August 31, 2025 • 11 mins
Mindy and Mikaela speak with Bethany Kravitz about SOS/ Scholarship Opportunities for Success, an organization that provides financial aid to Columbus women in need.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Next segment is so wonderful all the way around, as
far as you've been talking about community all day, giving
back and a mother son situation, which is so meaningful.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Because lives have been changed and are being changed by this.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
And how it all started from a small group of
women who golfed that wanted to make a difference in
their community. Have you heard of so os? So os?
When you think of SOS, what do you think of?
What comes to mind?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
So?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I think of save our souls, you know, from like
shipping times, but it's also save our ship.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Sure, yeah, that's what I think. You know, you were
sending out an SOS.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yes, and now an SOS. But this is scholarship Opportunities
for success.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
It's outstanding and there's an event coming up next month
and it is what's the name of it, Popped the cork. Yes,
pops SOS, Pops the cork. It's I had a great
time at this event last year. I helped them see it.
I'm going to be back there next year helping out.
But it's the cause. So we have Bethany Kravitz and
(01:04):
her son Bryce in here. We mentioned a mother son
situation and you're going to figure out and find out
why this is so important to you, Bethany and also
to your son.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Welcome. Thank you so Bethany, Yet tell us a little
bit about You're the board president right now, but this
organization means a lot to you, so tell us a
little bit of your story.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
It does. So SOS I heard about when I was
going through a pretty ugly divorce and had a son
who was pretty little, and I needed to figure out
how we were going to secure our financial future. And
so my attorney at the time told me about SOS
and said, you know, this is worth looking into. I
knew I wanted to go back to school to be
(01:44):
a nurse, and so I applied. From two thousand and
eight till twenty ten. They were gracious enough to help
me with childcare so that I could go to school
and have somewhere for Bryce to go during the day,
And so I went to school, I became a nurse.
I started volunteering for that organization after that, and here
I am years and years later, and I'm now the president.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
But how awesome that there's a group out there that
their main goal is just to help pay for college
for young ladies who can't afford it. Otherwise.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Yeah, and I think the coolest thing about our group
is we yes, we pay for tuition, but we take
away any barriers that women have to going to school.
So you know, like I said, you know, for me
in my case, they helped pay for childcare so that
I could go to class. But we also cover books,
you know, tuition, bus passes, gas cards, childcare, any barrier
that's out there that you know prevents a woman to
(02:37):
go from attending class.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
And going to school, and you guys have it's amazing.
So twenty five years old, the organization is and going strong.
What is it taken to find the commitments you need
over twenty five years, because you guys have done a
lot of great work.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Yes, and you know, as Mindy said, it started out
as just a handful of women. In the first year
they actually gave away two scholarships a total I think
one thousand dollars. And so you know, we're we've grown
and grown and grown. We have fourteen dedicated all volunteer
board members, lots of fundraising, lots of soliciting, lots of
just getting our name out there, and happy to report
(03:15):
we have now given over one million dollars in scholarships
to recipients over that twenty five years.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Can you believe that just a decision made twenty five
years ago with a group of friends out on a
golf course, Hey, let's do something. Let's do something to
help others, Bethinity, can you share a couple of the situations,
like the stories of the recipients and what they've endured
and who you've helped, and then we want your son
to talk to.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Yeah, I'll tell you a lot of our recipients have
very similar stories. You know. One thing that we specifically
look for our women who have overcome some kind of
a life barrier. You know, a lot of our women
have been you know, sexually trafficked, They've been you know,
involved in either addiction themselves or family members or homeless.
(04:00):
The stories out there are just heartbreaking. But then you know,
to see the difference that we can make in their
lives is just so rewarding and refreshing. Yeah. At our
fundraising events, we always have a recipient come and tell
her story and I'll tell you, if you're not crying
by the end of that, there's something, there's something wrong.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
How did you learn about them, Mindy, Like, how did
you get involved.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
They asked me to see their event last year, so
really that's how I heard of it all, and I
was so impressed with it. And it was right toward
the end of Cammi's college career, and I know what
education can do in women, and I know the importance
for it, so I was really I was touched to
be part of it. But I want to hear from you, Bryce,
because what your mom has done and accomplished all because
(04:44):
somebody else cared. Really, Yeah, she.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Has a great story and I'm very thankful to, you know,
just have her as my mom and have SOS. I
really can't even remember a time when I wasn't around SOS,
and I think of sos as like my SOS grandmother's
what I call them now, So I can't even remember
not having them, but having their support over the years
and now being able to support the organization and give
back into the organization is just great and it's a
(05:09):
great story.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Do you think that part of like you're a very
mature twenty one year old, I mean, in talking before
the show starting to be he was fifty one. Yeah, seriously,
so I love Do you think your mom's experience when
you were young. Do you think that has contributed to
who you are as a student and a full time
employee right now?
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Absolutely? I mean she's my motivation for sure. I look
at her and when things get tougher, I have a
tough day, I'm like, well, my mom got through it
and she wasn't a much worse spot than I was.
So she's absolutely my motivation every day.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
So what do you say to people as far as
you know what? It really does matter when you reach
out to help others, whether you know them or not.
No one knows what people's background is all the time,
you know, and we don't know what people experience on
a day to day basis. But you who saw this
organization to now you're involved in it, But really it
all started with just reaching out and helping your mom
and to look at both of.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
You, yeah, absolutely, I mean just being she's dragged me
along from the start and now I get to help
other people and it's great. And you never know what
someone's going through. It's hard to look at someone and
you can only learn so much as from looking at them.
You never know what's going on behind the scenes, what
they're dealing with. So to be able to support people
that you don't really know a whole lot about them
at the beginning, but the more you're around, the more
(06:26):
you get to know about them. It's just it's great.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So, okay, a couple different ways to get involved. Obviously,
people can donate to the organization or attend the event.
Tell folks how they can do a little bit of both.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Yeah, let me tell you a little bit about the
event too. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year.
We really count on this to bring in the majority
of our funding. It is called SOS Pops the Cork.
It's going to be on Thursday, September eighteenth, from six
thirty to nine pm at York Golf Club and that's
the one right there in Worthington. Tickets are fifty dollars.
They can be purchased on our website and our website
(06:59):
is so S Grants dot org. This year is going
to be pretty fun. We've got a couple of new
things that we're doing this year. We're calling it the
Scholarship Challenge, and this is basically a booth that we're
going to have set up that people can come up
and make any any donation that they feel comfortable with.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Our goal.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
We want to see ten thousand dollars. We're going to
have this really cool wine bottle thermostat that'll climb each
time a donation is made. And in addition to that,
we have a fifty to fifty raffle. Obviously it's a
wine tasting. Pops the cork.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
We're going to be popping.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
We're going to pop some course. We're going to have games,
we have food coming from eight local restaurants. There's going
to be live music, a silent auction. Our silent auction
does include a lot of trips, golf packages, sports tickets,
just kind of anything that you can think of, just
a kind of a wide variety of things. So again,
(07:53):
you can visit our website to get your tickets. There's
also a donate button on our page if you just
heard about us and you think that you to help
and make a donation. We take anything and are super
thankful for it.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Awesome, Well, sounds like a great event, So glad you
guys could come in again. Can be the website one
more time.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Yeah, and this is also if you know anyone who
sounds like they might fit to apply for our scholarship.
It's sosgrants dot org. There is a spot to apply now.
The window is only open from March first to May
thirty first each year. But this year we were able
to award nineteen recipients a little over eighty two thousand dollars.
(08:34):
Another unique thing, let me throw this in there real quick,
is is we do supply a mentor for each recipient
that we pick, and that mentor is just a cheerleader
in the background. We also help with you know, their
paperwork submission that they have to submit to us. You know,
we pay the institutions directly, so we help them through
things like that. But the biggest thing I think that
you know, when I was a recipient is I just
(08:54):
had somebody that believed in me. And you know, I
think some of these girls, you know, they're going through
some really really tough time in their life and to
have somebody say we're in your corner and we've got
your back and we believe in you is so powerful.
So again, sosgrants dot org. We are on Facebook, we
are on Instagram. We do, you know, kind of look
(09:14):
for a specific group of people. We do only award
scholarships to women. They have to be here in the
central Ohio area or close to so all that information
is available on our website.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
All right, one last thing before we let you go.
If you could say anything to anyone to get them
to give a little bit, to donate their time, to
donate a little bit of money, it would be.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
What any all of the above. I think we had
a fundraiser earlier this year and the girl that came
to speak was a former recipient, and I think she
summed it up when she said she didn't think that
any of this was going to be possible. And you know,
she's graduated through school and she really just it was
(09:58):
just inspiring because she heard one person talk at an
event and she heard that person say, you know I
did it. You know we can get through this, and
it inspired her to stay in school. She had a
son and you know, kind of a very similar situation
as mine. And after the event, she came up to
me and she said, it was you. You were the
(10:18):
reason that I knew I could do this. And you know,
oh gosh, could bring tears in my eyes while I
talk about it, but I think, you know, this is
why I do what I do. Right, any anything that
people can donate, especially you know money. We're always looking
for volunteers, ideas on fundraisers, really anything. You can also
reach out to us at by email. There's a there's
(10:39):
an email for us. It's called it's info at SOOS
Grants dot org. If you have any questions or ideas,
we are open to any of those.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Bethnane and Bryce, thank you so much for being here today.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
What a beautiful mother son relationship you'll have that forever.
You better marry someone she likes.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
You.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Heard it here first price if you haven't heard it before,
This is what matters on sixtent WTV
Next segment is so wonderful all the way around, as
far as you've been talking about community all day, giving
back and a mother son situation, which is so meaningful.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Because lives have been changed and are being changed by this.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
And how it all started from a small group of
women who golfed that wanted to make a difference in
their community. Have you heard of so os? So os?
When you think of SOS, what do you think of?
What comes to mind?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
So?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I think of save our souls, you know, from like
shipping times, but it's also save our ship.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Sure, yeah, that's what I think. You know, you were
sending out an SOS.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yes, and now an SOS. But this is scholarship Opportunities
for success.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
It's outstanding and there's an event coming up next month
and it is what's the name of it, Popped the cork. Yes,
pops SOS, Pops the cork. It's I had a great
time at this event last year. I helped them see it.
I'm going to be back there next year helping out.
But it's the cause. So we have Bethany Kravitz and
(01:04):
her son Bryce in here. We mentioned a mother son
situation and you're going to figure out and find out
why this is so important to you, Bethany and also
to your son.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Welcome. Thank you so Bethany, Yet tell us a little
bit about You're the board president right now, but this
organization means a lot to you, so tell us a
little bit of your story.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
It does. So SOS I heard about when I was
going through a pretty ugly divorce and had a son
who was pretty little, and I needed to figure out
how we were going to secure our financial future. And
so my attorney at the time told me about SOS
and said, you know, this is worth looking into. I
knew I wanted to go back to school to be
(01:44):
a nurse, and so I applied. From two thousand and
eight till twenty ten. They were gracious enough to help
me with childcare so that I could go to school
and have somewhere for Bryce to go during the day,
And so I went to school, I became a nurse.
I started volunteering for that organization after that, and here
I am years and years later, and I'm now the president.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
But how awesome that there's a group out there that
their main goal is just to help pay for college
for young ladies who can't afford it. Otherwise.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Yeah, and I think the coolest thing about our group
is we yes, we pay for tuition, but we take
away any barriers that women have to going to school.
So you know, like I said, you know, for me
in my case, they helped pay for childcare so that
I could go to class. But we also cover books,
you know, tuition, bus passes, gas cards, childcare, any barrier
that's out there that you know prevents a woman to
(02:37):
go from attending class.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
And going to school, and you guys have it's amazing.
So twenty five years old, the organization is and going strong.
What is it taken to find the commitments you need
over twenty five years, because you guys have done a
lot of great work.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Yes, and you know, as Mindy said, it started out
as just a handful of women. In the first year
they actually gave away two scholarships a total I think
one thousand dollars. And so you know, we're we've grown
and grown and grown. We have fourteen dedicated all volunteer
board members, lots of fundraising, lots of soliciting, lots of
just getting our name out there, and happy to report
(03:15):
we have now given over one million dollars in scholarships
to recipients over that twenty five years.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Can you believe that just a decision made twenty five
years ago with a group of friends out on a
golf course, Hey, let's do something. Let's do something to
help others, Bethinity, can you share a couple of the situations,
like the stories of the recipients and what they've endured
and who you've helped, and then we want your son
to talk to.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Yeah, I'll tell you a lot of our recipients have
very similar stories. You know. One thing that we specifically
look for our women who have overcome some kind of
a life barrier. You know, a lot of our women
have been you know, sexually trafficked, They've been you know,
involved in either addiction themselves or family members or homeless.
(04:00):
The stories out there are just heartbreaking. But then you know,
to see the difference that we can make in their
lives is just so rewarding and refreshing. Yeah. At our
fundraising events, we always have a recipient come and tell
her story and I'll tell you, if you're not crying
by the end of that, there's something, there's something wrong.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
How did you learn about them, Mindy, Like, how did
you get involved.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
They asked me to see their event last year, so
really that's how I heard of it all, and I
was so impressed with it. And it was right toward
the end of Cammi's college career, and I know what
education can do in women, and I know the importance
for it, so I was really I was touched to
be part of it. But I want to hear from you, Bryce,
because what your mom has done and accomplished all because
(04:44):
somebody else cared. Really, Yeah, she.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Has a great story and I'm very thankful to, you know,
just have her as my mom and have SOS. I
really can't even remember a time when I wasn't around SOS,
and I think of sos as like my SOS grandmother's
what I call them now, So I can't even remember
not having them, but having their support over the years
and now being able to support the organization and give
back into the organization is just great and it's a
(05:09):
great story.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Do you think that part of like you're a very
mature twenty one year old, I mean, in talking before
the show starting to be he was fifty one. Yeah, seriously,
so I love Do you think your mom's experience when
you were young. Do you think that has contributed to
who you are as a student and a full time
employee right now?
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Absolutely? I mean she's my motivation for sure. I look
at her and when things get tougher, I have a
tough day, I'm like, well, my mom got through it
and she wasn't a much worse spot than I was.
So she's absolutely my motivation every day.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
So what do you say to people as far as
you know what? It really does matter when you reach
out to help others, whether you know them or not.
No one knows what people's background is all the time,
you know, and we don't know what people experience on
a day to day basis. But you who saw this
organization to now you're involved in it, But really it
all started with just reaching out and helping your mom
and to look at both of.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
You, yeah, absolutely, I mean just being she's dragged me
along from the start and now I get to help
other people and it's great. And you never know what
someone's going through. It's hard to look at someone and
you can only learn so much as from looking at them.
You never know what's going on behind the scenes, what
they're dealing with. So to be able to support people
that you don't really know a whole lot about them
at the beginning, but the more you're around, the more
(06:26):
you get to know about them. It's just it's great.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So, okay, a couple different ways to get involved. Obviously,
people can donate to the organization or attend the event.
Tell folks how they can do a little bit of both.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Yeah, let me tell you a little bit about the
event too. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year.
We really count on this to bring in the majority
of our funding. It is called SOS Pops the Cork.
It's going to be on Thursday, September eighteenth, from six
thirty to nine pm at York Golf Club and that's
the one right there in Worthington. Tickets are fifty dollars.
They can be purchased on our website and our website
(06:59):
is so S Grants dot org. This year is going
to be pretty fun. We've got a couple of new
things that we're doing this year. We're calling it the
Scholarship Challenge, and this is basically a booth that we're
going to have set up that people can come up
and make any any donation that they feel comfortable with.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Our goal.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
We want to see ten thousand dollars. We're going to
have this really cool wine bottle thermostat that'll climb each
time a donation is made. And in addition to that,
we have a fifty to fifty raffle. Obviously it's a
wine tasting. Pops the cork.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
We're going to be popping.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
We're going to pop some course. We're going to have games,
we have food coming from eight local restaurants. There's going
to be live music, a silent auction. Our silent auction
does include a lot of trips, golf packages, sports tickets,
just kind of anything that you can think of, just
a kind of a wide variety of things. So again,
(07:53):
you can visit our website to get your tickets. There's
also a donate button on our page if you just
heard about us and you think that you to help
and make a donation. We take anything and are super
thankful for it.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Awesome, Well, sounds like a great event, So glad you
guys could come in again. Can be the website one
more time.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Yeah, and this is also if you know anyone who
sounds like they might fit to apply for our scholarship.
It's sosgrants dot org. There is a spot to apply now.
The window is only open from March first to May
thirty first each year. But this year we were able
to award nineteen recipients a little over eighty two thousand dollars.
(08:34):
Another unique thing, let me throw this in there real quick,
is is we do supply a mentor for each recipient
that we pick, and that mentor is just a cheerleader
in the background. We also help with you know, their
paperwork submission that they have to submit to us. You know,
we pay the institutions directly, so we help them through
things like that. But the biggest thing I think that
you know, when I was a recipient is I just
(08:54):
had somebody that believed in me. And you know, I
think some of these girls, you know, they're going through
some really really tough time in their life and to
have somebody say we're in your corner and we've got
your back and we believe in you is so powerful.
So again, sosgrants dot org. We are on Facebook, we
are on Instagram. We do, you know, kind of look
(09:14):
for a specific group of people. We do only award
scholarships to women. They have to be here in the
central Ohio area or close to so all that information
is available on our website.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
All right, one last thing before we let you go.
If you could say anything to anyone to get them
to give a little bit, to donate their time, to
donate a little bit of money, it would be.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
What any all of the above. I think we had
a fundraiser earlier this year and the girl that came
to speak was a former recipient, and I think she
summed it up when she said she didn't think that
any of this was going to be possible. And you know,
she's graduated through school and she really just it was
(09:58):
just inspiring because she heard one person talk at an
event and she heard that person say, you know I
did it. You know we can get through this, and
it inspired her to stay in school. She had a
son and you know, kind of a very similar situation
as mine. And after the event, she came up to
me and she said, it was you. You were the
(10:18):
reason that I knew I could do this. And you know,
oh gosh, could bring tears in my eyes while I
talk about it, but I think, you know, this is
why I do what I do. Right, any anything that
people can donate, especially you know money. We're always looking
for volunteers, ideas on fundraisers, really anything. You can also
reach out to us at by email. There's a there's
(10:39):
an email for us. It's called it's info at SOOS
Grants dot org. If you have any questions or ideas,
we are open to any of those.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Bethnane and Bryce, thank you so much for being here today.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
What a beautiful mother son relationship you'll have that forever.
You better marry someone she likes.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
You.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Heard it here first price if you haven't heard it before,
This is what matters on sixtent WTV
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