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Other Programs and Activities

1994 Columbus Classic Golf Tournament

In October 1994, the Foundation sponsored the Columbus Classic Golf Tournament at Chantilly Country Club in Chantilly, VA. The tournament was the Foundation's first fundraising effort.

Rediscovering Justice Conference

The Christopher Columbus Foundation was a contributing sponsor of Rediscovering Justice: An Interfaith Conference for Youth on the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations held at the University of San Francisco, June 22-25, 1995. Participants included 200 youth, ages from 18-25, who identified themselves as committed to the quest for justice from their own diverse religious traditions. The Foundation awarded the conference with a $75,000 matching grant.

1995 Jubilee Commission Reunion Luncheon

In September 1995 the Christopher Columbus Foundation hosted a tenth anniversary reunion luncheon for the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Commission. The Jubilee Commission was established in 1985 to plan the 1992 quincentenary celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America. Rosalyn Queen, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Christopher Columbus Foundation, served as master of ceremonies at the luncheon. Speakers included Senator Patrick Leahy; Congressmen John LaFalce and Bruce Vento and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi; John Pierce, chairman of the Foundation's Development and Feasibility Committee; Stan Heuisler, president and CEO of the Columbus Center; William McNeill, former chairman of the Jubilee Commission; and Charles Ginoli, Jubilee Commission member and organizer of the reunion events.  Judith Brown was introduced as the first Columbus Scholar.

Columbus Center

During 1995-96, the Christopher Columbus Foundation awarded a one-year $40,000 fellowship grant to the Columbus Center, a new national center for marine biotechnology research and education located in Baltimore, Maryland. The Columbus Center offered educational programs focusing on the marine environment that encouraged science as a career path for young people, particularly minorities and women.

The Christopher Columbus Foundation's award funded the Columbus Center's first year Internships Program at its Science and Technology Education Center (SciTEC). The grant provided funding to staff SciTEC with five interns-a teacher, two college students and two high school students.

First Flight Centennial Foundation Grant

The Discoveries of the Past program was implemented in 1997 through a partnership with the First Flight Centennial Foundation. The State of North Carolina planned the commemoration for the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, which "proved to the world that controlled, powered flight by a heavier-than-air flying machine had become a reality." The famed flight took place on December 17, 1903. The fundraising efforts of this project were the responsibility of the First Flight Centennial Foundation.

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to the First Flight Centennial Foundation to be used exclusively for new exterior lighting of the Wright Brothers National Memorial. According to the grant proposal, "This dramatic illumination scheme will replace original lighting and will allow the pylon to be observed by thousands of viewers both local and traveling by air." The Christopher Columbus Foundation is honored to be able to significantly commemorate the historic Past achievement of the Wright Brothers.