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Cow Creek Foundation gives over $400,000 to charitable organizations in seven Oregon counties, including $20,000 towards the creation of a new school building for the Phoenix School in Roseburg, Oregon.
Cash help:
Foundation handouts will also aid county social agencies, programs
By Janine Jobe
Everything from a new school building to video equipment for the Umpqua Valley Arts Association got a boost as grants were handed out Tuesday by the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation.
Nearly $406,000 in grants were awarded to organizations in seven counties, including Douglas County.
Phoenix School of Roseburg, which provides alternative education for Douglas County youth, received $20,000, from the foundation. The grant nudged the school nearer to its goal of raising $4 million for a new building.
Currently located in downtown Roseburg; the school hopes to break ground on a new complex on Diamond Lake boulevard in the spring. The land was donated by Douglas County. The needs of the students have simply outgrown the old facility, executive director Ron Breyne said.
The first biannual Buss Rondeau Award given but in honor of Wallace "Buster” Rondeau was awarded to the Riversdale Academy at Melrose Elementary School for innovative education. Tribal and foundation chairwoman Sue Shaffer gave an emotional talk about Rondeau, who was key in establishing the foundation and was an influential tribal member.
"This is given with love and affection as well as respect," Shaffer said. "He believed in education and families. He lived "what he believed."
Rondeau's wife, Polly, presented the award to Patricia Duerfedt, who runs the Riversdale Academy. The Academy is an authentic one-room schoolhouse from the early frontier days of Douglas County.
The school is used as part of a history program in which students have classes in the building, learn from the McGuffy Reader and use quill pens and slate boards.
"We step back in time to study history and actually live it,” Duerfeldt said.
Other big winners at the ceremony, held at the Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino Resort’s convention center, included Douglas Elementary School in Drain, which received $20,000.
Drain will use the money for a self-help program that teaches young students and parents how to cope with stress, disagreements and to avoid the use of violence.
South Umpqua School District received $20,000 for kitchen equipment to provide meals for the schools in South County.
Glendale Community Action Response Team received $20,000 to go toward the construction of a house in conjunction with school projects.
The Winston Dillard School District received $13,750 for technology upgrades.
Schools weren’t the only organization to benefit though.
Umpqua Community Action Network received grants for two of its programs.
The Confidence Clinic received $10,000 toward a skill-building program for low-income women, and the Housing Program received $20,000 for transitional housing for people recovering from substance abuse.
The Sutherlin/Oakland Emergency Food Pantry received $10,000 to help with the construction of a new building, the Umpqua Valley Arts Association garnered $7,000 for video equipment to aid in a project that will help art teachers enable their students to meet state mandated standards, and Elkton Community Education Center received $8,200 for a community youth art program.
Nonprofit organizations interested in applying for grants can contact the foundation at 957-8945 or write to 2371 N.E. Stephens St. Suite 100, Roseburg, OR 97470. The foundation’s Web site is located at www.cowcreekfoundation.com. The deadline for the next round of grant awards is March 1.
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