To support the publications and educational programs of the Academy, which serves board presidents, executives, and boards of not-for-profit organizations. Among the Academy's accomplishments have been offering a President's Institute for 20 leaders of nonprofit boards in central Ohio; publishing and distributing nationwide 3,000 handbooks for boards of nonprofit organizations; and publishing and distributing Follow the Leader: A Guide for Planning Founding Director Transition throughout the seven Great Lakes states.

For the Occupational Work Adjustment (OWA) Program, a career-based intervention program for freshmen students, ages 14 and 15. Fully accredited by the Ohio Department of Education, OWA is a one-year vocational program with heavy emphasis on remedial instruction, vocational orientation, and private sector or in-school work experience.

To support SummerQuest 2002, a therapeutic summer camp for children of mothers participating in the alcohol and drug treatment program at Amethyst. Forty children received programming in alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention, along with a variety of field trips, swimming lessons, and equestrian and small-animal therapy.

To provide Children of the Future, an arts-based public safety program that reduces crime by creating a safe haven for children and by providing constructive, positive alternatives to delinquency in high-risk Columbus neighborhoods. AmeriCorps volunteers at the Hilltop's J. Ashburn Jr. Youth Center helped 199 disadvantaged children develop mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially in this summer program.

For children's educational programming, which supports the Audubon mission of changing lives through nature experiences and saving habitats for birds and humans. Audubon Centers enable children to experience a direct, hands-on relationship with nature, where they not only learn about the environment, but cultivate a conservation ethic for the future.

To provide equipment and supplies to benefit the 500 middle-school students in this Appalachian school system. Previous grants have been used to support the purchase of equipment for science, social studies and Family Development classes, as well as for installation of a wheelchair lift for the building.

To enhance the summer camping experience of 1,152 children attending Camp Oty'Okwa. This week-long summer camping experience is offered to children where there is an absent parent, children with special needs, and children in high-risk situations. While at camp, children learn critical life skills, increase their knowledge of the natural environment through quality environmental education programs, and build a greater sense of self-worth through the completion of tasks and activities. The grant purchased wall tents, platform materials, camping equipment, and climbing harnesses.

To support the construction of a new 18,000-square-foot building to replace the 100+ year-old structure that has housed this inner-city community center for more than 37 years. The new facility will allow Central Community House to increase its daily after-school program capacity by 40% (to 56 children), to enlarge its space for teen activities, and to add space for 30 infants and toddlers in its child daycare program - an expansion of 45% (to 80 children).

To support two tobacco prevention programs for children, Tobacco Free That's Me and Making Healthy Choices. These programs follow the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and reflect recommendations from the 2000 U.S. Surgeon General's Report: that comprehensive school-based programs, combined with community and media-based activities, can effectively prevent or postpone smoking onset in 20% to 40% of American adolescents. The programs were provided to 340 kindergarten through 6th-grade children from low-income families at 50 sites in central Ohio.

To provide tuition supplements so that low- and moderate-income working families can afford the full cost of a quality early education program for their children. Champion of Children has designated more than 30 central Ohio childcare centers "high quality," and has supplemented fees for nearly 400 children to attend those centers over the past eight years.

To support an anti-bullying program for 700 Union County children in 4th and 6th grade. Students receive training on how to identify a bullying situation and maintain their rights. Strategies and resources from all three perspectives - the bully, the victim, and the witness - are also provided. Parents and teachers receive training as well, so that the entire school community can prevent and respond to bullying.

To support the endowment fund of an organization dedicated to feeding Ohio's hungry children. During 2002, Children's Hunger Alliance fed more than 10,000 children more than 5,314,000 meals and snacks, through 1,150 providers in 63 of Ohio's 88 counties. Its programs also include early childhood education training, provider mentor programs, after-school programs, and a variety of nutrition education and awareness activities.

To support a summer program for 100 inner-city children in Columbus. Youth are encouraged to excel academically and socially through tutoring, mentoring, recreational activities, and exercises in a safe, chemical-free environment. The program strengthens Basic English, math, and artistic skills through the Biz World curriculum, in which children operate their own businesses.

To support the creation of a zoogeographic area devoted to Australia and the islands of Southeast Asia. This landscape and cultural-immersion exhibit highlights Indonesia and features orangutans, Komodo dragons, small-clawed otters, gibbons, and birds. In addition to walking through the exhibit, zoo visitors can experience a boat ride. The Columbus Zoo hosted 1.15 million visitors in 2002, and was listed as the #1 cultural attraction in central Ohio by Business First.

To support this community agency's Empower Program, a family-based violence prevention program, which provided 2,350 units of service to disadvantaged youth, ages 7-17. The program was presented as part of the elementary and middle-school curriculum in 10 Columbus schools, and was also offered after school and during the summer months.

To support JoyDance, a prevention program that brings the arts to 50 Akron youth, ages 5 to 17, living in public housing. JoyDance is a delinquency prevention and intervention program that is offered throughout the year. It was founded on the premise that at-risk children, growing up in severely distressed neighborhoods surrounded by brutality, violence, and despair, deserve a chance to engage in positive, constructive activities. Among the program's many objectives is to provide disadvantaged children with a point of entry into cultural and arts programs that have been traditionally denied to them.

To support a workshop for deaf and hard of hearing teenagers entering grades 9 through 12. Parents and guardians join their children at the Making a Difference in Your Future workshop, which helps students transition from school to work or post-secondary education in a creative, fun, and productive environment. In the 2002 workshop, 35 teens and their families explored career and college options and left the workshop with career "road maps" for the future.

To support the renovation of Short Stop Youth Center, an after-school program to help troubled children between the ages of 7 and 19 develop decision-making and problem-solving skills, explore their creative and artistic abilities, and improve their self-esteem. In a typical year, the many programs of Directions for Youth serve more than 3,500 youths and their families, with more than 100 young people per day participating in writing, drawing, painting, singing, acting, and dance programs at the Short Stop Youth Center.

The Foundation Center promotes public understanding of philanthropy and helps grantseekers succeed. In 2002 alone, 4,464 people visited the center, staff responded to 2,858 inquiries by telephone, and 254,217 people visited the web site. This grant supported training workshops, publications, and displays for early childhood educators during the Center's Funding for Children and Youth Month in October.

To provide professional development training in early literacy in the classroom, infant and toddler development, sensory integration, kindergarten readiness, developmental delays, and issues of special needs children for the staff of this Pandora, Ohio, child care center. Ultimate beneficiaries of this training will be the 90 children, ages 6 weeks to 12 years, enrolled at the center.

To assist with start-up costs for a new child advocacy organization. KidsOhio.org answers the need for a locally customized approach to problem-solving and advocacy, responding to the shift in responsibility for children's programs from the federal government to states, counties, and communities. This grant provided office and presentation equipment so the organization could pursue its mission of serving disadvantaged Ohio children and families through nonpartisan research and advocacy.

To support a variety of programming for disadvantaged children in Athens County. Kids on Campus offers a six-week summer session for 300 children at Ohio University and Hocking College; after-school tutoring programs for 325 elementary school students at three public library sites; guidance and academic assistance for 125 high school students; and 24 parent and family workshops based on literacy. The Foundation's grant provided the matching funds to secure $174,532 from the Center for National Service/AmeriCorps program.

To support distribution of 47,000 copies of the newsletter, SEX, ETC., to teenagers throughout Ohio. The newsletter, which is delivered to 1.9 million teens in 50 states each year, is only one component of the Network's national programming to give young people honest, balanced, and medically accurate information about sexuality, so that they can make informed decisions about their health and lives.

To support the participation of 33 at-risk children in Summer Opera Camp, and 40 at-risk children in Opera Discovery After School. Children in both programs learn about proper choral techniques, how to develop dramatic characters, and how to produce a real opera for performance. Scholarships were awarded on the basis of minority status, severe learning or behavioral problems, difficult family circumstances or family income levels.

To provide scholarships for five economically disadvantaged students from Starling Middle School in Columbus to attend camp for gifted and talented children. For 21 years, the OWjL Camp has offered a summer residential program of academic enrichment and peer group socialization for area talented and gifted students. In many cases, the OWjL Program is the first to confirm that being bright is rewarding and worth developing. As one camper said, "OWjL is a place you can go where being smart is cool!"

To provide creative learning through theatre in eight Columbus elementary schools with high populations of students "at risk of failure." In the Theatre's Residency Program, master teachers and playwrights work with children throughout the school year to create plays that are based on curriculum concepts that students must master for proficiency exams. By creating dramas with students, the theatre becomes a tool for extended learning. Research has demonstrated that exposure to the arts improves children's creativity, self-esteem, and overall capacity for learning. During the 2001-02 school year, Phoenix Theatre reached more than 28,000 children through its school tours, matinee productions, and Residency Programs.

To provide one semester of the Responsible Sex Education Program during 2002-03 at an urban high school in Franklin County. The program provides teenagers with factual information about the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy prevention. After Responsible Sex Education was offered at one high school, the pregnancy rate declined by 50%.

To support this chamber orchestra's expanded outreach to provide education programs for disadvantaged children. This grant supplemented the Foundation's sponsorship of ProMusica at COSI Day, which invited families and children to experience a child-oriented concert at COSI. Prior to the concert, local social service agencies partnered with ProMusica to familiarize children with the music and to bring ProMusica musicians to community sites, where they talked with children and demonstrated their instruments. This grant also enabled the orchestra to bring American Folk Fusion to Columbus.

To support an after-school tutoring program for 30 disadvantaged children. Shepard United Methodist Church began this program 15 years ago to keep neighborhood children busy and away from dangerous activities in the neighborhood during out-of-school hours. The program is staffed by adult volunteers from the church, the neighborhood, and two local colleges. Daily tutoring sessions focus on each child's homework assignments, and tutors keep logs on their students' progress and receive copies of their students' public school report cards.

To support a variety of programming for children and teenagers in southern Perry County. To provide role models for the 270 participants, summer program activity leaders are graduates of local high schools and currently enrolled as full-time students at colleges and universities. The grant also supported the Southern Perry County Youth Arts & Media Center in Shawnee, where 75 children were regular participants in the arts, media and technology access throughout the year.

For continued support of the Children's Writer-in-Residence program. Writers apply to a national competition to receive this summer stipend. The selected writer lives and works at the home of James Thurber, located on historic Jefferson Avenue in Columbus. In addition to pursuing their work as authors, residents participate in child-centered community outreach activities, designed to increase children's exposure to literature and the arts. Kathryn Hewitt, author and illustrator of several children's books, was awarded the 2003 residency.

To support a variety of activities and programs during out-of-school hours for approximately 200 disadvantaged children in Appalachian areas of Cincinnati, primarily the East and Lower Price Hill neighborhoods. Program components include training children in conflict resolution, substance abuse prevention, and avoidance of lead poisoning and other neighborhood environmental hazards; providing children with adult mentoring and tutoring; and exposing children to the arts through a three-week Arts Sampler Day Camp, featuring pottery, sewing, poetry, drama, murals, photography, and creative writing. Neighborhood children and teenagers also plan and host an environmental fair.

To support Reaching Our Youth, a program designed to educate and empower more than 200 children of domestic violence in Sandusky County. This class teaches young people that family violence is neither an acceptable nor a normal way to live. Support groups are divided by age, each with a concurrent parent support group. Topics covered include the effects of family violence on youth, dating violence, and family violence prevention skills. Materials include age-appropriate books and workbooks, videos, cassettes, puppets for younger children, and journals for older children.

To support programming to teach self-esteem and leadership skills to 125 Columbus children. Offered after school, in the evening and on Saturdays, Double Dutch helps children develop their athletic abilities so they can compete in teams at state and World Double Dutch tournaments. An average of 40 local children qualify for these tournaments each year. The Foundation's grant purchased uniforms and supplies, and provided for transportation, hotel accommodations, and entry fees at tournaments.