Bank, Blazers make grants to 2 C.O. elementary schools

There are new reasons to smile as the Trail Blazers Foundation and Wells Fargo awarded $110,000 in grants benefiting hundreds of high risk and low- and moderate-income students at 24 schools in 19 rural and urban cities across Oregon and S.W. Washington, including two elementary schools in Central Oregon.

The donations support a wide variety of academic, arts, diversity, technology and physical fitness programs and equipment. T he amount of each grant was based on the scope and costs associated with the project or program seeking funds.

Juniper Elementary School in Bend received $4,400 to purchase materials to teach students computer science skills, coding and movie-making techniques.

Rosland Elementary in La Pine received $500 to purchase books and other materials to enable the kindergarten classes to study how chickens hatch.

Through their fourth annual “Take It To the Court for Education” program, the Trail Blazers Foundation and Wells Fargo distributed the grants during a special reception last Saturday at the Moda Center arena in Portland.

Teachers, school staff, administrators, parents and community members had submitted more than 300 applications in pursuit of grants for their local schools. A committee of community leaders managed the review process to determine this year’s winners.

“This is the culmination of an important partnership that has allowed the Trail Blazers Foundation and Wells Fargo to channel much-needed dollars directly into schools and classrooms,” said Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter President & CEO Chris McGowan. “As we’ve seen every year of the program, ‘Take It To The Court for Education’ continues to provide funding for important initiatives at schools throughout our region.”

“I volunteer as the board chair of the Trail Blazers Foundation. I can tell you that both of our organizations view quality education as a crucial building block of a healthy community,” said Wells Fargo Region Bank President Tracy Curtis of Portland.

“We truly believe that if we don’t support our local schools and education, our future is at risk,” added Wells Fargo Region Bank President Cindy Johnson of McMinnville. “This grant program is one of the many ways we help our local communities and youth succeed.”

In the past four years, the Trail Blazers Foundation and Wells Fargo have presented $385,000 in grants to 73 deserving schools in this region through the “Take It To the Court For Education” program.