Innovation and Creativity in Cincinnati

 We got to help one of the ArtWorks teams create art for the walls of the Ronald McDonald House

We started our third day in Cincinnati learning about the social project ArtWorks. ArtWorks is a non-profit organization that hires local teens to paint mural around the city for minimum wage. Each year they employ around 150 students to decorate the city’s buildings and create other projects. The program gives teens a fun and meaningful alternative to more typical summer jobs and has been helping the revival of Cincinnati for almost twenty years. We got to experience teens our ages painting a wall of a local building. The mural told the tale of Henry Holtgrewe, who was once the world’s strongest man. Some of the teams also participate in a program called "ArtRx" that works with patients at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and families staying in the Ronald McDonald House. By learning about this project, we hope to incorporate ArtWorks’s ambitions in our Alumni Impact projects.

Watching teens paint a mural of the Henry Holtgrewe lifting the entire Reds team on his shoulders

            Next we visited the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. We were accompanied by two Israeli patients and their families in the Ryan Seacrest Studios. The fellows participated in a radio and television broadcast that is displayed on televisions in patients’ rooms. The broadcast included a game show, a live “Cup Song” performance, and a group sing-a-long to “Let it Go.” After the broadcast, we ate lunch with the Israeli patients and met with Israeli doctors and researchers who are doing fellowships at Cincinnati Children's. We had a discussion on the topic of the Israeli conflict, being away from home during this difficult time, and what it was like to experience American Judaism.

            Kyle, Lizzy, Amanda, and Noa gave Colin clues to play "What's behind me?"

Following our visit to the hospital, we ventured to downtown Cincinnati and the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood to check out some more of the murals, explore, and shop. We went to Cincinnati’s famous ice cream shop, Graeter’s, and enjoyed their chocolate chip ice creams. We then split off and walked around the city, eventually meeting on the steps of the historic Music Hall.

Enjoying Graeter's ice cream and hunting for giant chocolate chips!

We finished off the adventurous day with a Diller pool party! We relaxed and enjoyed a heated pool and played team-building games until we departed for the night to sleep in preparation for our last day in Cincinnati!

By: Lizzy Katz and Colin Silverman