CINCINNATI — Arin Gentry has loved reading since she was a little kid.

But it wasn’t until she was an adult that she realized what was missing from the books she read when she was little: Positive stories about Black people written by Black authors.

“I really can’t tell you many books that I read when I was coming up that were written by Black authors,” said Gentry, 26, an academic adviser at the University of Cincinnati. “The stories that we would read would be about civil rights or slavery. And that’s important to know. But it also gets, ‘OK – I get it,’ you know?”

So in the summer of 2020, when Gentry was pregnant with her son, she started a Black literature book drive.

“The goal was to make sure that young people who look like me – but also young people who don’t look like me – are able to have access to books that represent Black people in a positive manner,” she said. “Being able to provide that for young people, it means a lot to me.”

Lucy May | WCPO

Gentry put out the call on social media, asking for donations of new books or money to purchase new books. She ended up with 1,000 books to donate to kids in the community and said she knew she had to keep it going. Her second book drive early this year was twice as successful.

RELATED: Her book drive makes sure Black kids read happy stories, too

“All together, about 3,000 books I’ve donated,” she said. “And again, all of these books are brand new books written by Black authors that share Black stories in a positive manner.”

Because of that work, the Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati this month named Gentry a “Reading Hero.”

“We think it’s so important to have those cheerleaders in our own lives that help us become strong readers,” said Michelle Otten Guenther, the Literacy Network’s president. “When children struggle with reading early on, they kind of get stuck and they tell themselves, oh, I’m not a good reader. And then that spills over to other areas or other subjects.”

‘Her excitement is contagious’

Gentry has gone “above and beyond,” Guenther said, to encourage young people to read by making sure they have books that inspire them and relate to their lives.

“I really do believe that what Arin is doing is an act of compassion and kindness for our community,” she said. “That’s something that we always talk about – how books can teach us empathy because they teach us about people who are different from us. They teach us about people with different experiences.”

But Gentry, she said, is taking that a step further.

Courtesy of Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati

“She’s actually making sure that those books are getting out there,” Guenther said. “Her excitement is contagious.”

To expand on her work, Gentry started the As Told By Foundation, a nonprofit organization working to close the literacy gap by providing youth with books that feature positive Black characters and stories.

“I read to my son every day, so I know how important it is,” she said. “But I also realize that everyone does not have the same type of access and privilege as I may have or as my son may have.”

Her goal, she said, is not simply to encourage kids to read but also to give them the books that will empower them.

“I love being able to do work in my community for those who may have had similar experiences as me growing up,” she said. “I want to do my part to make the world a better place.”

Not only for her son, she said, but for every young person in the community.

Courtesy of Arin Gentry

Arin Gentry plans to launch another Black literature book drive in early 2022. For information about how you can contribute books or donate money, go to her As Told By Foundation website.

Acts of Kindness stories appear weekly on WCPO 9 News and WCPO.com. If you know about an act of kindness that you think should be highlighted, email lucy.may@wcpo.com.

Protests against police brutality have emerged in cities across America following the death of George Floyd, including in Cincinnati.

Hear Cincinnati podcast host Brian Niesz is joined by WCPO reporters Kristen Swilley and Josh Bazan to talk about covering the protests and their effects on the city. "'You could hear people breaking glass, but you weren't exactly sure where it was coming from," Swilley recalled.

WCPO reporters Larry Seward and Paola Suro join to discuss why arrestees were held outside overnight and address reports that arrestees were deprived of food and water while detained.

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LIBERTY TOWNERSHIP, Ohio — What started as a class assignment ended up igniting a philanthropic fire within Aidan Turner.

It all started his freshman year at Lakota East High School. Aidan and his classmates had to research a nonprofit organization as part of their English classes. Each student then wrote a speech about why their chosen organizations deserved a $1,000 donation through the school’s Magnified Giving program.

Each English class picked which speech they liked best. A panel of judges narrowed the winners down to a few finalists, and the entire school decided the winner.

And while Aidan didn’t win, he advocated for GLAD House, the same organization picked by his friend who did win.

Courtesy of Magnified Giving

“So I got to be part of the ceremony, where we gave $1,000,” he said. “It was really fun. I learned a lot about a lot, you could say.”

He learned about GLAD House and the children it serves as the organization works to break the cycle of addiction. He learned about Magnified Giving and its founder, Roger Grein, who spent years quietly giving away his own money before he launched Magnified Giving. And he learned about philanthropy and how much joy it could bring.

“It shows you how good giving can be and how that’s just an amazing feeling to give back to other people,” Aidan said. “When you actually work with kids and you work with people and you experience that joy of just giving and helping out – that is the real payout for me.”

And that’s the goal of Magnified Giving, said Alison Kaufman, the nonprofit organization’s director of programs.

Lucy May | WCPO

“Our goal is to support educators and youth development leaders in our region to educate, inspire and engage their youth to care about their community and others,” Kaufman said. “We are so fortunate to engage with dozens of students like Aidan every single year. However, he really struck us, because we saw his passion, the depth of his knowledge through his research on the organization and also the empathy that he showed for the youth that that organization was supporting.”

‘Our youth will change our world’

“We saw in that moment, a lifelong philanthropist was developed,” she said. “And this was a ninth-grade student.”

Aidan is a sophomore now, busy with classes, marching band and his other activities.

But he said he’s determined to stay involved with Magnified Giving and philanthropy.

“I told them I want to be involved every year you do this. We’ve got to figure something out,” he said. “There’s no Magnified Giving program here at the main campus, so that’s my next goal.”

Kaufman said Magnified Giving is determined to stay connected to Aidan, too, because of the enthusiasm he showed for the program and for philanthropy.

Lucy May | WCPO

“We believe that our youth will change our world for the better,” she said.

Magnified Giving supports 120 programs at schools and youth leadership organizations this academic year, Kaufman said, and aims to keep growing.

“We are creating a kinder, more empathetic, more compassionate group of young community leaders,” she said. “It’s truly something that all of us can learn from. And if we as adults just step back and listen to our youth, we’re all going to be better and kinder for it.”

Aidan said he never thought he had the ability to give back until his involvement with Magnified Giving. Now he hopes more people will try giving their time, talents or money to make the community a better place.

“Go make someone’s day, make them happy, help them out,” he said. “And I think you’ll be surprised about how happy it will make you feel in return.”

Lucy May | WCPO

More information about Magnified Giving – including how to donate and how schools can get involved – is available online.

Acts of Kindness stories appear weekly on WCPO 9 News and WCPO.com. If you know about an act of kindness that you think should be highlighted, email lucy.may@wcpo.com.

CINCINNATI — Valerie Lane finally has a new place to call home.

WCPO 9 first reported her story last month.

A ceiling in Lane's Westwood apartment had collapsed, and rain had soaked much of her clothing, furniture and other belongings. The landlord told all the building’s tenants they had to move by Sept. 30, but Lane was struggling to find a place to go.

RELATED: She has eight days to move but nowhere to go

Many readers and viewers responded to Lane’s story with offers to help. On Friday, help arrived.

Movers hired by Neighborhoods United began loading up her belongings to take them to her new home at City West in Cincinnati’s West End.

“I feel better,” she said Friday, sitting on her couch as her living room ceiling dripped and movers worked around her. “I feel better that I am, you know, at least going toward a better thing.”

Eric Clajus | WCPO

Neighborhoods United raised $2,000 to help Lane — initially planning to use that money to temporarily move her into a hotel so she could leave her place in Westwood, said chair Brian Garry.

But Lane didn’t want to leave her possessions behind because she has been robbed in the past, Garry said, so she stayed in Westwood until Garry found her someplace to move.

“She’s a disabled senior citizen, and she deserves better than this,” Garry said. “Normally, I’m a pretty connected person, and I can find people housing. I went to all of my resources — all of them. I exhausted my resources. Nobody could do anything.”

Finally, Garry said, he helped Lane find a place at City West. Neighborhoods United paid her application fee and security deposit, he said, and Garry took Lane to sign her lease and pick up her keys Thursday.

‘It can’t be this cold-hearted’

Lane, 64, has a housing choice voucher, the federal housing subsidy more commonly known as Section 8. The voucher was set to expire earlier this year, but she got an extension through the end of September. Garry said he helped her get another extension through the end of October.

Finding a place to accept the voucher was difficult, Garry said, and took much longer than he initially had hoped after first learning about her situation from the WCPO 9 story.

“The market has just gone through the roof, and affordable housing is at an extreme shortage,” he said. “I’m very thankful for the community, because they did come together.”

Courtesy of Brian Garry

Lane gave up hope more than once over the past six weeks, she said.

“It just seemed like don’t nobody care no more. And I say, it can’t be this cold-hearted,” she said. “But I’d say, I know God wouldn’t keep you here for this much pain and not give you a good outcome.”

Lane said she’s eager to have everything moved into her new home so she doesn’t have to think about the apartment in Westwood anymore.

Other tenants, including a woman with a little boy, are still living in the building because they have not been able to find anywhere to move, she said. Lane said she’s hoping maybe they can move to City West, too.

Now that Lane’s outlook is brighter, she said, she has a message for everyone who is following her story.

“Just have a little heart,” she said. “Just be there for each other. And this world will be a whole lot better.”

Lucy May | WCPO

Lucy May writes about the people, places and issues that define our region — to celebrate what makes the Tri-State great and shine a spotlight on problems we need to address. Poverty is an important focus for Lucy and for WCPO 9. To reach Lucy, email lucy.may@wcpo.com. Follow her on Twitter @LucyMayCincy.

This week on the Hear Cincinnati podcast, host Brian Niesz is joined by community reporter Lucy May and senior manager of enterprise/investigative Meghan Goth to discuss the Cincinnati Juneteenth Festival going virtual for 2020, a petition for University of Cincinnati to remove Marge Schott's name from a stadium, the 'Black Lives Matter' mural downtown and more.

Later, at 23:20, Brian is joined by WCPO reporter Monique John to explain what Lincoln Heights' history of economic exclusion and police corruption reveals about what she described as America's "watershed moment in reckoning with police violence."

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Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Mariel Carbone

Many speakers at Monday's Budget and Finance committee meeting said they want city policy to match the message of the Black Lives Matter mural painted on the streets outside.

This week on the Hear Cincinnati podcast, I am joined by community reporter Lucy May and senior manager of broadcast Kennan Oliphant to discuss the use of doulas to reduce pregnancy risks, King's Island reopening with restrictions, Kroger's new Covid tests and more.

Later, at 26:00 mark, WCPO reporter Keenan Singleton joins the podcast to discuss what Black coaches at Xavier University are doing to become leaders and teachers in fight against systemic racism.

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This week on the Hear Cincinnati podcast, host Brian Niesz is joined by community reporter Lucy May and senior manager of enterprise/investigative Meghan Goth to discuss a possible wave of evictions in Hamilton County, trouble with Interstate 75, a local bar closed by police due to "drug sales," and more.

Later, near the 23-minute mark, Brian is joined by Evan Millward to discuss the arrest of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four associates in a $60 million federal bribery case connected to a taxpayer-funded bailout of Ohio’s two nuclear power plants.

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This week on the Hear Cincinnati podcast, host Brian Niesz is joined by senior manager of broadcast Kennan Oliphant and senior manager of enterprise/investigative Meghan Goth to discuss tech for at-home learning, quarantine gambling addiction, roundabouts and more.

Later, near the 31-minute mark, Brian is joined by WCPO reporter Josh Bazan to discuss Cincinnati Public Schools' plan for five weeks of distance learning and concerns from local parents and teachers.

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CINCINNATI — Terry Walls knows how important it is for kids in Lower Price Hill to have a place to spend time in creative and constructive ways -- that’s what he needed growing up in the neighborhood.

That’s why nearly every day for more than a decade, Walls has volunteered his time, energy and know-how at the Joe Williams Family Center on Glenway Avenue.

“I like the center and all that, and the people. It’s great people,” said Walls, 55, as he took a break from tidying up outside the building. “I like doing stuff for the kids to help ‘em out so they got a place to go.”

Walls sweeps leaves, pulls weeds and clears snow outside when needed. He makes a fresh pot of coffee for the center’s staff each morning and takes care of maintenance problems inside. He also stops by every other Sunday to take the recycling cans to the curb.

“He’s just so hardworking and so helpful,” said Jessica Polzin, youth development coordinator at Santa Maria Community Services, which runs the center. “Gosh, I don’t know what we’d do without him here.”

Lucy May | WCPO

He has painted some of the center’s walls, helped hang a chalk board in the kitchen and has helped out with trim work, too, Polzin said.

“There was a time when the sink overflowed, and actually through this art room into the office in back,” she said. “And he helped us pull up the carpet tiles and dry it all out and repair everything.”

And Walls does it all using crutches to help him walk.

An automobile crash in the 1980s made Walls a paraplegic, he said, and he hasn’t been able to feel his legs since.

“It took me a while to learn to walk with these,” he said of the crutches. “And once I got to walking well, and learning how to walk with them, I started doing everything.”

‘Thankful to God’

Walls doesn’t get paid for the work he does at the center.

Polzin said his contributions are priceless.

“Volunteers, especially for this site, are super important because we have so much youth programming and family work that if families are in crisis, it could take all of our attention for days and a lot of youth programming trying to minimize the chaos and make a fun environment for them,” she said. “We don’t always have time to do all of the nitty gritty stuff around here.”

Walls was a youth participant at the center back when it was the Boys Club, he said, and then a Boys & Girls Club.

Jay Warren | WCPO

Polzin said he’s been helping as an adult since long before she started working at Santa Maria 10 years ago.

“He’s super protective of all of us females in here, making sure that we feel safe and there’s not anyone bothering us, which is super sweet as well,” she said. “If he’s not here, we get concerned that something is wrong. We check up on him just like he would all of us.”

And even on days when Walls is feeling tired, Polzin said, he is always asking what he can do to help.

“There’s not a time where he shows any type of selfishness,” she said. “He is always giving back in any way that he can.”

Walls said he’s happy he can do it.

“I’m thankful to God that I’m alive,” he said. “And I’m thankful for what I can do and donate back to this community.”

Lucy May | WCPO

Acts of Kindness stories appear weekly on WCPO 9 News and WCPO.com. If you know about an act of kindness that you think should be highlighted, email lucy.may@wcpo.com.

This week on the Hear Cincinnati podcast, host Brian Niesz is joined by community reporter Lucy May and senior manager of enterprise/investigative Meghan Goth to discuss a community car care clinic, stimulus cards that look like spam, new Bengals uniforms and more.

Next, Brian is joined by WCPO reporter Mariel Carbone to discuss the $77 million mixed-use development at Liberty and Elm streets that was put on pause by City Council after criticism from the Over-the-Rhine Community Council that it would lack any affordable units.

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Students in some places are going back in masks but in other places, it is an optional thing. So many things have changed in what feels like the 11th hour, thanks in large part to this delta variant. WCPO anchor/reporter Evan Milward is joined by superintendents Matt Early from Williamsburg, Jonathan Cooper from Mason, and Mike Borchers from Ludlow Independent to discuss back-to-school in the time of COVID-19.

First our weekly news panel consisting of community reporter Lucy May, senior real-time editor Pat LaFleur and senior manager of enterprise/investigative Meghan Goth to discuss appraisal discrimination, closing power plants, a busy weekend for downtown, and more local Cincinnati news.

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Posted at 5:41 PM, Aug 06, 2021

and last updated 2021-08-06 17:41:18-04

A jury was set to decide the federal wrongful conviction lawsuit of William “Ricky” Virgil against the City of Newport and two former Newport police officers but a U.S. District Court Judge agreed to delay the case. I-Team reporter Paula Christian joins the Hear Cincinnati podcast to explain the case.

First, the weekly Hear Cincinnati podcast panel discuss a new affordable housing plan, a local judge who ordered a COVID-19 as conditioin of probabtion, and a local condo tower ordered to make structural repairs.

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Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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