Spirit Mountain Community Fund awards more than $400,000 in grants

By Nicole Montesano and Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals staff

A $100,000 grant from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund will enable the Sheridan School District to offer students training in a much greater range of possible careers, according to School Superintendent Dorie Vickery.

“The funds will provide for the necessary site work and permits to construct our fire tower, a key part of the Fire Science/EMT Training career pathway,” she said in an email. “The fire tower will allow high school students and firefighting recruits with hands-on experience and certifications to meet the demands of an essential profession in this region. It will also allow our current firefighting organizations a safe place for training.”

Vickery anticipates that the fire tower will be complete by the end of this summer and serve up to 25 students in the coming school year.

“We are very grateful for the funding and the opportunity to partner with the Spirit Mountain Community Fund on this important project,” Vickery said.

The fire tower is part of the Sheridan School District’s efforts to expand its educational options with its planned Barbara Roberts Career Technical School, the first of its kind in rural Oregon.

The Community Fund grant application noted that according to the Oregon Report Card, just 82.8% of Sheridan residents have high school diplomas and 19.2% live under the state poverty line.

However, students who participate in advanced career and technical education courses experience a 2% wage increase for each additional year, and a study from Arkansas shows that students who take three or more courses in a single CTE program are 42% more likely to graduate from high school.

Vickery said students will be offered training in four different careers: Firefighting/EMT, agricultural science, diesel technician and truck driving, and in manufacturing.

“This project will create a sustainable employment pipeline, filling skilled positions in local industries and offering students clear pathways into high-wage, high-demand careers,” Vickery wrote in the application. “Students will earn college credits, high school diplomas and certifications through hands-on, applied learning experiences. Our programming will also incorporate a focus on developing professional soft skills, such as adaptability and critical thinking.”

The school district was among the 14 grant recipients for the first quarter grants from Spirit Mountain Community Fund. A check presentation was held in the Governance Center Atrium Wednesday, March 12.

Community Fund Executive Director Angie Sears welcomed attendees to the check presentation.

“It is such an honor to host you on our homelands,” she said. “You’re taking time out of your busy schedules to be here. The check presentation is a way to connect with our grantees who are providing much needed support and services for vulnerable communities.”

Tribal Council member Matthew Haller opened the presentation with a flute song.

Community Fund Program Coordinator Angela Schlappie announced the large grant recipients and Grants Coordinator Jesse Knight announced the small grant recipients.

The fund awarded nine large grants worth $377,805 and five small grants worth $34,496, with the largest, $100,000, going to the Sheridan School District.

The Spirit Mountain Community Fund was created as part of the Tribe’s gaming contract with the state. It is supervised by an eight-member board of trustees that includes Tribal Council members Brenda Tuomi (chair), Denise Harvey (secretary/treasurer) and Kathleen George.

Tuomi, Haller, Sears, Schlappie and Knight shook recipients’ hands as they were awarded their grants checks.

 The fund has given out more than $100 million in 3,410 grants since its inception in 1997 and receives 6% of the revenue from the casino, which it distributes among northwestern Oregon nonprofits.

The Community Fund also donates funds to the nine federally recognized Tribes in Oregon and to government agencies in Polk, Tillamook and Yamhill counties.

Nine large grants were awarded to the following organizations:

• $30,000 to Clackamas Women’s Services, for prevention and intervention services expansion in rural communities;
• $10,170 to Lewis & Clark College, for saving salmonids with cooler water;
• $50,000 to Lutheran Family Services in Yamhill County, for A Family Place;
• $42,766 to the Oregon Agricultural Trust in Lane County, for supporting Tribal connection to restored native oak habitat;
• $50,000 to Oregon Native American Chamber in Multnomah County, for creating clean energy pathways for Native Americans in Oregon;
• $24,869 to Parenting Now in Lane County, for parenting education for rural families to help prevent child abuse;
• $100,000 to the Sheridan School District, for the Barbara Roberts CTEC: Oregon’s first rural CTEC for marginalized youth;
• $50,000 to Vision to Learn in Multnomah County, for vision care access for underserved Oregon students;
• $20,000 to Volunteers in Medicine Clinic in Lane County, for women’s care and durable equipment.

Five small grants were awarded to the following organizations:

• $6,000 to FinAbility in Multnomah County, for savings matching for domestic violence survivors and their families;
• $7,500 to Opportunity Oregon Inc. in Lane County, for its Pathway Home project;
• $6,000 to Pacific Communities Health District Foundation in Lincoln County, for its Reach Out and Read project providing approved books for children;
• $7,496 to the Siletz Regalia Sharing Closet in Marion County;
• $7,500 to Washington County Kids for its Out-of-School-Time provider association.

The presentation concluded with a Tri-logoed blanket raffle for two grantees. Community Fund Administrative Assistant Pamala Warren-Chase told attendees about the creation of the blanket by Tribal member Matthew Williams. Sheridan School District and Vision to Learn won the raffle.