By RICHARD PREZ-PEA

New York Times Syndicate

September 8, 2014 10:19 AM

Harvard University on Monday will announce the largest gift in its history, $350 million to the School of Public Health, from a group controlled by a wealthy Hong Kong family, one member of which earned graduate degrees at the university.

Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvards president, said the gift by the Morningside Foundation, directed to a relatively small part of the university, would have a profound effect on the School of Public Health in Boston, giving it a stable financial base and the ability to give students more financial aid while expanding programs in several fields.

Its always been, as the whole field always is, under-resourced, Faust said. Its overwhelmingly dependent on money from federal grants that are under threat.

The foundation is led by two brothers, Ronnie and Gerald Chan, whose businesses include the Hang Lung Group, a major developer of real estate in Hong Kong and elsewhere in China, and the Morningside Group, a private equity and venture capital firm. The School of Public Health will be renamed for their father, T.H. Chan, who founded Hang Lung.

Only six larger donations have been made to an American institution of higher education, according to a list by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Those include a $400 million gift by Eli and Edythe Broad to the Broad Institute, a joint arm of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Chans gift is the largest to Harvard alone.

In keeping with university practice, Harvard did not disclose the timing or form of the gift. Large donations are often spread over several years, and can consist of securities or real estate, in addition to cash.

Harvard officials said the gift would be used to address four broad areas: pandemics, which they define to include threats like obesity and cancer; harmful environments, ranging from pollution to violence; poverty and humanitarian crises; and failing health systems. Faust cited the Ebola outbreak in West Africa as an example of the need for such resources, hitting on three of those four areas a rapidly spreading disease, abetted by poverty, that existing health systems cannot handle.

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Harvard Public Health School Gets Record $350 Million Gift

For the 16th consecutive year, faithful and dedicated John Cooper School students are helping a family build a new home from foundation to roof shingles over the next 10 months and are learning much more than construction work.

The Habitat for Humanity house is a project that encompasses the whole school. Students from every grade level help in different ways, all of which are crucial to the success and completion of the home, said Maci Billiot, construction co-lead chair of the project.

The Lower School helps through the Quarters for Quarters campaign to raise money and participates in the landscaping workday at the end of the year to help put the finishing touches on the house. The Middle School contributes snacks for our workdays to help feed our hungry workers and joins us on-site to help paint. Upper School students have the opportunity to go on-site and help with the construction of the house, from small walls to roofing, and everything in-between, Billiot said.

Select Upper School students who have demonstrated a true passion and dedication for this endeavor make up the Habitat Steering Committee. They lead the construction on-site and behind the scenes, and hope to raise a minimum of $27,500 this school year through fundraisers, such as T-shirt and sweatshirt sales, a car wash, babysitting nights, and a barbecue during Spirit Week, according to Christopher Zupan, co-lead chair.

Zupan has participated in the Habitat project since he was in kindergarten, helping to plant flowers in one familys yard.

I really enjoy giving back to the community, Zupan said. Seeing them smile makes it all worth it.

When I first began helping, I started because I needed the community service hours, Billiot said. But then, I got to know the family we were building the house for and it became a more personal experience for me.

The 16th house built by John Cooper students is for a woman named Rosa Cardenas and her two children, Carlos and Sarai, who said, I am happy to finally start building on the house.

Families who receive homes from Habitat for Humanity do not receive free houses, they have a house payment each month and pay it down until the loan is paid off.

Kevin Dural said he really enjoys the unity of his classmates getting together to help others.

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John Cooper School students learn life lessons while building Habitat home

9/4/2014 - West Side Leader

CUYAHOGA FALLS Walsh Jesuit High School, located at 4550 Wyoga Lake Road, will host a celebration of its 50th anniversary Sept. 27.

Walsh Jesuit was funded by a gift from Cornelius Walsh, a prominent businessman in Cuyahoga Falls in the early 1900s, according to school officials. The gift, along with funding from the Cleveland Catholic Diocese and the purchase of 50 acres of Conway Farm, established the location and concept of Walsh Jesuit High School. On Sept. 27, 1964, the Rev. Francis Dietz, SJ, Walsh Jesuits first president, held a blessing of grounds ceremony, and on Sept. 7, 1965, Walsh Jesuit opened its doors to 153 freshmen.

The 50th anniversary celebrations to mark that occasion will begin with a Mass in the Chapel at 5 p.m. and continue with a party in the dome from 6 to 11 p.m. The party will include more than 20 local food vendors, live music and dancing beginning at 8 p.m.

The live music will include country music artist Mark Leach, a 2008 alumnus of Walsh Jesuit, and 2001 alumni Kira Leyden Andrea and Jeff Andrea, of The Strange Familiar. In addition, the Dave Banks Big Band, a 17-piece swinging big band with Walsh Jesuit Theater Director Dave Banks as lead trumpet, will perform.

We are excited to celebrate all that Walsh Jesuit has accomplished in just 50 short years, said Karl Ertle, Walsh Jesuits president. This is a great time for all in our Walsh Jesuit community to come together and honor each other, our alumni, our faculty and staff all the people that truly make Walsh Jesuit an extraordinary place.

Anyone interested in attending the event is asked to register by Sept. 12 at http://www.walshjesuit.org.

BATH Old Trail School is presenting Story-Time for Toddlers as part of its Little Readers @ Your Library program. Story-Time for Toddlers will take place on Thursdays from 8:45 to 9:15 a.m., with sessions starting in September. This program is free and open to the public.

Story-Time for Toddlers provides toddlers ages 18 months to 3 years with an interactive storytelling format to help them develop language skills. Parents and children attend together. Sessions include stories, songs, finger play and more. The program is designed to instill a lifelong love of reading as early as possible.

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Walsh Jesuit to celebrate 50th anniversary