Driving Toward Opportunity: Barberton Community Foundation Establishes New Drivers Education Scholarship for Barberton High School StudentsAnnouncing New Driver’s Ed Scholarship

Driving Toward Opportunity: Barberton Community Foundation Establishes New Drivers Education Scholarship for Barberton High School StudentsAnnouncing New Driver’s Ed Scholarship

by | Mar 14, 2025 | Scholarships

Driving Toward Opportunity: Barberton Community Foundation Establishes New Drivers Education Scholarship for Barberton High School Students

Barberton Community Foundation, in partnership with Barberton City School District, is today announcing a new scholarship program designed to make drivers education more accessible for Barberton High School students.

Addressing a Growing Need

The days of free school-based driving education programs are long gone. Today, Barberton City Schools partners with Myers Driving School to provide drivers education, but the $525 cost per student presents a significant barrier for many families. As a result, fewer students are enrolling, delaying their ability to get a license, secure a first job, and gain the independence that comes with driving.

“Families need support for driver’s education,” said Josh Gordon, Executive Director of Barberton Community Foundation. “Many students want to start their first job at 16, but if they can’t afford driver’s education, they can’t drive in the state of Ohio. We identified this large expense as a barrier for our kid’s families in Barberton, and we want to help.”

The issue becomes clear when looking at the data.

“We’re seeing fewer students applying for their temporary permits and attending driver’s education classes,” explained Henry Muren, Principal of Barberton High School. “We might have four to six students in a class now when we should be seeing 12 to 15. This scholarship is a step toward removing that financial burden and getting more students safely and affordably behind the wheel.”

Scholarship Details

The new Driver’s Education Scholarship is available starting April 1, 2025. Awards range from $125 to $325, depending on financial need, and is open to all students who meet the following criteria:

  • Must be at least 15 years and 6 months old
  • Must have good attendance
  • Must be on track to graduate

There is no deadline to apply—scholarships will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted. Students interested in applying should first meet with Mr. Henry Muren, Barberton High School Principal, to confirm they meet eligibility requirements.

“These kids are working hard, and I’m excited to be able to share this opportunity with our families,” Muren said. “We know that getting a driver’s license can be life-changing for our students, opening doors to jobs, higher education, and more independence.”

Community Support & Excitement

“This is truly a great partnership for our schools,” said Jason Ondrus, Superintendent of Barberton City School District. “Our goal is to create as many opportunities for our students as possible, and having transportation is an important milestone in their academic career and their life.”

Gordon emphasized that this initiative aligns with the Foundation’s mission of removing barriers to opportunity.

“We don’t want finances to stand in the way of a student’s future,” he said. “By funding this scholarship, we’re helping students gain a skill that will serve them for their whole life.”

Barberton Community Foundation remains committed to breaking down barriers to education, employment, and opportunity for all Barberton residents. By funding this initiative, the Foundation hopes to encourage more students to enroll in driver’s education, ultimately increasing the number of licensed, job-ready young adults in the community.

For more information or to apply, students and families should contact Mr. Muren at Barberton High School. Call the main office at 330-753-1025.

 

JobsOhio Grant Propels Workforce Training Center Feasibility Study in Barberton

JobsOhio Grant Propels Workforce Training Center Feasibility Study in Barberton

by | Jan 27, 2025 | Announcements, Economic Development

Media Advisory

JobsOhio Grant Propels Workforce Training Center Feasibility Study in Barberton

Barberton Community Foundation (BCF), in partnership with the City of Barberton, Barberton City Schools, Greater Akron Chamber, and Ilene Shapiro, Summit County Executive, is pleased to announce the receipt of a JobsOhio planning grant to explore the development of a transformative Workforce Training Center in Barberton, Ohio.

The JobsOhio grant, with matching funds provided by BCF, will fund a comprehensive redevelopment real estate study, including site due diligence, preliminary design, project feasibility and proforma analysis for a state-of-the-art training center. This initiative underscores BCF’s commitment to fostering workforce development to enable residents to upskill and pursue higher paying jobs while providing critical support to area businesses who need to build their workforce in key growth industries such as defense manufacturing and polymer science. Barberton has a unique location, strong partnerships, and an uncommon set of resources that make it an ideal community for a workforce training center.

A Catalyst for Regional Growth

The proposed Workforce Training Center is envisioned as a hub for hands-on, industry-specific training to meet the evolving needs of high-demand sectors like defense manufacturing and polymers. Positioned near Barberton’s downtown, the center aims to enhance the local economy by preparing a skilled workforce, attracting investment, and driving innovation in critical growth sectors of the national and local economy.

“This grant from JobsOhio represents a pivotal moment for Barberton,” said Josh Gordon, Executive Director of Barberton Community Foundation. “It validates our city’s potential to lead in workforce development, and we’re eager to collaborate with our partners to turn this vision into reality.”

Key Details:

  • Grant Purpose: Feasibility study for a Workforce Training Center
  • Location: Confidential
  • Partners: City of Barberton, Barberton City Schools, Greater Akron Chamber, Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro
  • Consultant: Downing Advisors
  • Completion Date: March 2025

Addressing Workforce Needs

As part of Ohio’s broader effort to bridge the skills gap, this project aligns with the Polymer Industry Cluster’s workforce priorities and the region’s economic development goals. With over 1,400 polymer companies in Northeast Ohio and an aging workforce, the center will provide hands-on training and certifications to prepare individuals for in-demand roles in polymers, manufacturing, and other key industries.

Background:

  • Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub: $51 million in federal funding and $31.25 million in state support.
  • Barberton PreK–12 Polymer Pathway: A collaborative program for student career readiness in high-growth fields.

 

Who/Contacts:

Josh Gordon, Executive Director – jgordon@barbertoncf.org
330-745-5995
Barberton Community Foundation
460 W. Paige Ave. Barberton, Ohio 44203
 

$300,000 in New Funding Available to Grow Restaurant, Retail Business in Downtown Barberton

$300,000 in New Funding Available to Grow Restaurant, Retail Business in Downtown Barberton

by | Jan 17, 2025 | Downtown Barberton, Economic Development

$300,000 in New Funding Available to Grow Restaurant, Retail Business in Downtown Barberton

Barberton, OH – January 16, 2025 – Barberton Community Foundation (BCF), in collaboration with the City of Barberton, Barberton Community Development Corporation, and Main Street Barberton, announces $300,000 in funding to support the revitalization of Barberton’s historic downtown.

Approved on Thursday, January 16 by BCF’s Board of Directors, the funding will be administered by Barberton Community Development Corporation (BCDC) and allocated to two key programs: the Downtown Building Rehabilitation Program (DBRP) and the newly launched Restaurant & Retail Challenge Grant.

This funding expands on the successful efforts of all four organizations.

Downtown Building Rehabilitation Program (DBRP)

Since its launch in 2022, DBRP funding has been supporting businesses assisting with facade and brick work, window replacements, HVAC updates, and more.

New in 2025 is a focus on two awards – up to $100k each in a grant matching formula – versus spreading out smaller awards, over more recipients.

“The DBRP program and our downtown building inventory received a thorough review in 2024 and we learned that we need to target bigger projects with more permanent building upgrades and improvements,” said Josh Gordon, Executive Director of Barberton Community Foundation.

“We want the Barberton community to have the most compelling programs in Northeast Ohio.”

Restaurant & Retail Challenge Grant Program

The Restaurant & Retail Challenge Grant, introduced for the first time in 2025, is designed to address downtown vacancies by supporting restaurant or retail businesses looking to open in Barberton.

The challenge grant program will award up to $20k in five separate awards to help absorb the expense of tenant improvements and configuring a space for a restaurant or retail business within Barberton’s downtown footprint.

“This new program directly responds to the challenges of downtown vacancies by creating opportunities for business owners and restauranters that are unique in Northeast Ohio,” said Josh Gordon. “This funding makes Barberton’s downtown more competitive and removes or reduces barriers for businesses, from start up to established.”

Barberton Mayor William B. Judge shared his excitement for the new programs, stating, “The City of Barberton is sending a clear message: we are open for business.”

“These new funding programs from Barberton Community Foundation build on the momentum started by the city with the various programs we’ve established as well as progress we’ve made with Main Street Barberton and represent a significant step forward for attracting new businesses to our community.”

The Downtown Building Rehabilitation Program and Restaurant & Retail Challenge Grant are part of a broader effort to enhance Barberton’s downtown, blending economic opportunity with the city’s historic charm. Together, these initiatives aim to attract new businesses, revitalize underutilized properties, and create opportunities for investment.

“We have a major employer across the street from our downtown, towpath access that brings thousands of visitors to Barberton each year, and Lake Anna remains a well-trafficked attraction,” added Josh Gordon. “These programs help businesses take advantage of access to a customer-base while making it affordable to upgrade in a business-friendly environment.”

Main Street Barberton’s Executive Director, Melanie Black Amato, emphasized the significance of the funding. “Meeting with business and property owners over the past year, it is clear this funding is both needed and timely.”

“We are proud to partner with the City of Barberton and Barberton Community Foundation on these transformative programs, which benefit established businesses and create opportunities for new ventures to thrive,” she added.

Program Summaries:

Downtown Building Rehabilitation Program 2.0

The Downtown Building Rehabilitation Program (DBRP) will focus on restoring historic properties within Barberton’s downtown. With $200,000 allocated for this program, two grants of up to $100,000 each will be awarded to property owners or tenants who match the funding dollar-for-dollar.

Key Details:

  • Purpose: Encourage investment in downtown properties with deferred maintenance.
  • Eligible Uses: Structural repairs, façade restoration, energy efficiency upgrades, safety enhancements, and more.
  • Application Opens: February 1, 2025.
  • Application Deadline: April 1, 2025.
  • Completion Deadline: December 31, 2025.

Priority Considerations: Projects that restore historically significant properties, align with Barberton’s Master Plan, and leverage additional funding sources, such as state or federal tax credits, will receive priority consideration.

Restaurant & Retail Challenge Grant

The Restaurant & Retail Challenge Grant will provide $100,000 to support five new or expanding restaurant and retail businesses with grants of up to $20,000 each. Grant recipients are required to match the funding dollar-for-dollar, creating a total potential investment of $200,000.

Key Details:

  • Purpose: Empower business owners to establish or expand restaurant or retail in Barberton’s historic downtown.
  • Eligible Uses: Tenant improvements, equipment purchases, accessibility upgrades, and marketing and branding.
  • Application Deadlines:
    • Short Application: April 1, 2025.
    • Business Plan Submission: April 8, 2025.
    • Pitch Interviews: Week of April 21, 2025.
  • Operational Deadline: Businesses must be open by December 1, 2025.

 

How to Apply

Interested applicants for either program must schedule a pre-application meeting with Main Street Barberton to discuss eligibility and project scope. For more details, contact Melanie Black Amato at 330-510-1335 or melanie@mainstreetbarberton.com.

Applications are available on Barberton Community Foundation’s website beginning February 1. Visit www.barbertoncf.org and click “Goapply.”

Meet our 2024 Game Changers

Meet our 2024 Game Changers

by | Sep 9, 2024 | 2024 Game Changer

Purchase Tickets or Sponsor the Annual Dinner

Barberton Community Foundation will celebrate Phil Hodanbosi and Barberton Public Library as the 2024 Game Changers at the Annual Dinner, held on November 7, 2024 at the Galaxy Restaurant. Tickets can be purchased online, or call 330-745-5995.

 

 Honoring Phil Hodanbosi

Barberton Community Foundation is pleased to announce Phil Hodanbosi as the recipient of the 2024 Game Changer Award.

This award celebrates Hodanbosi as a selfless leader who always made time for people and students. He passed away on February 28, 2024.

Hodanbosi was a life-long educator, beginning with his career at Barberton Middle School, where he was an 8th grade math teacher at U.L. Light for over 30 years. He had an incredible reputation as a patient teacher who could inspire students to like algebra. He coached middle school football, boys’ basketball and high school girls’ basketball. Later, after he retired from teaching, he worked as an instructional coach for Barberton City School District.

Hodanbosi’s co-workers at Barberton City Schools wrote a 32-page letter of support, sharing their favorite stories of Phil and his unwavering dedication to his students. In addition, many other coaches and past students wrote in with stories of Phil’s impeccable character, joy for teaching, and how he encouraged them through their careers.

“Phil was one-of-a-kind. His positive energy was welcomed by everyone in the system. He was relentless in support of good teaching and teachers. He shared his experience and insight in ways that were uplifting and encouraging. He never had an unkind word to say about anyone. He loved his profession, and it was infectious. I won’t forget him or the influence he had on students and colleagues.”

As an instructional coach, Phil worked with Elyssa Young to write grants for the school district. He was working in this capacity when he passed, having written a grant to the Ohio Department of Education for $1.4 million to bolster two Barberton High School Four Cities Compact programs: Advanced Manufacturing and Network Systems and Cyber Security. The schools received notice of the award on March 1, two days after Hodanbosi passed. Young said it was the largest and most difficult grant she and Hodanbosi had worked on.

The grant will purchase state-of-the-industry equipment for the Advanced Manufacturing program and a cyber range — the only one in an Ohio high school — for the Network Systems & Cyber Security program.

The size of the grant alone is a game changer for the students in Barberton’s Four Cities Compact Program, but Hodanbosi led his life with a true passion for Barberton, encouraging educators, students, athletes and families to be their best.

 

Barberton Public Library 

Barberton Community Foundation is pleased to announce our 2024 Game Changer Award organization – the Barberton Public Library.

Few organizations in Barberton have the library’s history – serving the community for 121 years – while adding and adapting services to meet the needs of today’s residents.

One of the most recent additions to the library is called the “Library of Things” where card holders can check out “non-traditional materials” meaning a whole range of items from a fishing pole to a steel drum.

Governed by a seven-member board of directors and lead by executive director Ann Hutchison, the library provides more than 63,000 printed items like books and magazines, more than 23,000 av materials like movies and music, and more than 2.2 million digital materials. Librarians also provide outreach to homebound individuals, process passport applications, notarize documents, and generally answer more than 25,000 questions a year. The library offers meeting space, computer access, and a wide variety of programs for all ages.

Residents might not know that the library recently went fine free with most of their materials, became sensory inclusive certified, is a Summit Bike Share site, and has two satellite locations – the Health Library at Summa Hospital -Barberton Campus, and a partnership with Barberton preschool, where librarians provide weekly stories and enrichment for the young students.

Barbertonians who visit the library might learn about their genealogy in the Local History Room, attend a community meeting, or browse books for sale from the Friends of the Library.

The scope of services at Barberton Public Library is only part of what makes this organization a Game Changer. It is the staff, with their unwavering dedication to this community, their commitment to expanding services, growing programs, and responding to the needs of the community with new and innovative concepts that bring the library forward.

Help us congratulate Barberton Public Library and let us know what services or programs you use at the library!

 

Board Approves Final Loan Extension for Weintraub Barberton Project

Board Approves Final Loan Extension for Weintraub Barberton Project

by | Aug 27, 2024 | Board

NEWS RELEASE

(August 20, 2024- Barberton, Ohio) – Barberton Community Foundation’s (BCF) Board of Directors met for a special meeting on August 19, 2024, to review and approve a final 24-month loan extension to Weintraub Barberton Turkeyfoot QOF LLC to complete a 56-unit housing development at Trucen Farms, located in Barberton off State Route 619.

The loan was originally approved in October 2021 for $1 million. Funding comes through BCF’s Program Related Investments, which is non-grant dollars utilized by Barberton Community Development Corporation (BCDC) to make loans supporting community development.

The extension’s terms include a maturity date of November 1, 2026, and set forth specific conditions to ensure the project’s progress and completion. The most critical condition of this extension requires a fully executed purchase agreement with K. Hovnanian home builders for 56 residential units by December 31, 2024. Because this is the second time this loan has been extended, the Foundation’s board will not consider any further extensions.

“Adding more quality housing stock to Barberton is an important pursuit, and we are glad to be helping people who may be looking to relocate to be closer to work or to who wish to move to the Magic City and experience all the Barberton community has to offer,” said Josh Gordon, Executive Director of Barberton Community Foundation. “We are committed to seeing this project move forward at pace.”

The project has been a focal point for the Foundation’s commitment to enhancing Barberton’s housing stock.

“The land at Trucen Farm is well-suited for high-quality housing, which is in great demand as more people seek to move into Barberton,” said Lynne Holcomb, Barberton Community Foundation Board of Directors Chairperson.

The project, which includes 56-homes priced to start at $250,000 to $300,000, is designed to meet Barberton’s need for additional housing. The City of Barberton Design Review Board has implemented standards to ensure that these homes maintain a unique aesthetic, avoiding a ‘cookie-cutter’ look.

“The Foundation is interested in pursuing intentional projects that positively impact the community, and we must make these choices with limited resources,” Gordon said. “As a result, the Board indicated this is the final extension of this loan as financial resources are needed for other projects in the Foundation’s pipeline,” Gordon said.

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About Barberton Community Foundation

Established in 1996, Barberton Community Foundation has awarded over 8,500 grants and scholarships totaling more than $109 million since its inception. The Foundation strives to improve, now and forever, the quality of life for Barberton residents by providing leadership on vital issues, fostering collaboration, and creating a legacy of giving to do good. The Foundation strengthens the community for current and future generations by proactively directing its grant dollars to the community’s greatest needs.

To read more about Barberton Community Foundation visit www.barbertoncf.org or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/barbertoncommunityfoundation.