About

Judge Ballinger
Judge Teresa Ballinger

A little history…

In 2009, Judge Teresa Ballinger was introduced to the education curriculum “Bridges out of Poverty.” After learning new information on how to help people who were under-resourced, she decided to introduce the information to the Marion Community. In 2010, the first poverty simulation along with a community-wide Bridges out of Poverty training was held to educate the community.

After a couple successful training’s, a Bridges Steering Committee formed and Marion Matters was created. In 2011, Marion Matters applied to become incorporated and the following year applied for their 501(c)3 status.

2011
Marion Matters was created

2000+
Community Members with Bridges Training

300+
Community Members Helped Out of Poverty

Michelle Wood and Jody Demo-Hodgins discuss their experience with the Getting Ahead program through Marion Matters.

After several years of running Getting Ahead programming the organization added another program to serve employers and employees in the workforce. In 2016, the Marion Area Employer Resource Network was formed and a Success Coach started serving employees within the walls of businesses.

Our Team

Funding Partners

Thank you to our funding partners! We appreciate your support and generosity as we continue to educate people in the Marion community.

United Way logo
Marion County Job and Family Services logo
Marion Community Foundation logo
Pillar Credit Union logo
OhioHealth logo

Business Sponsors

Johnson Property Services logo
Dostal & Kirk logo