By Francesca V. Mignosa

"…And the sea will grant each man new hope, as sleep brings dreams of home," Christopher Columbus once said. A thousand nights I have dreamed of my Sicilian home, and the same amount of times I woke up on American grounds and realized the wealth of possibilities and new hopes it presented to us, specifically to my sister and I.

These inspirational words stand at the core of the most intrinsic reasons for which my family decided to leave Sicily, in the pursuit of a strong education, the mastery of a new language (English), and the search for new dreams in the United States of America.

Our first encounter with the Christopher Columbus Educational Foundation was almost providential. I was getting ready to attend college and my mother came to me with information on the organization, its mission statement and the possibility of a scholarship to partially fund my undergraduate studies at Ohio University.

It was 1998 then, and with profound honesty, great desire and high ambitions, I sat down and wrote the story of my life and the reasons for considerations for the scholarship. Months later, I received the news that I had been chosen as one of the recipients and that I would meet other scholarship recipients and the donors at a banquet to be held in Columbus, OH.

Immediately, I felt there was something profoundly human and dignifying about this organization -- and that the men behind its curtains had set the stage for a rare and empowering Italian American experience. I was excited to personally meet and thank everyone, and most importantly to hear how, when, and why this beautiful educational voyage came to being.

My sister and I received scholarships from Mr. Sam Schillaci, Mr. Schaffer and Mr. Joseph Yanity. We are deeply grateful to all of them and treasure all of those special moments within us. Along the way though, we have particularly developed a strong and rare bond with Mr. Sam Schillaci. It might be because Mr. Schillaci was born in Palermo, Sicily -- the same enchanted island where my sister and I were born and, in a certain way, we were able to look up to him and relate our life experience to his.

On September 26, Mr. Schillaci will be 94 years old. He was born in 1913 and came to the United States when he was just one year old. In 1946 he started working for Owens Illinois Glass, the largest container manufacturing company in the world. Soon, he was praised for his management potential and became a corporate "gypsy" -- as he explained -- for 42 years in the Eastern Part of the U.S.A.

It was only in 1988 that he returned with his family to Columbus, OH. Here, he found an Italian American magazine and contacted its editor, John S. De Libera. They immediately became friends -- and later on would both be involved in the Christopher Columbus Educational Foundation goals and mission. I hope to reach his age with the same volcanic energy, high enthusiasm, and ever-present laughter and good humor.

I recently had the opportunity to converse with Mr. John S. De Libera, former president of the Foundation for sixteen years, who unveiled the story behind this fantastic organization. The Christopher Columbus Educational Foundation was incorporated in 1991, but officially became operative in 1994.

Mr. De Libera, Mr. Robert Schaffer, Mr. Joseph Cua and Mr. William Piccinini were the most supportive of the organization. "If we are fortunate enough to live in the United States," Mr. De Libera explained, "it is by virtue of someone else coming to this country before us. If we are successful today, it is in part because of that someone. We must never forget that." Instituting an organization such as this would mean remembering our Italian ancestors, their sacrifices and dreams and giving back to our local community and fellow citizens. The Foundation does not discriminate against any one because of race, creed or national origin.

The mission statement of the organization since its inception has been to "improve the quality of life through education." This explains why the primary and most successful focus of the Christopher Columbus Educational Foundation has been its Scholarship Program throughout the years.

Scholarships are created to remember and honor someone who is with us now or who has passed on. A biographical sketch highlighting this person, along with a photo, is published twice in a paper of the founders' choice and city of origin. The donor may prescribe qualifications to his or her scholarship, such as restricting it to a person seeking to be a teacher, nurse, etc. The person who donates the funding for each scholarship can then become a member of the Scholarship Committee at the CCEF or allow the Committee itself to assign each student to a particular scholarship. Each year, between 100 and 150 applications are received, reviewed and those that qualify are selected.

Originally some organizers wanted to exclusively support Americans of Italian origin, however the Board of Trustees realized that there is a greater need for other groups of people. Because of this circumstance, the Foundation changed its selection criteria to be determined by "need, desire and ability" of any individual pursuing education, with a real "need" at the core of such financial assistance and support. I will leave to your imagination how the reputation of the CCEF has grown.

A large number of applications are being submitted by young, "new" immigrants who have recently arrived in the U.S.A. They come from Asia, Russia, the Balcan region, Somalia and Latin America. They are bright, motivated and ambitious individuals who had a desperate need to be assisted in the pursuit of their education and demonstrated high hopes to achieve the American dream.

Individuals or members who are interested in donating to the CCEF may do so for a sum as low as $10,000 over the course of 4 to 5 years. Once scholarship recipients are selected, they are invited to receive the scholarship and meet the people behind this generous award at a banquet held in Columbus. The CCEF always provides for all expenses for the banquet reception. In September 2007, $81,000 dollars was awarded to the selected scholarship recipients.

Eighteen members, all from the state of Ohio, currently constitute the board of the Foundation. To be a member, individuals can express their personal interest or be recommended by others.

After 16 years of service as president of the foundation, on a purely voluntary basis, Mr. De Libera stepped down from his position in May 2007, but he still serves on the Advisory Board and will continue to remain available for advice and recommendations, as requested. As I spoke with him over the phone, I felt his high enthusiasm, passion and pride in the achievements over the years of the Christopher Columbus Educational Foundation.

Maria Alexander, whose father Guido was a Board member in the organization, has been elected as the new President. Kevin Slatzer serves as Executive Director. He is a very dedicated and heartfelt man whose supreme efforts have made the Foundation very successful. Betty Veverka, Treasurer, has volunteered for many years to serve and contribute to the goals and visions of the CCEF.

Other than its strong scholarship program, the CCEF has supported other programs in the Columbus area. They work in collaboration with the "Safe & Sound" program in Columbus, which supports preschool programs for homeless children. They have also instituted Italian and English language instruction programs held at their facility. Italian courses are offered at different levels: beginning, intermediate and advanced. English classes for internationals are offered on weekends and are free for all. The Christopher Columbus Educational Foundation School is located at 3442 South Hamilton Rd., in Columbus, Ohio.

Mr. De Libera ended our conversation with some final remarks on Italian Americans and their four most important qualities. "We are one, hard working; two, family oriented; three, have a spiritual connection to the world, and four, appreciate the value of education." He explained, "these are the qualities that make people successful."

The Christopher Columbus Educational Foundation partially funded eight years of undergraduate studies for my sister and I at Ohio University. It has been almost ten years since this journey began; yet we are still in touch today and continue to cultivate and maintain this special bond.

The organization continues humbly, humanly and with great dignity their educational commitment to any individual in need, with a great desire and a demonstrated ability to pursue and succeed in their education.

I feel privileged and honored to be able to pay tribute to Mr. Sam Schillaci, Mr. John S. De Libera, Mr. Joseph Yanity, Mr. Schaffer, and everyone at the Christopher Columbus Educational Foundation for their belief and contribution to the educational foundation of my sister and I. A gift that no words can truly explain -- one that shall never leave our hearts and minds -- for it allowed us to pursue our highest educational dreams and beyond, aspire upward and onward, and motivate us to be responsible and contributing individuals for the betterment of society to the best of our abilities.

For more information on the Christopher Columbus Education Foundation, call 614-457-7154, visit www.ccefi.org or email ccefeducation@yahoo.com. Those interested may also write to The Christopher Columbus Education Foundation, 3363 Tremont Road, Suite 101, Columbus, OH 43221-2110.