Westerville Education Foundation awards $26,251 to 17 fall grants impacting about 5,860 students, executive director says

Emma Nelson, executive director of the Westerville Education Foundation, told the Westerville City Schools board that the foundation’s fall grant cycle produced 17 awards totaling $26,251 and will reach about 5,860 students across 13 district buildings.

"My name is Emma Nelson. I serve as the executive director of the Westerville Education Foundation," Nelson said, outlining the foundation’s mission to fund innovative programs that enrich student learning. She said the foundation runs two grant cycles each year and that the spring cycle opened today and is open through March 6.

Nelson said the fall cycle drew a record 33 applications and that the foundation funded projects across several areas: four STEM projects (including coding and a garden project at Amherst Elementary), two language-and-culture projects (including an "English Together" initiative that supports English learners and their families), six literacy projects (including box audiobook programs at Point View and Hawthorne), two arts projects (with support from the Arts Council of Westerville), and two student-wellness projects. "We awarded $26,251 in grant funding," Nelson said.

The foundation also highlighted non-grant programs it runs: a Teacher of the Month recognition that provides $100 to winners' classroom accounts with donated baked goods from Snyder's Baker, and a student-run Westerville Student Education Foundation (WSEF) at each high school that promotes student leadership and service. Nelson named staff advisors for the high-school groups as John Sands (Westerville North), Ally Hennessy (Westerville Central) and Ricky Robbins (Westerville South).

Nelson described specific student-led efforts funded in the cycle: Westerville North’s "Real World Wednesdays," where students teach practical life skills at lunch and are expanding the program to middle schools; Westerville Central’s club fair to engage students in extracurriculars; and Westerville South’s "Portrait of a Wildcat" mentorship training and plans for a student-operated business learning lab and spring jobs fair.

She credited the fall cycle’s sponsors and grant partners for enabling the awards, citing support from META, the Ingram-White Castle Foundation, the Arts Council of Westerville, and presenting sponsors Nationwide Children's and Mount Carmel St. Anne's. Nelson encouraged community members to support the foundation and noted nominations for Teacher of the Month for Emerson, Hamby and Whittier remain open through Feb. 15.

The spring grant cycle is open through March 6; Nelson directed interested teachers, staff and students to the foundation’s website or the posted QR code for application details. "And thank you so much for your time this evening," she concluded.