Events

The Taste of the Towns is the Foundation’s most successful and primary fundraiser, which is held each year on the 4th Wednesday in September at the Woodside Event Center at St. Michael’s in Broadview Heights.  The “Taste” is a delightful event where over 300 guests circle the ballroom, sampling culinary delights from our generous vendors.  These businesses generously donate their food samples as well as their servers.  Vendors are asked to bring one item to share although some vendors bring several different items to share.  The vendor makes the decision.  The Foundation provides tables, table linens, small paper plates, plastic forks and spoons and napkins.

Sponsored every fall since 2012 by the Foundation, the Taste of the Towns has become a true community “must-attend” event!   In September 2025, our Taste of the Towns raised over $16,000 - all of which directly benefits our schools.  With over 310 guests in attendance, the evening was a vibrant celebration of food and generosity, made possible by 30 talented culinary vendors and wizards who delighted attendees with their delicious creations.  Our guests include PCSD staff, parents, local political and business leaders, PTA leaders, members of our communities, and our Foundation members.  For our guests enjoyment we offer dozens of donated baskets in our basket raffle, sideboards, and 50/50 raffles.

Over the years, proceeds from the Taste of the Towns have fueled impactful initiatives for the Parma City Schools such as:

• Technology enhancements to elevate student learning

• Educator grants that empower teachers with innovative resources

• Scholarships that help graduating seniors from each high school to pursue higher education

• Extracurricular support for arts, athletics, and leadership programs

• Anti-bullying programs

• Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) programs for each school to encourage positive reinforcement for students, creating schools where all students succeed

• Our annual summer musical that features talented students of all ages from the Parma City School District    

Educator Grants

Each spring since 2019, the Foundation has proudly sponsored our annual Educator Grants process.  The purpose of this grants process is to seek applications from Parma City School District educators and staff that directly work with students, for funding for innovative classroom and school-wide projects that may not be possible through the typical school budgeting process.  Grant recipients are expected to utilize their funding within one year of their award.

The Foundation is extremely proud of the fact that since the inception of the Educator Grants process, we have awarded 143 grants for a total of $61,093.00 to staff members of the Parma City School District!  The exciting culmination of this process is that every May we recognize our grant recipients and present their checks at a meeting of the Parma Board of Education.

To apply for an Educator Grant, PCSD staff are asked to complete and submit an Educator Grant application using a Google Form created by our Educator Grants committee.  Educators may apply for a grant between $50.00 and $500.00.

Considerations for our Educator Grants include:

• Grants that benefit multiple classrooms and provide continuing value get priority.

• Grants involving field trips, furniture, and repeat grants are lesser priority.

• Individual applicants can only be awarded once, each school year.

• Following the completion of their project, grant recipients are asked to submit a short summary of the successes/results of their initiative, along with receipts, to the Foundation.

• Each year, the Educator Grants committee carefully reviews and scores redacted applications with names removed to ensure a fair and unbiased selection process.