Sia Mahesh is the newest and youngest member of the grants committee for Akron Community Foundation’s Millennium Fund for Children. A junior at Western Reserve Academy, Sia plans to pursue a career in oncology. Beyond her medical aspirations, she said, “I am deeply committed to service and community advocacy, and I hope to leverage my skills and experiences to support patients and communities through connection, education, and programs that address their health and personal needs.” 

She added: "I am passionate about supporting meaningful projects in our community. Through my own service work, I have personally experienced how access to resources can shape opportunities, and I wanted to contribute to making those opportunities more accessible to organizations making a positive impact. The Millennium Fund Grants Committee gives me a chance to do that." 

As the year draws to a close, there's still time to make a charitable gift to the Millennium Fund for Children and receive a tax deduction for 2025. Download Akron Community Foundation's Year-End Giving Guide for strategic tips to help you maximize your tax savings.

As always, you can make a gift via cash, check or credit card:

Akron Community Foundation's Millennium Fund for Children recently awarded 40 grants totaling $63,000 to children's programs throughout the Greater Akron area.

Several organizations received grants this year, including Akron Public Schools’ North High School, which will receive $1,000 to help preserve historical school artifacts by digitally scanning them to create a virtual reality tour of the school hallways. Students also will create 3D replicas of some of the items.

A pair of sneakers can be more than just an article of clothing – it can be the spark that opens the door to science, storytelling and an entrepreneurial mindset.

That’s the mission behind the Akron Sneaker Academy, a local organization working to inspire creativity and innovation in young people through an influential fashion and cultural staple.

The Akron Sneaker Academy is among 40 nonprofit organizations receiving a total of $63,000 in grants this year from the Millennium Fund for Children, a partnership between the Akron Beacon Journal and Akron Community Foundation that launched in 1999 to improve the lives of local children.

Battling pediatric cancer is an emotionally and financially draining fight, but the Littlest Heroes Pediatric Cancer Foundation made it its mission to bolster patients' and their families' spirits and keep them afloat.

Littlest Heroes is among 40 nonprofit organizations receiving a total of $63,000 in grants this year from the Millennium Fund for Children, a partnership between the Akron Beacon Journal and Akron Community Foundation launched in 1999 to improve the lives of local children.

The nonprofit helps families of children undergoing cancer treatments at Akron Children's Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital and University Hospitals' Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.

When North High School needed more classroom space, the library’s memorabilia room became an office.

A few mementos, including the Womanhood Award and Manhood Award trophies and a wooden Viking ship a student created in the 1940s, have been relocated to hallway display cases. But most of the trophies, plaques, class photos, letterman jackets, and other keepsakes chronicling the school’s roughly 100-year history were boxed up and stored roughly four years ago.

A new student-led project, which recently received a $1,000 grant from the Millennium Fund for Children, seeks to bring the memorabilia out of the boxes and showcase the collection for the community using 3D and virtual reality technology.