2022 (C.R.E.D.) Fund Employee Scholarship Winners
In 2019, Y.O.U. commenced the Carol Rivchun Development (C.R.E.D.) Fund Employee Scholarship as a way to enable full-time staff to further their professional development. Staff members apply to pursue an education of their choosing with the fund.
The fund, established through a generous donation from the Swaminathan and Garg Foundation, is administered by College Now, a Cleveland-based non-profit that specializes in designing and delivering educational funding opportunities.
The scholarship is named in honor of former C.E.O. Carol Rivchun, who led Y.O.U. to new heights from 1998 to 2018, and strongly advocated for continuing education of her staff. Below we feature this year’s winners and learn what impact the fund has had for them.
2022 Recipients
Voncille Wratee
Career Specialist Instructor
Voncille is honored to be a recipient of the Carol Rivchun Education Development Scholarship. She will be taking math classes at Tri-C to update her math skills in order to assist her students with tutoring and to work toward the completion of her high school math teaching credentials. She is excited and extremely grateful to complete something she started some time ago.
Kimberly Bell
Director of Compliance
Kim will be obtaining a certificate as an Executive Coach through the Weatherhead School of Management at CWRU. Kim says, “It feels great to be a recipient of the scholarship to fund my commitment to lifelong learning and growth.” She is grateful to be involved with an organization that intentionally supports staff development at all levels.
“I’m excited to learn about being the catalyst for those who are willing and desire growth or change. We could all use a few cheerleaders! It is my hope to always be part of the solution providing helpful guidance and coaching along our Y.O.U. journey.”
Christina Kester
Accounting Specialist
Christina will be taking a Payroll Clerk Training through Penn Foster. This feels impactful to her because before running payroll for Y.O.U., she didn’t have a background in payroll. She hopes to gain a better understanding of taxes, payroll laws, and other payroll related items. By the end of this course she will be able to take an exam to become a Certified Payroll Specialist.
Christina shares, “Gaining this knowledge will not only help me as an individual but will also help me better serve Y.O.U. as I continue to grow in my career here.”
She thanks Y.O.U. for the opportunity to increase her knowledge and continue to grow with the organization.
Tobin Buckner
Director of Employer Partnerships and Training
Tobin is excited to get his Lean Six Sigma certification. He hopes these new skills will enhance his ability to improve his organizational effectiveness by identifying participant requirements, measuring and improving what our clients care about, and help internal interactions with colleagues and partners. He is grateful to Y.O.U. for making this opportunity possible.
Sean O'Brien
Data and Grants Specialist
Sean will be participating in Engage! Cleveland’s Mentorship Program., designed for participants to engage with other young professionals and receive mentorship from someone with industry experience while also developing personal, professional, and civic goals.
Sean sees this as an opportunity for him to learn from an experienced industry professional who is invested in his development. He is also excited to grow his network and have a better pulse on the Cleveland landscape, which will help in his role on the development team. Sean is excited to take what he learns and apply it back to his work at Y.O.U. while furthering his career development and better serving the community.
2021 Winners
Koya Graham
Artemus Carter
Kim Bogan
Cassidy McMahan
2020 Winners
Eric Lewis
Claire Levin