Spring 2021
Board of Directors Josh Gordon, Chair Jason Slater, Vice Chair Jennifer Bidlingmyer, Treasurer Lynne Holcomb, Secretary Jim Bauschlinger Moriah Cheatham-Williams Paul Epner Brett Haverlick Trevor Hunt Mayor William Judge Denny Liddle Elizabeth Mayreis Craig Megyes Jeff Ramnytz Deb Shreiner Staff Suzanne Allen, Ph.D., Executive Director Brett Fogle, CPA, MT, Director of Finance Carrie Herman, Director of Community Impact Kate DeAngelis, Director of Marketing Kim Miller, Office Manager
Thank you to Tom Harnden and Kathy Maybin for their contributions to this article.
The Foundation began with the sale of Barberton Citizens Hospital (now Summa Health - Barberton Campus) and the promise to build the a new Barberton High School. The Foundation makes the last payment on the High School this year.
The Beginnings of the Foundation In 2021, Barberton Community Foundation celebrates our 25th anniversary. As the Foundation considers what lies ahead, we want to recognize the vision of those individuals from our beginnings and share the story of how the Foundation was started.
Their passion for the cause propelled the issue forward and secured the vote in favor of Issue 5. Former Mayor Randy Hart filed paperwork with the State of Ohio to create the new foundation, and the citizens had to vote to approve the arrangement.
Many people know that the Foundation was created in 1996 with proceeds from the sale of Barberton Citizens Hospital. But the details of the residents who coordinated the push to create the Foundation, how Barberton voters learned they had a stake in the sale of the hospital and the impact of that decision, is lesser known.
The first board members selected to form the Foundation were members of the campaign group: Ken Cox, Jack Deuber, Tom Doak , Tom Harnden, Randy Hart, Dan Knorr, Kathy Maybin, Milan Pavkov, Jerry Pecko, Dennis Prough, Leon Ricks, Walt Ritzman, Esther Sarb, Helen Scott and Richard Wakefield. We recognize and thank the campaign leaders, original board members and their families for their leadership and dedication.
We go back to 1995, when the Board of Trustees of Barberton Citizens Hospital grew concerned about the hospital’s ability to compete over The Foundation spoke with Tom Harnden and time with other hospitals in the area. Mergers Kathy Maybin, both members of the original were on the rise, and the hospital voted to Board. Tom and Kathy remember 1996 and accept a bid from Quorum the campaign to get the vote “Everyone was Health Group. for the foundation as a time of unparalleled cooperation. respectful of the Before the hospital could “It was really a wonderful obligation and the be sold however, a major experience in which we all issue had to be resolved. duty we had to do the came together with one The City and the hospital vision,” said Kathy. “Everyone very best possible for was respectful of the had a past agreement: if the hospital were ever sold, obligation and the duty we had the community.” then all assets of the hospital to do the very best possible for -Kathy Maybin, Past Board Member were to revert to the City. the community.” The City, the hospital and a group of citizens decided it would be better Tom was a first-year member of the hospital to try to have the funds invested into a new board. “The timing was just perfect. Jerry Pecko foundation. There was a very active campaign was the Superintendent of the schools at the to educate and convince community members time, and he knew what this sale would mean that creation of a foundation was in the best for Barberton. It became our focus to build a interest of Barberton. The campaign was called new school.” Milan Pavkov, a former “Citizens for Barberton’s Future” and was Continued on Page 5 headed by Lisa Okolish Miller and Gary Matney.
A New Process For Granting
Greetings from the Foundation! As we begin our 25th year, we look back on the good work of the Foundation and note with pride the grants and scholarships given to support the residents of Barberton. Over $109,000,000 dollars have been invested in nonprofits that serve our citizens and have been given to our deserving students so that they can achieve their goals of higher education. The initial sale of Barberton Citizens Hospital created an endowment of $86,000,000 and the interest from that investment continues to support our grantmaking process. Now, as we look ahead to the future of Barberton Community Foundation, we will continue to provide grants to nonprofits serving our city, but we are increasing our focus on the impact of the grants. We ask ourselves regularly, “How are we helping?” and “Are our grants making a difference?” We are also beginning to ask the same questions regarding our scholarship program. To us, it is very important that we continue to help, but it’s equally important to us that our grants and scholarships make a difference. Another area for which the Foundation is actively building momentum is economic development. By working in concert with the City of Barberton and Barberton Community Development Corporation (BCDC), we are developing a plan to increase our involvement, which includes hiring a Director of Economic Development at the Foundation. We will be seeking input from our community as we develop strategies to engage and impact the economic vibrancy of Barberton. We hope that as this year progresses, we are able to resume our in-person events, attend our local festivals, host our annual dinner and celebrate our 25th anniversary in very special ways. Our mission has been, and continues to be, one of service, leadership and collaboration. We will continue to build upon the legacy of the past 25 years, and with your help – “Build a Better Barberton.” Warmly,
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Suzanne Allen, Ph.D. Executive Director
2021 marks an evolution in the granting process for Barberton Community Foundation. This year we transition to three grant cycles annually with a focus area for each cycle. This allows the grants committee to compare projects that each address the focus area in the grant partner’s own unique way.
Carrie Herman Director of Community Impact
The first cycle is Education and Workforce & Economic Development, with a February 1 deadline. We are pleased to share that we were able to grant $87,200 to eight area nonprofits. You can read more about them on the next page. The other grant cycles are Arts and Community (June 1) and Health and Wellness (October 1).
Nonprofits must first submit a letter of inquiry outlining the project they would like to have funded. The letter of inquiry prompts a conversation about the project and allows for the Foundation to determine whether the project meets our mission of strengthening the Barberton community and improving the quality of life for residents. We can also set a reasonable expectation for the amount of funding to request. Most letters of inquiry lead to an invitation to submit a grant application. We are beginning to put more emphasis on who is served through our grants, specifically looking for diversity and inclusion. We want our grants to have long term impact and to make a real difference in peoples’ lives.
Scholarship Season In 2020, due to COVID-19, Barberton Community Foundation could not host the scholarship reception event in partnership with Barberton High School. Instead, the Foundation created a scholarship booklet to commemorate the students who received a Foundation scholarship, community scholarship, or graduated with academic honors from Barberton High School. The Foundation will again provide this booklet for 2021. The booklet will be released in May for senior graduation. As a continuation of our “looking back” theme in this newsletter, the Foundation is proud to share a photo of our first class of scholarship recipients from May 1997. Our first scholarships totaled $49,642.50. After 25 years, the Foundation has awarded more than $4.4 million in scholarships.
New Fund Announcement Barberton Community Foundation is pleased to welcome the Leach Family to the Foundation family with the announcement of the Ray E. Leach, Sr. Memorial Scholarship Fund. Tina, Kathy, Mike, and Ray have decided to honor their father (and Brianna, her grandfather), with a scholarship that will benefit a Barberton student pursuing a trade school or technical education. They will make their first scholarship Ray Leach Sr. with Santa, a award this spring.
Welcome from the Board Chair
favorite family photo.
Ray Sr. was a self-made man who was always helping others. He believed that everyone should have the opportunity to follow their passion and do what they do best. This scholarship is designed to remember Ray Sr. in his belief of a brighter future, his desire to further students’ talents and to help them financially, no matter their passion. This message is shared on behalf of the family: Ray Sr. truly loved his store and his customers became some of his life-long friends. He was passionate about what he did and continued to do it his whole life. Thinking beyond himself, he believed that everyone should have the opportunity to follow their passion and do what they do best. Ray believed everyone had a calling they needed to explore. For some, this may be traditional college, others a job they love right out of high school, and for some it is a trade with a technical education. As Ray Sr.’s family, we have created the Ray E. Leach Memorial Scholarship to celebrate his memory. We want to honor Ray Sr. by offering trade school scholarships to Barberton students. Often times students going into the trades are left out of scholarship opportunities. However, as dad thought, no career path is more important than another. This scholarship is to remember our father in his belief of a brighter future, to further students’ talents and help them financially, no matter their passion. If you would like to support the Ray E. Leach, Sr. Memorial Scholarship Fund, there are several ways to make a donation. Go online at www. barbertoncf.org and click “Donate Now.” You can give Barberton Community Foundation a call at 330-745-5995 or send a check by mail to 460 W. Paige Ave. Barberton, OH 44203. Be sure to mention the Ray Leach Sr. Scholarship as your designee.
BCF is 25 years young this year! As we celebrate, we must continue our work with urgency, especially as we emphasize three distinct focus areas: • Address the needs our community has now (for example, supporting food insecurity). • Provide resources and planning that lay the groundwork for future success (for example, attracting new businesses to Barberton through economic development work). • Manage our finances and investments well to ensure the foundation exists forever (for example, maintain tight controls on our spending policy to ensure future granting). Fortunately, we do not have to do this work alone. We are thrilled to welcome exceptionally smart new Board members this year. Moriah Cheatham-Williams, Elizabeth Mayreis, and Trevor Hunt, welcome… and we are so thankful you have joined our ranks this year. I am excited to see how each of you will apply your gifts to help the Foundation continue our mission to Build A Better Barberton! These three talented people are filling some big shoes, as Edna Boyle and Tina Linton’s time on the Foundation’s Board expired in 2020. They both brought a wealth of knowledge in the area of grants that has helped us improve our impact in the community over the years. We also have a Friends of the Foundation program that is expanding in 2021, growing from seven to 16 members! To Edna Boyle, Joyce Coburn, Stuart Glauberman, Robert McDonald, Judge Todd McKenny, Denise Ratchford, Bob Ryan, David Wynn, Susan Wynn, and Dustin Zuravel, thank you for volunteering in your free time to vote on our committees and advance our mission - together, as a community. I am so energized for this exciting year! Like the sun peaking over Lake Anna early in the morning, hope is on the horizon! We will celebrate our 25th anniversary this year knowing that the best is yet to come! Sincerely,
(L-R) Kathy, Ray, Tina, and Mike Leach
Josh Gordon, Chair of the Board of Directors 3
First Grant Cycle
Barberton Community Foundation is pleased to announce our first grant cycle of 2021 totaling $87,200 to eight area nonprofits serving Barberton.
Barberton City School District
The Barberton City School District received the largest grant this cycle, $39,700, for technology improvements including: 500 computer mice for kindergarten and first grade students at both elementary schools, eight mounted interactive boards for Barberton Preschool classrooms, and two interactive boards on movable carts at each elementary school.
........................................................................... Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority
Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority was awarded $18,000 toward the installation of WiFi in the Crimson Terrace and Van Buren Homes housing developments. A reliable WiFi connection at these locations will help students to access school work and seniors or individuals with disabilities to access telehealth sessions and the internet. The project is a collaboration between the City, Barberton City Schools, the Foundation, and AMHA.
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Akron SCORE
The Foundation granted $5,000 to Akron SCORE for their Barberton Community and Workforce Development program. Throughout the year, SCORE anticipates serving as many as 150 Barberton residents who are considering starting or expanding their businesses. SCORE Akron is delighted to receive the grant from Barberton Community Foundation to serve the small business community in Barberton. This grant will ensure that SCORE can continue to provide free mentoring services and educational workshops to the citizens of Barberton who wish to start a business, create and grow a nonprofit organization, or expand their current business venture. SCORE Akron looks forward to working with the Barberton Community Foundation and other community organizations to strengthen the business community of Barberton. - Madhu Dewan, Co-Chair, SCORE Akron
.......................................................................... National Inventors Hall of Fame - Camp Invention
The Foundation awarded the National Inventors Hall of Fame $7,500 to continue offering Camp Invention. Funding supports scholarships for elementary students who wish to attend. The camp focuses on a week of STEM activities and utilizes Barberton teachers in programming.
This team of Barberton students from 2019 Camp Invention will test how many pennies their boat can hold and stay afloat. They named their boat “Cow Milk.”
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Tri-County Jobs for Ohio Graduates (JOG)
Tri-County Jobs for Ohio Graduates (JOG) was awarded $5,000 to support their programming in partnership with Barberton High School. Four JOG programs are currently provided at Barberton High School including Schoolsto-Careers, YEAR-13, Out of School programming and Subsidized Employment for high school dropout prevention, recovery services and career pathway planning.
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United Way of Summit & Medina Counties
United Way of Summit and Medina Counties received $5,000 for their program, Financial Empowerment Services for Barberton Residents. The program provides no-cost financial coaching, tax preparation, and banking access. United Way has a financial coach dedicated to Barberton who meets once a week with clients at a local nonprofit.
............................................................................ Soap Box Derby
Soap Box Derby (SBD) STEM Education program received $4,000 to continue their Mini SBD STEM program for all fourth graders at both elementary schools. The program involves 250 youth and builds STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) strengths, provides summer camp scholarships for five BCS students and supports materials for the Barberton High School Gravity Racing Challenge.
............................................................................ Great Trail Council, Boy Scouts of America
The Great Trail Council, Boy Scouts of America was awarded $3,000 to provide scouting scholarships for youth and adult troop leaders in Barberton. The Boy Scouts have seen a decrease in numbers due to COVID-19. Currently there are about 100 scouts in eight units in Barberton. For more information, visit www.barbertoncf.org | Call 330.745.5995 Find us on Facebook @BarbertonCommunity Foundation =
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Above: Residents gather to celebrate the closure of the old Barberton High School. Photo Credit: Barberton City Schools. Left: Citizens for Barberton’s Future (CBF) distributed a newsletter in the fall of 1996 to introduce the new Board to-be and opinions of prominent community supporters. The newsletter featured a description of Issue 5. Above: Volunteers march in the Labor Day Parade ins support of Issue 5 for the Foundation. Photo credit: Tom Harnden
The Beginnings of the Foundation
Continued from Front Page
Superintendent of Barberton schools and a leading opposition figure in the 1989 effort to sell the hospital, threw his support behind this 1996 sale and became the first chair of the Foundation Board of Directors. Tom describes the fall of 1996 as a flurry of grassroots activity and focus. “This group worked their butts off! We marched in the Labor Day Parade, we went door to door, we had yard signs, everything. And that was just to get it started!”
“If you want a new school, you need to march for it.” -Brett Fogle, remembering campaigning for the Foundation vote as a student.
Brett Fogle, the Foundation’s Director of Finance, was twelve years old and attending U.L. Light at the time. He remembers his parents supporting the campaign for the Foundation early on. He marched in the Labor Day Parade with his family. He said, “My mom’s an educator and she told me, ‘If you want a new school, you need to march for it!’” He was a member of the last Barberton class to attend the old high school. The committee’s hard work paid off and in November 1996, the citizens voted overwhelmingly to amend the agreement between
the City and the hospital to support the new foundation. The Foundation received an initial $75 million from the sale in December of 1996. Another $11 million would trickle in over a period of years as additional assets of the former hospital were divested. The Foundation held true to its promise to build a new high school. The newly established board awarded the first grant in February 1997: $32 million for a new high school, to be paid over the next 25 years, and saving the citizens of Barberton $58 million in taxes. This year the Barberton High School will be paid in full. “There are certain things you look back on that you’re very proud of,” said Tom. “This is one of them.” Kathy agreed, saying, “The whole community should be proud of this accomplishment. That building is a source of pride.” Tom is a past Director of the Foundation. “We’ve accomplished so much: we assisted in the purchase of the land for the middle school,
“There are certain things you look back on that you’re very proud of. This is one of them. ” -Tom Harnden
helped fund the YMCA’s building, supported Magical Theatre’s capital campaign, but I really liked getting the Purple Pumper for the Fire Department.” Both Kathy and Tom are looking forward to the future of the Foundation. Kathy said, “We put the groundwork in place, and every Board since then has built on it and enhanced it to meet the changing needs of the community. I am looking forward to seeing what the current board is planning. I’m really optimistic for the vision they have.” As Barberton Community Foundation reaches into its 25th year, there is much to be grateful for and more to look forward to on the horizon.
460 W. Paige Ave. | Barberton, OH 44203
Anniversary of Emergency Response Fund Barberton Community Foundation was one of the first foundations in the area to respond to the rising need in the community and establish an Emergency Response Fund for COVID-19. Over the past year, we have been able to make grants totaling more than $76,000 from this fund to nonprofits helping Barberton residents such as the Lake Anna YMCA, BACM, Habitat for Humanity, Summa Hospital-Barberton, AxessPointe Community Health Center, the Barberton VFW Post 1066 and more. These grants are only possible because of the many individuals who have donated to the emergency fund. Thank you all for your incredible generosity. While we are certainly not through this crisis, vaccine distribution is increasing. If you choose to get the vaccine, you can schedule an appointment at a Barberton location through the ODH website at coronavirus.ohio.gov/vaccine. Barberton VFW 1066 received $4,000 through the Emergency Response Fund.
The mission of Barberton Community Foundation is to strengthen the Barberton community for current and future generations by providing leadership, fostering collaboration, and creating a legacy of giving to do good. For more information and event updates, visit www.barbertoncf.org 330.745.5995 | 460 W. Paige Ave. | Barberton, OH 44203 Find us on Facebook @BarbertonCommunity Foundation
We envision an improved quality of life for Barberton residents, now and forever.