The following individuals applied for and were selected to receive the first CFAES Diversity mini-grants.
Christine Kindle, OSU Extension educator, Tuscarawas County, collaborating with Robin Bowdish, council coordinator, Tuscarawas County Family and Children First Council; Amanda Miller, attorney, Tuscarawas County Prosecutor's Office; and Michelle Tope, director, Tuscarawas County Job and Family Services
Working together with the Tuscarawas Family and Children First Council, the educator and the council will work together to create a hard-copy directory of community services for new residents who have relocated from Guatemala to the Tuscarawas Valley. In addition, the team will work with students in service learning courses at a local university to develop a user-friendly web-based version.
Gwen Soule, OSU Extension educator, Sandusky County, collaborating with Sandusky County Junior Fair, Sandusky County Board of Developmental Disabilities, and School of Hope
This project will develop a new program for youth with disabilities, in which they can learn about livestock and can experience showing an animal at the county fair. Participants will share what animal they would like to learn about and will be paired with a 4-H member or FFA member who has the same animal project. Both youth will engage in learning about the animal, then will participate in a "show" where judges will ask the youth what they learned about their animal.
Mark Light, OSU Extension educator, Hardin County, collaborating with Amanda Raines, program assistant, Hardin County; and Julian Brown, juvenile probation officer, Juvenile Diversion
Working with the LifeWorks Hardin County Community School, the principal investigators will start a non-traditional 4-H club for youth who are struggling with addiction, violent behavior, and crime. Most of the youth at LifeWorks have been referred through the juvenile court system. The club will meet on a weekly basis after school. All participants will select a project book to complete individually but will also engage in group discussion and programming addressing "Alcohol and Drug Abuse," "The Truth about Tobacco," and "Money Fundamentals."
Nels Hansen, chair, Agricultural and Engineering Division, Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute, and Frances Whited, ATI, Public Relations
The focus of this program is to increase the diversity of students in the Sustainable Agriculture associate of science program offered at ATI. By working with other faculty at community colleges offering certificate programs, ATI is seeking to recruit students for the Sustainable Agriculture program. The development of marketing materials will provide a starting point for this endeavor.
Learn more about the CFAES Diversity mini-grant program here (pdf).
-- Kathy Lechman, Diversity Development