Smart Business Magazine, December 2019

56 Smart Business Cleveland December 2019 2019Pill r Award for Community Service T hrough cost free fun filled destination events called Adventures A Kid Again gives families raising children living with life threatening illnesses the chance to make the child feel like just that a kid again The Northern Ohio Chapter was established in 2008 but it wasnt until 2013 when Christine Bucknell joined the organization that it fully hit its stride Serving today as executive director Bucknell has grown the local chapter from serving 65 families to more than 300 making it the fastest growing A Kid Again chapter in Ohio Shes also seen the organization increase its hosted Adventures from three per year to seven and built a strong partner network of like minded local nonprofits and social workers at childrens hospitals including Cleveland Clinic Childrens and Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital To support its expanding efforts Bucknell has assembled a board of directors that includes 13 highly engaged community leaders and together with this board has significantly grown the organizations fundraising efforts Under her leadership the chapters annual fundraiser has grown from a small event raising 8000 to an annual gala that generates nearly 240000 Accordingly the organizations annual budget has increased as well Continuing to build a strong presence and gain recognition and support for A Kid Agains Northern Ohio Chapter Bucknell maintains a deeply personal connection to its client base supporting families beyond the mission statement Her efforts have earned her Crains Notable Women in Nonprofit recognition Christine Bucknell Executive Director A Kid Again N O N P R O F I T E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R O F T H E Y E A R W orking with more than 100 partner charities Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio acquires gathers and distributes nutritious food to tens of thousands of people in Crawford Erie Huron and Lorain counties Under the leadership of President and CEO Julie Chase Morefield for the past 14 years the organization has grown into the largest hungerrelief organization in North Central Ohio and the fourth largest nonprofit in Lorain County Dedicated to continuous expansion of its capacity and reach to improve food security and overall quality of life for residents Chase Morefield recommended a 51 million building project in 2015 to triple the size of Second Harvests warehouse As a result it has increased distribution dramatically and helped earn the organization a third consecutive top star rating with Charity Navigator Americas largest independent evaluator of charities Chase Morefield has also overseen the development of education and programming around healthy nutritious food options ensuring 95 percent of all expenses are program related Chief among new programming was the creation of Second Harvests BackPack Programs which provide nearly 5000 children each week with food for the weekends It also began its Farmers Market initiative which brings more than 2 million pounds of locally grown produce to 20000 families Leading Second Harvest to make a significant impact on 80000 lives each year Chase Morefield was the first recipient of Leadership Lorain Countys Emerald Award for Inspirational Leadership in 2015 and earned Crains 2019 Notable Women in Nonprofit recognition Julie Chase Morefield President and CEO Second Harvest Food Bank N O N P R O F I T E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R O F T H E Y E A R