Credit union awards teachers ‘mini-grants’

SELCO Community Credit Union has awarded 73 grants totaling $32,650 to teachers across Oregon as part of its annual Mini-Grants for Educators program, which provides crucial funding for educational and extracurricular programs. The program awards grants of as much as $500 to K-12 educators across the 26 Oregon counties that SELCO serves.

This year’s Mini-Grants include funding for a vast range of programs, from a high-altitude ballooning project in Jefferson County to a healthy cooking program in Lane County to the purchase of headphones and microphones to help Linn County students write. The 2016 Central Oregon winners include:

· High Altitude Ballooning Project – Mike Dove of Culver High School

· Art Walk Canvas Project – Anne Marie Ulum of Sage Elementary

· Literacy Means Learning – Heather Petersen of Ridgeview High School

· Can’t Top Ozbots – Nicole Suttle of High Lakes Elementary

· STEM Bins – Gina Dietz of Sage Elementary

· Music-Drums – Leslie Johnson of La Pine Elementary

SELCO Mini-Grants support educators who have creative classroom ideas, but who lack the funds needed to purchase materials to get those projects off the ground. The 73 winners were selected from a group of nearly 150 educators who applied for the Mini-Grant funding.

With the Mini-Grants, SELCO hopes to encourage innovative projects that will have the largest possible impact on students and leave a lasting impression.

“The selection committee was once again impressed with the range and creativity of the applications, and the projects that were submitted to receive funding from the program,” said Laura Illig, SELCO’s vice president of marketing. “Our belief is that the winners will help spark innovation in the classroom and improve the learning experience for their students. Some of life’s most inspirational lessons are also the most creative, and we are proud to support these teachers’ efforts to positively influence the lives of Oregon children.”

For more information on SELCO Community Credit Union’s Mini-Grants for Educators, visit www.selco.org/minigrants.