April 04, 2012

PGE Foundation awards more than $400K in grants in first quarter 2012
Top priority given to education and academic support programs

PORTLAND, Ore.-In the first quarter of 2012, the PGE Foundation - Portland General Electric's corporate foundation - awarded 46 grants totaling $421,633 to nonprofits across the state to fund programs in areas of education, health and wellness, and arts education.

The foundation gave top priority to addressing education and academic support, awarding almost $238,133 to programs focused on high school and post-secondary technical training programs with visible paths to jobs, academic support for low-income youth and their families, and arts education.

"In 2012 the foundation will continue to focus on supporting an educational delivery system that goes from cradle to career with our emphasis this year on middle, high school and college students," said Carole Morse, foundation president. "We also will continue to help those who need extra help to be successful in life by supporting transition programs, alternative school programs, and Oregonians in need of basic services."

The PGE Foundation awarded an $85,133 grant this quarter to Community 101, the joint PGE Foundation and Oregon Community Foundation classroom-based program in 68 Oregon high schools. Community 101 provides students opportunities to be involved in their communities through grant-making and volunteering. The PGE Foundation's grant to Community 101 includes PGE employee donations which the company matched.

In addition, education grants were awarded to:

• ACE Academy for Architecture, Construction, and Engineering: $10,000 to support mentor coordination of the ACE Senior Capstone program which connects ACE students to industry, trade schools, colleges, and potential employers.
• Centro Cultural of Washington County (Cornelius):$10,000 to provide English and computer instruction to parents of low-income students.
• Impact NW:$10,000 to support the Community Schools program which provides academic support for at-risk, low-income students.
• Incight Portland:$6,000 for the START program, addressing the barriers which keep youth with disabilities from accessing pathways to post-secondary education.
• NAYA Family Center: $10,000 to support the Early College Academy Math Enhancement project for low-income Native American high school students.
• Open Meadow Alternative Schools:$7,500 to deliver hands-on college and career development services to over 200 students who are at high risk of dropping out of school.
• Pathfinders of Oregon: $2,500 for education and job training to pregnant and parenting youth.
• Portland Community College: $10,000 for the Future Connect program, which provides scholarships and mentors for academically at-risk students to overcome barriers to achieving higher education.
• Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center:$7,500 to provide support for Rosemary Anderson High School graduates to move into post-secondary education and/or career pathways. 
• Serendipity Center, Inc.: $5,000 for the Transition to Independence program, which helps youth with mental health issues transition to independent living.

Arts education grants were awarded to:

• Bag and Baggage (Hillsboro):$6,000 to provide 3,000 free theatre tickets to Washington County high school students.
• BodyVox: $7,500 to provide accessible, affordable arts education to children in low-income or underserved communities.
• Broadway Rose Theatre Company: $5,000 for subsidized tickets for YMCA youth and drama camp scholarships to underserved children in the Tigard/Tualatin School District.
• Hollywood Theatre: $5,000 to support Project Youth Doc, a four-week documentary film production program for teens.
• Literary Arts: $7,500 for the Writers in the Schools program, which brings professional, creative writers into Portland high school classrooms.
• Metropolitan Youth Symphony: $3,500 to provide music education for under-served youth.
• Oregon Ballet Theatre: $10,000 to provide student matinee ballet performances and classroom materials for low-income students.
• Oregon Children's Theatre Company: $10,000 for the News Plays Initiative, which brings new plays and in-school curriculum and education outreach services to low-income children.
• Oregon Symphony Association: $15,000 to support Music Education programs for children K-8, in the Portland metro area, who would not have access and exposure otherwise.
• Portland Playhouse:$2,500 to the Fall Festival of Shakespeare involving ten high schools in an eight week course culminating in each school's production of a Shakespeare play
• Portland Symphonic Choir: $2,500 to provide choral arts in schools and a free community concert in North Portland.

Healthy Families grants focused on programs aimed at combatting domestic violence, hunger and homelessness, as well as programs for seniors, people with disabilities, and high-potential, low-opportunity youth:    

• CASA for Children:$9,500 to provide CASA Advocates for children who were removed from their families because of abuse or neglect.
• Clackamas Service Center: $10,000 to provide groceries and hot meals to low income and homeless families in Clackamas County.
• Columbia County Women's Resource Center (St. Helens):$5,000 for domestic violence-reduction activities.
• Community Warehouse:$4,000 to expand services to Washington County making available donated furniture and household goods to low-income families transitioning into stable housing.
• Dental Foundation of Oregon:$10,000 to support the Tooth Taxi Free Mobile Dental Clinic, which serves low-income students across Oregon
• Domestic Violence Resource Center: $5,000 for the Family Advocacy Center in Hillsboro.
• Eastern Oregon Mission/Agape House (Hermiston):$5,000 to support Martha's House, a family shelter serving Umatilla and Morrow Counties.
• HomePlate Youth Services:$7,500 to support outreach activities in Washington County, helping homeless youth access resources that are essential to begin their path toward stability.
• Human Solutions:$10,000 to support the work of Homeless Family Advocates, who provide vital resources to homeless families working to overcome barriers to attaining long-term income and housing stability.
• Kids Intervention & Diagnostic Service Center (Bend):$5,000 to provide services to children who have been physically/sexually abused, suffered from neglect or have been witness to domestic violence between their parents.
• Kinship House:$7,500 to provide mental health therapy services for foster children.
• Mano a Mano (Salem):$10,000 for the Youth Promotores Program, focused on leadership development, teen pregnancy/gang prevention, and civic engagement.
• Oregon Food Bank: $20,000 to purchase approximately 50,000 pounds of bulk and shelf-stable foods for distribution.
• Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation: $10,000 to provide free sight and hearing screenings to low-income children throughout the state of Oregon.
• Our House of Portland: $7,500 to support people with HIV/AIDS by providing access to a food pantry and basic needs items.
• Partners for a Hunger Free Oregon:$10,000 to provide meals to low-income children through summer and after school programs.
• Salvation Army: $5,000 for the West Women's and Children's Shelter, which provides housing, advocacy and support services to women and their children fleeing from domestic violence.
• Sisters of the Road:$10,000 to provide hot meals to people experiencing homelessness and poverty in exchange for dignified barter work.
• Store to Door:$2,500 to supplement costs for filling orders of groceries, medications, and household items and delivering them to the homes of seniors and people with disabilities.
• YWCA of Portland: $5,000 to support the Yolanda House for women and children seeking refuge from domestic violence.
• Your Next Step:$7,500 to provide financial assistance to low-income families. 

Grant awards focused on performances made available to the community include:

• Inland Northwest Musicians (Hermiston): $5,000 to provide free concert performances to the community.
• Miracle Theatre Group:$7,500 to support La Luna Nueva Festival, which includes 16 free events with nearly 100 artists in dance, music, poetry and storytelling during Hispanic Heritage Month.
• Portland Japanese Garden: $5,000 for Free Admission Day to the public in February 2012

# # #

Carole Morse, PGE Foundation, 503-464-7620

Elaina Medina, PGE, 503-464-8790

distributed by

This press release was issued by PGE - Portland General Electric Company and was initially posted at http://www.portlandgeneral.com/our_company/news_issues/news/04_04_2012_pge_foundation_awards_more_th .aspx . It was distributed, unedited and unaltered, by noodls on 2012-04-04 23:13:38 PM. The issuer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained therein.