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Spirit Mountain Community Fund Awards SMART $25,000
Grand Ronde, Ore. – Through the Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde have awarded SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) with $25,000 for services in Yamhill County. The grant was one of many awarded to Oregon nonprofit organizations during a ceremony at the Grand Ronde Tribal Campus on Wednesday, Dec. 1.
“We are grateful to the Spirit Mountain Community Fund for its ongoing support of SMART,” says Diane Wilkinson, SMART area manager for Yamhill County. “This generous donation will allow us to continue providing literacy support to local children through reading with them one-on-one in the classroom, and providing free books to take home for their very own to encourage reading in the home year-round.”
“The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and SMART have had a long-term partnership,” says Spirit Mountain Community Fund Director, Shelley Hanson. “We know that reading is a critical component to long-term success. Our funding supports programs in rural Yamhill County. It builds relationships for kids as well as builds their skills. That’s a good investment in our future generations.”
About Spirit Mountain Community Fund/The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Spirit Mountain Community Fund is the philanthropic arm of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. The Fund has invested over $52 million on behalf of the Tribe in their 11 county area of northwest Oregon. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde through the Spirit Mountain Community Fund fulfills their Native tradition of potlatch, a ceremony at which good fortune is distributed. Each year, the Fund makes $3 million in grants to nonprofit agencies and the nine federally recognized Tribes in the state.
About SMART® (Start Making A Reader Today)
SMART, Start Making A Reader Today, is a statewide nonprofit organization that envisions an Oregon where every child can read and is empowered to succeed. We partner with schools around the state and engage community volunteers to read one-on-one with K-3 children, helping strengthen literacy skills and encourage a love of reading. Over the past two decades, SMART has steadily grown to become Oregon’s largest volunteer literacy program. In 2010-2011, we will serve 7,000 children statewide with the help of 5,000 community volunteers. Children in the program receive 14 new books throughout the school year to keep and read with their families. Together, with support from communities and schools around the state, SMART is improving the reading capacity of Oregon’s children. Visit www.getSMARToregon.org or call 1-877-598-4633 to learn more about SMART.
SMART was awarded a $25,000 grant for services in Yamhill County from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund. From left: Chris Mercier, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde council member; Diane Wilkinson, SMART area manager; Jessica Corcoran, SMART communications director; and Shelley Hanson, Spirit Mountain Community Fund director.