by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Aug 3, 2026 | CFFC News
Photo courtesy of Mr. Arnold with Laurel Highlands School District
Last fall, three donor advised funds at the Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) awarded over $25,000 to support education at Fayette County schools. CFFC is now accepting grant requests for the 2026-2027 school year, inviting teachers and administrators to apply online by September 15 at 5:00 p.m.
As donor advised funds, the fund creators of the Arthur and Millicent Gabriel Legacy Fund, Idea Fund, and Patricia and Robert Metz Educational Fund have ongoing involvement with how the funds’ charitable dollars support the community. “The lasting impact of these three funds speaks to the fund creators’ deep belief in the power of education,” said CFFC Chief Executive Officer Jessica Hajek-Bates. “We are grateful to see their passion continue to open doors for students and educators through this year’s fall grant cycle.”
The Arthur and Millicent Gabriel Legacy Fund is accepting grant requests from $750 up to $10,000 for reusable education items to enhance the classroom. Any teacher, school counselor, or administrator in the Laurel Highlands School District or Uniontown Area School District is encouraged to apply.
The Idea Fund was created by a donor who strives to help teachers to achieve a level of creativity in the classroom that allows all students to succeed. All school districts in Fayette County are eligible to apply for an Idea Fund grant in the amount of $2,500.
The Patricia and Robert Metz Educational Fund is accepting grant requests from Uniontown Area School District’s middle schools or high school to enhance STEM teaching and learning. An award of $500 is intended to support teacher or student activities or the purchase of classroom materials.
With last year’s grant award, elementary STEM teacher Daniel Arnold purchased robotics and STEM kits with computer-controlled motors, sensors, and lights. “This project is impacting roughly 300 students in 16 classes at our elementary schools in the Laurel Highlands School District. The students can build over 30 activated models and, in the future, can engineer their own designs,” said Arnold.
“We look forward to helping our donors support more amazing projects like this!” said Hajek-Bates. More details about the criteria and how to apply can be found on the “Nonprofits” page at www.cffayettepa.org.
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Jan 8, 2026 | CFFC News
The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) awarded a total of $79,018 this past fall to support education in Fayette County, and projects are now in motion at each of the six school districts. This funding includes grants from three donor advised funds and two programs through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).
Nine grants totaling $25,828 were awarded from the Arthur and Millicent Gabriel Legacy Fund, the Patricia and Robert Metz Educational Fund, and the Idea Fund. As donor advised funds, the creators of these funds have ongoing involvement with their charitable giving through the foundation.
Laurel Highlands School District was awarded five grants for math class whiteboard tables, LEGO® Spike Prime kits, display screen and printer for a classroom Entrepreneurial Hub, books for a media center, and occupational therapy supplies. Uniontown Area School District was awarded a grant for a chemistry fire kit and thermal imaging camera, and two grants for different calculator models to be used at the high school. Frazier School District was awarded one grant for physics lab equipment.
In addition to supporting education through competitive grant opportunities, CFFC is approved as an Educational Improvement Organization through the DCED and provides funding for innovative educational programs. Each of the six Fayette County school districts received a $3,000 grant, thanks to the generous businesses who contribute to the program. With the funds, Penn State Extension 4-H will provide programming for a STEM and Computer Science Initiative at Albert Gallatin Area School District, Brownsville Area School District, Frazier School District, Laurel Highlands School District, and Uniontown Area School District. At Connellsville Area School District, funds will provide programming for a STEM Science program at the Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center.
Through DCED programming, CFFC also supports local families with tuition assistance for Fayette County students attending Pre-K and K-12 private schooling. The foundation awarded $9,000 in Pre-K tuition assistance and $26,190 in K-12 tuition assistance. Participating schools include A.G. Montessori School, Calvary Chapel Christian School, Calvary United Methodist Church Preschool, Conn Area Catholic School, Chestnut Ridge Christian Academy, Geibel Catholic Junior Senior High School, Grace Academy Christian School, Mt. Carmel Christian School, Mount Moriah Christian School, St. John the Evangelist Regional Catholic School, and Verna Montessori School.
The foundation’s innovative educational program grants and private school tuition assistance awards are possible through the donations from COE Distributing, Laurel Business Institute, Mid Penn Bank, PNC Bank – Pittsburgh Market, Somerset Trust Company, and United Concordia Insurance Company. More details about these programs can be found at www.cffayettepa.org.
“These funding opportunities show the variety of ways that people can support a cause and children in Fayette County through charitable giving,” said Jessica Hajek-Bates, Chief Executive Officer. “The foundation is honored to allocate this $79,000 in grants to local schools to help students and classrooms thrive.”
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Jul 14, 2025 | Building a Stronger Fayette
photo courtesy of Albert Gallatin Area School District
“The Drone Coding Curriculum is tailored for students in grades six through eight and gives students hands-on experiences building, programming, and flying real drones,” explained Jacob Magerko, STEM Teacher at Albert Gallatin South Middle School.
Students work together and use block coding to program a drone to take off, navigate through the air, and land safely at a desired destination. Magerko noted that this drone project gives students “a jolt of excitement” since there is immediate feedback when they complete their code and run it through the drone. Students get results or error messages instantly after executing code, which provides a unique hands-on and real-time learning experience.
photo courtesy of Albert Gallatin Area School District
The Community Foundation of Fayette County’s Idea Fund awarded a grant for this project in 2023. “The Idea Fund was created by a donor who wanted to help teachers achieve a level of creativity in the classroom that allows students of all learning styles to thrive,” said Renee M. Couser, CFFC Executive Director.
In addition to enhancing classroom learning, Magerko said that the drone coding project has also “exposed students to a variety of careers that are associated with drones, that they did not previously know existed.”
Because of generous donors, Fayette County school districts and local students are able to receive support through various grant opportunities. You can help strengthen education and career readiness too! Call our office at 724-437-8600 x1 to learn more.
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Apr 22, 2025 | Building a Stronger Fayette
All photos courtesy of Laurel Highlands High School
Students at Laurel Highlands High School have participated in seed planting, plant maintenance, aquaponics system monitoring, and data collection as part of an aquaponics plant nursery initiative called Sow, Grow, and Share. The initiative is organized by Andrea Sholtis, a Chemistry and Biology teacher at Laurel Highlands High School.
Sholtis said, “The Sow, Grow and Share initiative has significantly enhanced our aquaponics lab, transforming it into a dynamic hydroponics lab that now offers students the chance to cultivate plants for personal use. Across our five classes, an array of plants are flourishing, spanning from catnip for beloved pets to marigolds destined for home gardens.”
Aquaponics is a food production system that combines aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants in water). The waste produced by the fish provides nutrients for the plants, and the plants help to clean the water for the fish, creating a closed-loop system.
This initiative at Laurel Highlands High School was awarded a grant from the Community Foundation of Fayette County in 2023, through the Arthur and Millicent Gabriel Legacy Fund. The grant enabled the purchase of a 4-tier nursery and microgreen system, seedling trays, an LED 3-tier garden, plant pots, potting mix, and more.
“Embracing students of diverse abilities, from special needs to advanced placement, the initiative has fostered a shared joy in the art of planting and nurturing seeds. Particularly, students with special needs have thrived, establishing a daily routine centered around tending to their herb gardens, diligently watering and providing nutrients to their plants,” said Sholtis.
Students are experiencing hands-on learning through the Sow, Grow, and Share initiative and enhancing their understanding of sustainable agriculture, environmental science, and the aquaponics system’s role in food production.
“The foundation is happy to support engaging learning initiatives like this, through the generosity of our donors,” said Renee M. Couser, CFFC Executive Director.
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Aug 7, 2024 | Building a Stronger Fayette
Microscopes are a staple of science class, and students at Lafayette Middle School got an upgrade with funding from a grant in fall of 2023. The Patricia and Robert Metz Educational Fund, held at the Community Foundation of Fayette County, awarded a grant to Uniontown Area School District for a new set of digital microscopes for Robert Schiffbauer’s middle school science classroom.
“In recent years, I have had to skip portions of lessons due to the fact that I did not have the necessary classroom tools. Rather than simply looking at images on the projection screen, students will now be able to explore and discover on their own and within small groups,” said Schiffbauer.
Seven digital microscopes were purchased to replace outdated and damaged microscopes in the school’s inventory.
The Patricia and Robert Metz Educational Fund is a donor advised fund that has awarded funding to enhance STEM education for local students. “After 40 years as a science educator, I wanted to give back to the community that launched my career. Helping to enhance teaching and learning through an annual grant to a Uniontown Area STEM teacher seems like a good start,” said Dr. Patricia A. Metz. “This year’s awardee taught me that microscopes have come a long way since I was a high school student!”