Endowed Scholarship Fund

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We established the AATG Endowed Scholarship Fund in 1997 to support study abroad in German-speaking countries and over the ensuing years it has grown to over $350,000. Its founding charter is written broadly so that as the field of German study changes, the monies generated can flow in the direction of the greatest need. To date the fund has been used to support summer study by high school students, who, we hope, will continue to study German at a high level when they enter a post-secondary institution and who, we also hope, will become advocates for their local German programs. Given their young age, we may be able to count on their advocacy for more than sixty years into the future. To date, the fund has sent 17 high school students abroad who have returned home filled with language, new experiences and perspectives.

We met our initial goal of $100,000.00 by the end of the year 2000. We met our second target of $250,000.00 in 2006 thanks to many donations, large and small, by our members, and especially thanks to the generosity of Karl Otto, Professor Emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania. Karl Otto has just made a second donation to bring our fund up to around $375,000 in total donations, planned gifts, and pledges. His generous gifts challenge all of us to consider doing more. In 2011 we will be announcing a new campaign. Our aim is both to be able to fund more students in the present and to secure the long-term viability of our vision for students.

We have a strong cadre of members, some who have given gifts annually since the fund was established. Several substantial gifts have been made to honor colleagues. Baldwin High School, Pittsburgh, PA, and the Western Pennsylvania AATG donated $1,000 in memory of their colleague, Ann Lindner. Another generous gift was made by the 2001 and 2002 TraiNDaF classes in honor of Helene Zimmer-Loew. A member of the TraiNDaF class of 2003 also made a substantial donation to honor the executive director. With a $1,000 donation in honor of Lynne Tatlock, the German Department of Washington University in St. Louis became the first post-secondary institution to give at the founding-member level.

Additional Founding Members ($1,000) include: AATG Alaska Chapter; AATG Georgia Chapter; AATG Central Pennsylvania Chapter; AATG Washington (state) Chapter Keith O. Anderson; Susan Anderson and Alexander Mathäs; Stuart Atkins*; Karin Baumgartner; Herbert Boswau*; Thomas Keith Cothrun; Robert Di Donato; Anita W. DiNapoli; students of a high school German club; Sophia Holley Ellis; Christiane Frederickson; Joe K. Fugate; Paul Garcia; John Grandin; Carol Häring; Ingeborg Henderson; Gerlind Jenkner; Sidney M. Johnson*; Christiane Keck; Ruth Lorbe; Michael M. and Erika A. Metzger; Rosmarie T. Morewedge; Kurt Mueller-Vollmer; Joan Murray; Valters Nollendorfs; Patricia Paulsell; Judith Ricker and Mark Cory; Alexander Schwarz; Kathy Sheikh; Louise Planck Terry; Donna C. Van Handle; Jacqueline Vansant; Gerhard H. Weiss; Washington University German Department; and an anonymous donor.

($2,000 and above): Karen Bahnick; Michael J. Böhler; Sarah DeMaris; Jürgen Eichhoff and Karin Eichhoff-Cyrus; Margy Gerber; Charles J. James; Wolfgang Mieder; Arleen L. Pogue*; Joanna M. Ratych; Claus Reschke; Jeffrey Sammons; Renate A. Schulz; Elizabeth A. and Terry Smith; John Stark; Inghilt Traenkle; Sigrid Weinmann.

President's Circle ($5,000 and above): Kathleen Betterman; Edward G. Fichtner; Lynne Tatlock and Joseph Loewenstein, Karl F. Otto, Jr., John Paluch; Jo Sanders, Edith H. Stock, Johanna Whiteman, and Helene Zimmer-Loew.

(*deceased)

In addition to Alaska, Georgia, Central Pennsylvania and Washington, several other AATG chapters have also contributed: Florida, Northern Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Western Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Houston, and Wisconsin.

Please consider becoming a patron of this fund and thus support the future of German studies in North America. The fund offers a direct opportunity for us as teachers of German to uphold a central aim of our profession, and every donation helps us toward our goal. If you would like to make a large donation, you can take up to 36 months to pay the pledge. Keep in mind too that you can pay with a credit card, if you wish, that we are able to accept securities as donations, and that your donation is tax deductible. Your gift will make a difference; it will expand the world for worthy students not just in this generation but in those to come.

Thanks to all those who have contributed to the AATG Endowed Scholarship Fund, especially those who contribute regularly. The rewarding, unforgettable experiences enjoyed by the first recipients were made possible through your generous gifts.

Donate now or send your gift with our form.