MJ Eckhouse Memorial Scholarship and Grant Fund
Donation protected
This fundraising campaign is for two purposes: 1) an endowed scholarship at Kent State University for an LGBTQ or ally student who is active in social justice work on or off campus; and 2) an endowed grant at the Portage Foundation to support collaborative and intersectional projects working to improve lived equality and advance social justice in Northeast Ohio. We are aiming to start each of these funds with $25K initial balance. While this fundraising page is up and active, it is hardly going to be the last of the efforts. I can promise that any contributor to this fundraiser will get a nifty reminder of why we're trying to raise these funds- to do what MJ would have if he were still here and improve the world one step at a time while being a little bit of a beacon of hope. Plus a thank you card from MJ's husband and partner in crime, Lis. You can see their wedding photos and website (after log in) on Wedding Wire .
Whether you can contribute or not, you are more important than your money. If you care to share, join the Facebook group and share how you are working to honor MJ's memory or otherwise repair the world.
MJ and Lis in Blackhand Gorge, Ohio in the fall of 2020. Photo by MJ Eckhouse.
On the 21st of October, 2020, my beloved husband and an active member of our community, MJ Eckhouse, passed away suddenly. I'm not going to be repetitive to much in this, and you can read his full obituary at Epstein Memorial Chapel's website, and some of the personal tributes left here (including some from local and state politicians). A stirring full length eulogy by his friend Gerald Biggerstaff is found in Instinct magazine , which illustrates the impact that MJ had on individual members of the local LGBTQ community.
MJ before the Brimfest parade in 2018, as manager of Lis's campaign for Portage County Auditor. Photo by Gerald Biggerstaff.
What would MJ do? He'd fight like mad for a better world. Photo by Lis.
Here is just a little of what people and organizations that MJ worked with have had to say about him and his work:
From Fusion Magazine , where he was editor for two years. Fusion is the student-run LGBTQ magazine for Kent State University, where MJ graduated with a Bachelor's in Political Science. His full collection of Fusion writings can be found here . While at Fusion, MJ helped to refresh and recreate the student magazine into a thriving and politically active publication that is read throughout the state.
MJ from the first Akron Pride fest, in August of 2017. Photo by MJ Eckhouse.
From The Ohio Environmental Council, where MJ had recently been promoted to Communications Coordinator. At the OEC, MJ worked to engage people on Facebook, Instagram, the OEC's website, and through email, all for the benefit of helping OEC fight for a better environment. Sometimes that fight meant bringing to light the corruption that got Ohio's HB6 to fruition, sometimes it meant advocating for water rights, sometimes it meant promoting a round-table on the intersection of race and the environment.
MJ and Anne Morrice at the OEC office, in the winter of 2019. Photo by OEC staff.
The place where much of MJ's activism began was Equality Ohio , where he worked as an intern canvassing, building support for local non-discrimination ordinances, talking to state and local leaders, and more to fight for equal rights for the LGBTQ community. In Equality Ohio, he learned the importance of building coalitions, and connecting with people where they were on an issue in order to understand them and help them move further along their path to understanding, thereby taking them along with you toward a common goal.
Siobhan Boyd-Nelson, MJ, and Lis in the Ohio Statehouse for testimony in favor of the Ohio Fairness Act, January of 2018. Photo by Gwen Stembridge.
MJ carried this passion for the LGBTQ community into his professional career with his first full time job at CANAPI (Community AIDS Network/Akron Pride Initiative) as Outreach Specialist. There, he did HIV testing, communications, and worked on the youth housing program as well. He honed his digital media skills, as well as learned the importance of one-on-one interactions with clients, and listened to the stories of a number of folks whose stories are often ignored- homeless youth, sex workers, and addicts among others. He also helped to support the formation of an HIV/AIDS support group for the first time in Summit County, Ohio.
MJ also was a driving force and co-chair for the Portage County Democratic Socialists of America , where he and Lis met and worked together to pass a non-discrimination ordinance in Kent, and later a conversion therapy ban in Kent. In DSA, MJ learned leadership and persistence (not that he didn't know how to be persistent, but how to be more effective with his persistence). MJ made like-minded friends and worked on education and advocacy in social justice causes as wide ranging as prison reform, health care access and affordability, and climate justice.
John, MJ, Mim, Caryn, and Mike at a protest on health care as a human right in Cleveland, in the summer of 2016.
Finally, and possibly most importantly, MJ was a recovering addict, active in a 12-step program. After his death, countless folks shared how MJ had saved their life, helped them get clean, helped them get a job, helped them go back to school, and helped them find a new way to live .
Finally, I (Lis) and the family would like to thank you for considering donating to keeping MJ's work moving forward and making a difference for the NEO community where MJ and I lived and loved before our move to Columbus.
Whether you can contribute or not, you are more important than your money. If you care to share, join the Facebook group and share how you are working to honor MJ's memory or otherwise repair the world.
MJ and Lis in Blackhand Gorge, Ohio in the fall of 2020. Photo by MJ Eckhouse.On the 21st of October, 2020, my beloved husband and an active member of our community, MJ Eckhouse, passed away suddenly. I'm not going to be repetitive to much in this, and you can read his full obituary at Epstein Memorial Chapel's website, and some of the personal tributes left here (including some from local and state politicians). A stirring full length eulogy by his friend Gerald Biggerstaff is found in Instinct magazine , which illustrates the impact that MJ had on individual members of the local LGBTQ community.
MJ before the Brimfest parade in 2018, as manager of Lis's campaign for Portage County Auditor. Photo by Gerald Biggerstaff. What would MJ do? He'd fight like mad for a better world. Photo by Lis.Here is just a little of what people and organizations that MJ worked with have had to say about him and his work:
From Fusion Magazine , where he was editor for two years. Fusion is the student-run LGBTQ magazine for Kent State University, where MJ graduated with a Bachelor's in Political Science. His full collection of Fusion writings can be found here . While at Fusion, MJ helped to refresh and recreate the student magazine into a thriving and politically active publication that is read throughout the state.
MJ from the first Akron Pride fest, in August of 2017. Photo by MJ Eckhouse.From The Ohio Environmental Council, where MJ had recently been promoted to Communications Coordinator. At the OEC, MJ worked to engage people on Facebook, Instagram, the OEC's website, and through email, all for the benefit of helping OEC fight for a better environment. Sometimes that fight meant bringing to light the corruption that got Ohio's HB6 to fruition, sometimes it meant advocating for water rights, sometimes it meant promoting a round-table on the intersection of race and the environment.
MJ and Anne Morrice at the OEC office, in the winter of 2019. Photo by OEC staff.The place where much of MJ's activism began was Equality Ohio , where he worked as an intern canvassing, building support for local non-discrimination ordinances, talking to state and local leaders, and more to fight for equal rights for the LGBTQ community. In Equality Ohio, he learned the importance of building coalitions, and connecting with people where they were on an issue in order to understand them and help them move further along their path to understanding, thereby taking them along with you toward a common goal.
Siobhan Boyd-Nelson, MJ, and Lis in the Ohio Statehouse for testimony in favor of the Ohio Fairness Act, January of 2018. Photo by Gwen Stembridge.MJ carried this passion for the LGBTQ community into his professional career with his first full time job at CANAPI (Community AIDS Network/Akron Pride Initiative) as Outreach Specialist. There, he did HIV testing, communications, and worked on the youth housing program as well. He honed his digital media skills, as well as learned the importance of one-on-one interactions with clients, and listened to the stories of a number of folks whose stories are often ignored- homeless youth, sex workers, and addicts among others. He also helped to support the formation of an HIV/AIDS support group for the first time in Summit County, Ohio.
MJ also was a driving force and co-chair for the Portage County Democratic Socialists of America , where he and Lis met and worked together to pass a non-discrimination ordinance in Kent, and later a conversion therapy ban in Kent. In DSA, MJ learned leadership and persistence (not that he didn't know how to be persistent, but how to be more effective with his persistence). MJ made like-minded friends and worked on education and advocacy in social justice causes as wide ranging as prison reform, health care access and affordability, and climate justice.
John, MJ, Mim, Caryn, and Mike at a protest on health care as a human right in Cleveland, in the summer of 2016. Finally, and possibly most importantly, MJ was a recovering addict, active in a 12-step program. After his death, countless folks shared how MJ had saved their life, helped them get clean, helped them get a job, helped them go back to school, and helped them find a new way to live .
Finally, I (Lis) and the family would like to thank you for considering donating to keeping MJ's work moving forward and making a difference for the NEO community where MJ and I lived and loved before our move to Columbus.
Organizer and beneficiary
Josh Decker
Organizer
Columbus, OH
Lis Regula
Beneficiary