Barberton Community Foundation Board Meeting Highlights Early Learning, Student Participation, and Planned Giving Milestone

Board also approves scholarship fund transition and welcomes new ex officio member

BARBERTON, Ohio – Barberton Community Foundation’s September Board of Directors meeting highlighted progress across several of the Foundation’s strategic priorities, including helping young children prepare for kindergarten, removing barriers to student participation in sports, cheerleading, marching band, and color guard, strengthening long-term charitable resources, and introducing younger students to the region’s polymer industry.

The meeting opened with a mission moment from the Early Childhood Resource Center highlighting SPARK, Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids, and its work with children and families in Barberton.

SPARK is an in-home kindergarten-readiness program that works with children ages 3 to 5 and their parents. Barberton Community Foundation awarded a $25,000 grant to support SPARK participation for 13 Barberton families during the 2025-26 school year. SPARK is one of several initiatives the Foundation supports through its Early Learning, Birth-to-5 strategic priority.

Kelley Moffett, SPARK supervisor, and Samantha Taylor, the SPARK Parent Partner serving Barberton families, were joined by Anabelle Vasai, a Barberton parent whose son participates in SPARK. Vasai brought the parent perspective to the presentation, sharing how the program gives her practical guidance to support her son’s learning at home and adds another caring person to the team invested in his progress.

Through individualized home visits, books, learning activities, and other resources, Parent Partners work directly with families to help children build the skills they need for kindergarten. That preparation goes beyond early reading and math to include skills such as listening to a story, following directions, taking turns, and managing emotions so children are ready to learn in a classroom.

The program’s emphasis on measurable outcomes is part of its appeal to the Foundation. Independent evaluation has found that children who participate in SPARK significantly outperform non-participating peers on Ohio’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. SPARK materials also cite research showing that children who enter kindergarten ready have an 82% chance of mastering basic skills by age 11, compared with 45% for children who do not enter kindergarten ready.

Josh Gordon, Barberton Community Foundation’s executive director, said SPARK’s measurable outcomes demonstrate the kind of impact the Foundation wants to support.

“What excites us about SPARK is that we can see the impact,” Gordon said. “The data show children gaining the emotional poise, reading, math, and other readiness skills they need before kindergarten. We’re looking to find and fund programs that can demonstrate these kinds of results. When strong programs, families, providers, and community partners work together, we can move the needle on kindergarten readiness in Barberton.”

For Vasai, SPARK means building a team of people invested in her son’s progress.

“I’m just putting together a team of people that I feel care about my son and his progression,” she told the board.

Her experience reflects the larger goal of the Foundation’s early learning work to help more Barberton children enter kindergarten demonstrating readiness while strengthening the network of families, providers, and community partners surrounding them.

Community support removes participation barriers for students

The board received an update on the Barberton Student Opportunity to Participate Fund, which the Foundation established following the announcement that pay-to-participate fees would be implemented for the 2026-27 school year.

The community responded generously. Within just a few weeks, individuals, businesses, organizations, and community groups contributed enough to cover 100% of fees for middle and high school students participating in sports, cheerleading, marching band, and color guard this school year. The outpouring of support reflects how much Barberton values athletics and other out-of-school-time activities as part of a complete education.

The support removed the immediate financial barrier for families, but it does not solve the long-term challenge. The Foundation will continue to welcome charitable gifts that build the fund before transitioning it into an endowment that can provide need-based participation scholarships in future years.

Foundation reaches initial planned giving goal and expands donor engagement

Barberton Community Foundation is becoming more intentional about helping individuals, families, and business owners include charitable giving in their long-term plans by creating more sophisticated pathways to engage with its donor community.

Margaret Medzie, a planned giving strategist consulting with the Foundation, is leading the development of a Professional Advisory Council that brings together estate attorneys, accountants, financial planners, business succession and exit planning advisers, and other professionals who help their clients plan for the future and leave a legacy.

The effort is already strengthening relationships with professional advisers and increasing awareness of the various ways their clients can create a lasting charitable impact in Barberton.

As part of this work, the Foundation set a 2026 goal of identifying five planned gifts. Gordon reported that the Foundation has already reached that goal.

The Foundation may not receive those gifts for many years, but each commitment represents someone choosing to include the Foundation as a crucial partner in leaving a legacy of positive impact for the Barberton community.

“It’s ‘very Barberton’ to leave it better than you found it,” Gordon said.

Over time, those commitments can strengthen the Foundation’s ability to give from its endowment while creating additional charitable funds that continue serving the community for generations.

Polymer Pathway introduces younger students to regional industry

Barberton Community Foundation’s Polymer Pathway work is also creating an opportunity to introduce younger students to the science behind an industry with deep roots in the region and an important role in its future.

“Polymers Among Us,” a children’s science book written by award-winning author and Barberton native Conrad J. Storad, was developed as part of the Foundation’s 2024 Polymer Pathway grant. The Foundation has ordered 700 copies for students in Barberton City School District.

The book follows a curious Story Monster on an adventure through the world of polymers, combining an illustrated story with science facts and hands-on learning activities for students, teachers, and families.

The local connection makes the project especially meaningful. A Barberton author is helping introduce a new generation of Barberton students to polymers years before they have the opportunity to explore the Polymer Pathway at Barberton High School and learn about careers connected to the industry.

Board business includes scholarship fund transition and new ex officio member

Directors also approved an amendment to the White Rabbit Galleries Scholarship Fund as White Rabbit Galleries prepares to close at the end of the year.

Under the amendment, the fund will become the Suzanne Jones Richardson Art Scholarship Endowment Fund. The new name honors the individual for whom the original scholarships were designated and allows that scholarship legacy to continue through the Foundation.

Barberton City Council President Rebecca Gearhart also took the oath of office as the Foundation’s newest ex officio board member representing the City of Barberton.

The Foundation’s board includes ex officio positions for the Barberton City School District superintendent, Barberton mayor, and City Council president. These roles help maintain communication with school district and city leadership and give leaders opportunities to share information about community priorities, initiatives, and needs.