raised helps thousands of women, men, and children rebuild their lives.  And rebuilding lives is the way we will end homelessness in Columbus and Franklin County”.

 

Barbara Poppe, Executive Director of the Community Shelter Board, said that our community’s response to homelessness is considered to be a national model.  “The rest of the country is watching because of how we work together.  We’ve achieved a great deal together. And yet, much more needs to be done”.  Poppe said many homeless persons are the newly unemployed.  An individual working a full time job needs to earn more than $12.31 per hour to rent a typical two-bedroom apartment in Franklin County.

 

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“Tonight, more than 850 men, women, and children will seek emergency shelter”, said Poppe.  She said that now more than ever the Community Shelter Board looks to the business community to help them help individuals and families.

 

Floyd V. Jones, Chair of the Community Shelter Board’s Board of Trustees thanked the Community Shelter Board and its partner agencies for their daily work in helping to end homelessness in Columbus and Franklin County.

 

The 10th Annual Mel Schottenstein Birthday Celebration to support the Community Shelter Board is scheduled for Tuesday, June 8, 2004 from noon to 1:00 p.m. at the Greater Columbus Convention Center Ballroom.  Event sponsorship information is available by contacting Janelle Simmons at the Community Shelter Board at 614/221-9195.

 

The Community Shelter Board, established in 1986, is a non-profit intermediary organization that coordinates community based efforts, fosters collaboration, and funds services to assist families and individuals in Central Ohio to resolve their housing crisis.  The Community Shelter Board allocates $7.5 million annually to support programs at 13 agencies.  Last year, these programs served more than 11,000 individuals.  The Community Shelter Board is funded by the City of Columbus, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, the United Way of Central Ohio, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State of Ohio, and other public and private donors.

 

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Attachment:

Major funders of the 2004 Mel Schottenstein Birthday Celebration