ACSD Support Fund to support 8th graders trip to Washington DC

Shayne Lopez • November 17, 2023

 

The Washington, DC trip is an Athens City School District (ACSD) tradition that dates back to the 1960s! It has always been a wonderful opportunity for ACSD students to learn about the nation’s capital while making memories with their classmates that last a lifetime. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond the district’s control, the trip was not possible for the last few years. It is with great excitement that the administrators and teachers at Athens Middle School have worked to make the trip available for this year’s 8th grade class. The tradition is back!

 

The excitement is palpable, but there’s a crucial element to address. The trip’s expense, at $670.00 per student for the May 2024 trip, poses a financial challenge for many deserving students. Recognizing this, the Athens County Foundation has teamed up with the Athens City School District to ensure that financial constraints don’t hinder any student’s participation.

 

Here’s where the community steps in. We invite you to be a part of this revival by making a donation. Your support will not only help cover the costs but also contribute to creating an educational, memorable, and enjoyable experience for participating 8th-grade students. Join us in fostering a love for learning and building lasting memories as we rally together to make this trip a reality for our students. Together, let’s make a difference and bring the tradition back to life!

 

How to Donate

To give via check, make your check payable to the Athens County Foundation and include “ACSD Support Fund” in the memo line. Send to the Athens County Foundation, PO Box 366 Athens OH 45701.

 

To give online, please click the donate button below.

 

Note: Any donations received in excess this year will go toward next year’s Washington DC trip.

Pull up a Chair: September Newsletter

By Emily Prince • September 17, 2026
After the Storm: What Community Resilience Looks Like

Stacy Strauss is ACF's new Director of Finance and Administration

By Emily Prince • September 1, 2026
Please join us in welcoming our new Director of Finance and Administration, Stacy Strauss. Stacy looks forward to using her skills to strengthen our community! She brings energy, creativity, and a thoughtful approach to her work, along with a genuine ability to bring people together around shared goals. Her experience spans financial management, fundraising and grant writing, program development, business strategy, and developing materials that tell a clear, compelling story.  Just as importantly, she enjoys helping others grow. She has experience leading and training teams, building collaborative cultures, developing recruitment strategies, and finding practical, creative solutions to complicated challenges. Whether working with colleagues, community partners, or other stakeholders, she builds relationships rooted in trust, communication, and a shared commitment to advancing good ideas.

Fall Grant Applications Open

By Shayne Lopez • August 28, 2026
Athens County's greatest asset is its people. Every day, neighbors, organizations, and local leaders bring skill, creativity, and deep knowledge of this place to the work of building a stronger community. Our grantmaking invests in those strengths, because the best solutions are already growing here, led by the people who call Athens County home. Our grantmaking builds on the strengths already here by investing in the initiatives, people and organizations, relationships, skills, and ideas working to address longstanding challenges and pursue extraordinary opportunities. The deadline for applications for the Senior Fund has been extended to October 18, 2026! The Athens Jaycees Senior Fund The Athens Jaycees Senior Fund supports organizations and programs working to improve the lives of older adults (60+) in Athens County. This year, approximately $65,000 is available through ACF’s Fall Grant Cycle. We want to encourage organizations to think broadly about what supporting people as they age could look like. The Jaycees fund has deep local roots. In 2014, Housing for Athens Senior Residents donated $1 million to the Athens County Foundation to establish the fund following the sale of Heritage Commons Senior Housing. Heritage Commons itself began as an Athens Jaycees project in 1981, created to expand housing opportunities for local seniors. To date, the Jaycees Senior Fund has awarded more than $415,000 to support programs and services benefiting older adults across Athens County. What could an Athens Jaycees Senior Fund project look like? We’re inviting applicants to consider how their work could help make Athens County a community where people can remain active, connected, independent, and supported as they age. Projects might address housing, transportation, community and health services, social connection, healthy living, accessibility, caregiver support, or other needs and opportunities identified by older adults. The Jaycees Senior Fund intentionally remains flexible so that organizations can bring forward ideas grounded in what they are seeing and hearing in their communities. If your organization has an idea that could improve the experience of aging in Athens County, we encourage you to consider ACF’s Fall Grant Cycle to access the Jaycees Senior Fund. The deadline for grant requests supporting senior-related programs has been extended to October 18, 2026. For more information, please visit athensfoundation.org/grants. -------- If you’d like guidance in developing or strengthening an age-friendly program idea, we encourage you to reach out directly to Amy Lipka with Age-Friendly Athens County at alipka@athenspublichealth.org. The Athens City-County Health Department will also sponsor Healthy Aging Community Grants in early 2027.