The Sala Family Foundation, a fund within The Columbus Foundation, was established in honor of Earl Sala. Earl was a long-time Upper Arlington resident and was a  wonderful advocate for school-community partnerships, service-learning experiences, career development programs, and other authentic educational activities for students. The Foundation recently made a $1,000 donation to Partnerships Make A Difference to support the types of educational activities that Earl felt so strongly about for many years.

By Karen Patterson

Columbus, OH--The Columbus Foundation has awarded a $20,000 grant to the non-profit organization Partnerships Make a Difference for the continuation and expansion of its “Growing Together” Service-Learning Network in the 2013-2014 school year. The award is made possible through the Richard C. and Nanciann Kaufman Ninde Fund.

The funds will be used primarily to create service-learning leadership experiences that bring together youth from diverse settings to collaborate on projects of common concern, including homelessness and hunger initiatives. Additionally, funds will support targeted professional development for Network teachers re: how they can utilize service-learning to help maximize character and leadership development opportunities for youth.

See full news release . . .

By Karen Patterson

Columbus, OH--The Siemer Family Foundation has granted $10,000 to the non-profit Partnerships Make a Difference through The Columbus Foundation’s The Big Give 2.  Partnerships works to expand the base of trained service-learning practitioners in central Ohio through the “Growing Together” Service-Learning Network, a consortium of more than 25 urban, rural, and suburban schools.

The funds will support The “Growing Together” Service-Learning Network’s efforts to provide in-depth professional development for teachers and service-learning and leadership opportunities for their students during the 2013-2014 school year.