Grantees Stories
Filter by:
A Black-led organization empowers 19-year-old Darell McElroy to find peacefulness in nature and hope for his future
Two years ago, Darell McElroy felt hopeless and assumed he wouldn’t graduate high school. Around that time, he took his first outing with The Blueprint Foundation, a nonprofit founded by members of a local chapter of the Black organization Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. that nurtures Black students in and out of school. Blueprint offered him deeply committed and personal mentorship, frequent and safe access to nature, and the dignity of being valued for his work. “I’m astonished,” he says. “I changed.”
Funding Area:
Youth Leadership
Location:
Multnomah County
Greater Oregon STEM Hub (GO STEM)
In Eastern Oregon, students conceptualized, used AutoCAD to design, and then built a fully renewable-energy powered classroom with solar panels, energy storage, HVAC, and satellite internet connectivity. Introducing the Mobile Makers Lab—a traveling exhibit run by the Greater Oregon STEM Hub (GO STEM) bringing science education to students spread across 38,000 square miles.
Funding Area:
Environmental Education
Location:
Union County
Adelante Mujeres’ Chicas Youth Development Program and Experiencia Ecológica
For 18 years, the Chicas afterschool program run by Adelante Mujeres at 28 schools in Washington County, has been a haven for young Latine girls—a space apart from their daily lives where they feel safe to learn and grow. But Chicas has always been more than a clubhouse. Through Experiencia Ecológica, it’s also the Chicas’ gateway to nature.
Funding Area:
Environmental Education
Location:
Washington County
Camp Kiwanilong and People of Color Outdoors
“All people are at their best when they spend regular time in nature,” Pamela Slaughter, founder and executive director of People of Color Outdoors (POCO), explains. She’s getting creative in how she creates empowering opportunities for people of color to access the diversity of beautiful places in Oregon. Learn about the special relationships she and POCO have with an historic camp on the Oregon Coast.
Funding Area:
Environmental Education
Location:
Clatsop County
Community Science Project, Wild Schools, and Growing Community Roots
In the Grande Ronde watershed in Eastern Oregon, three distinct outdoor education programs are learning from watershed restoration and each other to support diverse youth.
Funding Area:
Environmental Education
Location:
Union County
Beyond Toxics
In Eugene, the nonprofit Beyond Toxics is fueling a grassroots movement for a safe, healthy, toxic-free Oregon for all. Because communities of color experience more pollution and have less of a seat at the table, Beyond Toxics focuses on empowering the communities most impacted, beginning with the youth. A unique ten-week paid internship program trains students on how public policy happens so they can become the leaders of our future.
Funding Area:
Youth Leadership
Location:
Lane County
Pages
...