The Ripple Effect

Written by Jamie Rogers

“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple effect with no logical end.”

— Scott Adams

We might perceive ourselves to be insignificant and diminutive, just one nondescript face amidst millions of other faces. But like the smallest stone tossed into the depths of a still pond that creates a large ripple and affects everything it touches, we too can make a ripple of significance that can impact a multitude of individuals. It is an obligation and responsibility of ours to determine what ripples we will make in our life. The hope and mission should be to demonstrate kindness to create a ripple to wash over others, filling their hearts in a positive way. Hate and negativity can spread like wildfire, but simple acts of love, kindness, and compassion have the ability to extinguish the flames and build a ripple effect that can have the power to change a heart and change lives. The quote from Scott Adams states this beautifully and became the overarch-ing theme when Susan Emerson created her inspirational cabaret, The Ripple Effect.

St. Aloysius is thrilled to welcome Susan Emerson to perform her captivating and emotionally inspiring cabaret in which she tells a story in song and dance of how one person can make a difference. Emerson is a Bay Area Critics’ Circle Award and Drama-Logue Award winner. She has appeared on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in top regional theatres around the country. Emerson settled in Cincinnati almost a decade ago but continues to share her heart on stage, enchanting those who hear her story.

“The Ripple Effect is a cabaret, a story told through song and anecdotes, that shows how one person can make a difference, and how we make a difference each day of our lives,” Emerson says.

When Emerson made the move from New York to Cincinnati, she observed that cabarets were uncommon to this city. Caba-

ret can be in the form of a concert, to depict a particular theme. Emerson had fantastic mentors that performed cabaret shows and found them delightfully entertaining and funny. After leaving act-ing in 2003 to help with her husband’s business, Emerson found she missed the stage. The decision to reignite her acting was not based solely on wanting to perform again on stage, but to use her talents

to make a difference. Emerson believes whether consciously or unconsciously, you are making a difference every day through every action. A single smile or angry comment can make a significant impact on the people around you. It was this concept that became the basis for creating her cabaret.

The phenomenal talents of Lisa Asher and Jeff Waxman joined the cabaret, Lisa as the director, and Jeff, the musical director. The show has been performed five times in the

last three years and on September 8, The Ripple Effect will be per-formed at Pinecroft at Crosley Estate to benefit St. Aloysius. It is so fantastic to use the gifts you have to make a positive difference,” Emerson states.

“D.C. Anderson said you have to earn your ballad. The cabaret has to be funny and engaging. The songs must be tied together, and

illustrate the theme or story you are trying to relay, which for me was the belief that we make a difference each day.”

Written and performed by Emerson, the one-woman show is a collection of personal stories, jokes, and quotes. The songs are pulled from Broadway, bluegrass, and pop. And the response the show has received is sensational. In addition to its robust entertain-ment value, the show truly provides enrichment into others’ lives. The Ripple Effect proves as a reminder to all that every person does make a difference, and we must capitalize on this knowledge to use our talents and heart to pay it forward and create positive ripples. Emerson says, “The shows I feel the best about are the shows that have touched people and made a difference in their lives.”

There is an abundance of ways to make positive ripples and incredible people of all ages are doing their part to make a differ-ence in others’ lives. People like Roger Grein who is a man who has lived his entire life as a testament to his faith, showing the world benevolence, generosity, and kindness.

Eleven years ago, Grein was having lunch with Dr. James C. Votruba, who was President of Northern Kentucky University. Over lunch, Dr. Votruba shared with Grein that there was a founda-tion that supported a program on the college level where each class was provided money to give to a nonprofit of their choice. Grein left the conversation thinking what a spectacular idea this was. He believes everything he has is a gift from God, and as stewards of God, we are to give back and help. Every year Grein struggled with deciding which worthy charities he would support because there were so many he wanted to help. After his conversation with Dr. Votruba, Grein recognized an optimal opportunity to still give his money to charitable organizations, but also get youth involved. His hope was for student’s involvement to speak to their hearts and they would continue to stay involved in philanthropic efforts long after participating in the program.

“Look at the potential this opportunity could have, it could cause a ripple effect that would not only touch the student’s hearts, but would also influence everyone they touched,” Grein says. He contacted Father Michael J. Graham, S.J., president of Xavier Uni-versity, to share his idea and Father Graham was willing to take a chance with this program. Ten years later, and Xavier has given more than $200,000 to local charities.

At Xavier, this opportunity was presented as a part of a class. The assignment was for students to break into groups and deter-mine which type of charity they wanted to help. The students would research different charities and discern which were most worthy of receiving the funds. They would consider the budget, the type of impact the money would make, and exactly how the funds would be used. A number of the students became so invested in the charities, and they began to volunteer on their own time.

“It really changes their hearts in a significant way. Every spring, the students host an award ceremony where they give the donations

to the chosen charities. This ceremony has a profound impact on the students, teachers, and recipients, it is truly a phenomenal ex-perience,” Grein says.

Seeing how successful the program was at Xavier, Grein want-ed to expand the impact and he began financially supporting the program at eight different colleges. He then joined forces with Campus Compact, (a coalition of college and university presidents, committed to fulfilling the public purposes of higher education) knowing the partnership would increase the program’s potential. Grein signed a contract to financially support 16 colleges through Campus Compact.

In 2008 when the financial markets turned for the worse, Grein took a devastating hit and was no longer able to financially sup-port the colleges. It was a terribly sorrowful time for him, but he recognized that he had his health, friends, and most importantly, he had God. His God was not his money and he knew this, and it helped him get through the extreme financial loss he had incurred. Campus Compact was aware of Grein’s situation, and not wanting to let Grein down or put an end to the program, they applied for a grant, and four months later, called Grein to tell him that they had been awarded the funding for the program. Grein was elated. The three-year grant Campus Compact received was worth $3 million. They were able to continue the program, and even expand from 16 colleges to 34. It was at this time Grein formed the nonprofit organization, Magnified Giving. Since he could no longer write donation checks, he concentrated his efforts on raising money for this worthy cause.

Four years ago, Grein approached Todd Forman with the idea of starting the program on the high school level. They began with seven high schools, and it has grown to 21 with a plan to continue to expand. The program is funded on the high school level through the gracious donations of people around the community through Magnified Giving. Grein has created waves with his generosity, propensity for helping others, and his kind and altruistic heart.

“Roger had approached me about implementing the Magnified Giving program here at Mount Notre Dame. I had been involved with student philanthropy for five years prior to our discussion and believed whole-heartedly in the value of the program. The program has taken off and we should be up to nearly 30 schools by summer. The hope is that the program is sustainable and con-tinues to grow and cause a ripple effect. This effect has already been observed. A Seton High School student went on to start her own nonprofit after being inspired through her participation with Magnified Giving. Another student took the initiative to organize a student walk and rose over $20,000 for the program. I’m sure a number of our students will be inspired to start their own philan-thropic ventures or join philanthropic efforts. Once it starts, you can’t control it.”

–Todd Forman, Teacher at Mount Notre Dame High School.

In the eyes of every child, who lives on the street and imagines hope for a better life, we can find a waterfall of pain and tears that in a blink, turns into crystals of inspiration and belief de-picted in this extraordinary piece of artwork, “The Dream”. In the painting, the young child folds up in a cardboard box, escap-ing into his imaginary world from where he finds comfort and peace. Yet the symbolism of the empty pot depicts a lack of food, hunger and starvation, a harsh and cruel street life of beg-ging and constricted with poverty. The child’s feet are marred with bruises, disfigured, battered, and swollen with cuts from running on a line of broken dreams, mental agony, and severe

abuse. And yet, in his mind, he has found refuge away from his scarred body and anguish from a broken heart. In his rags for clothing, from under the sounds of defeat, arises a warrior with iron wings and a mind like a steel trap that has visions of living a life wallowed in love and victory. A new life that will carry him home to a place of security, compassion, and freedom. “The Dream” echoes sounds of kindness, endless play, and defeat of cries; now there are sounds of laughter and play, where he will no longer shiver in the night from the fear of a broken life and a broken body.

Sean D. Hamilton

www.seandhamiltondesigns.com

The Ripple Effect will be held on September 8 at Pinecroft at Crosley Estate located at 2366 Kipling Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45239. For more information, please contact Thomas Courtney at 513.242.7613 ext. 308. For reservations call 513.318.9039.

St. Aloysius is located at 4721 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH 45237. You can reach them at 513.242.7600 or visit their website at www.staloysiuscincinnati.org.

Anyone can make a ripple, change someone’s heart, and make a difference in another person’s life.

Katelyn Sussli“I am a senior, soon to be graduate of MND. Being exposed to phil-anthropic programs through my school has truly been a blessing in my life. You get to see all of the students become passionate about philanthropy. It is not about being in a classroom and getting a grade for the work, but instead continues out of the class through further volunteer efforts. Philanthropy becomes a part of students and becomes imbedded in them for a lifetime. Mr. Grein is an inspiration, he is so passionate about doing good for others and it ignites that passion into the students. Along the way, they become better people and are ready to change the world for the better.”

Shae Douglass“I have a specific mission in my future volunteer efforts to seek out smaller nonprofits and do what I can to help them. It is great to see so many youth that are getting involved and have becoming passionate about volunteering.”

Katie von Erden“People that are so young can do so much and this is very inspiring. In the future, I want to make sure that I continue to be involved in different organizations and influence my family and friends to get involved as well.”

Molly Savage“Going out into the community allowed me to recognize all of the good works organizations are doing and how passionate they are and it has influenced me to want to help and give back.”

Megan Desrosiers“It has been fantastic to work with amazing people that are helping others out of the goodness of their heart.”

It was through Magnified Giving that Seton High School was able to award a grant to St. Aloysius. Through their compassionate ser-vitude to children and families through diverse education, mental health, and other specialized programs, St. Aloysius is making ripples by improving and promoting success in the lives of children. And it is through the support of others in the community that will allow this incredible organization to continue to flourish and grow, allowing them to make a significant difference in other’s lives. You can help to support St. Aloysius by joining them on September 8 for The Ripple Ef-fect. The event’s VIP reception will be hosted by Drew and Lea Lachey.

The Lachey’s have a love for performing and wanted to bring their years of experience back to their hometown of Cincinnati. They are offering students ages 14-19 who have a passion for performing a unique opportunity to attend Lachey Arts camp. It is not limited to individuals with a history in dance, drama, and vocal music, but is open to any student with a desire to perform. The camp will be held August 6-17 and will be hosted by an amazing faculty of working pro-fessionals from New York and LA. The group is enthralled to not only teach the students but to demonstrate first-hand the discipline, self-respect, and hard work that it takes to make it in the entertainment industry. For more information, visit www.lacheyarts.com.

Take this opportunity to challenge yourself to take action and ex-tend a hand to help another. There are countless organizations that need your help, organizations with the mission to create better lives for individuals and fortify our community. Institutions like St. Aloy-sius who understand the dire need to support, nurture, educate, and lift up the children of our community. They understand the child in the artwork, who has been beaten down, abused, and neglected and they embrace that child. St. Aloysius serves as a beacon of hope and solace for children in need. Delve deep inside of your heart, utilize your gifts and talents, and reach out to make a ripple that will resonate through the core of our community. We are not small, we are signifi-cant, and we have the capability to change the world.