The Gifford Newsletter

Ophelia’s Place has been a resource for people living with eating disorders for over fifteen years. Formed in Syracuse, they have grown from a small family project to a multifaceted organization that has developed innovative ways to self-fund and leverage digital tools to expand their impact. Examining their history and development reveals important lessons not only about food and diet culture in America, but about how thoughtful community engagement by impassioned individuals can flourish into a large scale movement.

This year’s graduates have not only lost out on the traditional graduation celebrations, but are entering a changing and uncertain world at a time of great crisis. In recognition of this, a Facebook group was created by Syracuse City School District parent Jessica Rogala designed to connect graduating seniors with people willing to “adopt” them. The initiative gained quite a bit of attention and so far more than 4,000 users have joined. Gifford Program Administrator Sheria Walker proposed that The Gifford Foundation participate by selecting a number of seniors to sponsor as they move on to the next phase of their lives.

The Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice is an unusual type of nonprofit. Rather than lobbying for policy change or delivering services directly to the public, they focus on providing a home for other organizations in Syracuse. As the name suggests, The Center only offers space to groups whose mission is grounded in the promotion of peace and social justice. The idea is that by bringing together different groups that share a core vision and philosophy, they can encourage them share resources, collaborate on projects, and boost their impact.

Though Presidential elections always draw a higher participation rate than other years, some districts only saw half of registered voters casting a ballot. In 2017 – the year of the Syracuse mayoral election – the numbers plummeted even further with only 35% of registered voters participating. This disturbing lack of civic participation inspired The League to partner with The Dunbar Association, TNT, and the NAACP to form the Onondaga Votes! initiative in 2018. Their goal was simple: to increase voter turnout across the City of Syracuse.