Oregon high school students to award $550,000 to 81 nonprofits through the CommuniCare grantmaking program
Virtual grant award ceremony on KGW Channel 8 on June 17
PORTLAND, Ore., June 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation today announced $550,000 in grants to 81 nonprofits and school programs throughout Oregon. These grants were made possible through CommuniCare, a year-long leadership program that gives Oregon high school students an opportunity to learn about issues affecting their communities to facilitate a deeper commitment to social activism.
During the fall and winter months students are challenged to raise up to $1,500, which is matched 10:1 by The CARE Foundation. Forty-seven grantmaking groups from 27 Oregon schools, totaling 900 students, spent the year becoming independent grantmakers – establishing their own mission statements, reviewing nonprofit applications, conducting interviews, and deciding which nonprofits will receive requested funds. In lieu of traditional in-person ceremonies, The CARE Foundation will host a virtual Grant Awards Ceremony this year to support social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The most rewarding part of CommuniCare has been getting to know more about my community's health and, for once, actually being involved and feeling useful," said Adolfo B., a Creekside Community High School student participant. "The grantmaking process has really enlightened me and has furthered my passion for wanting to help others any way I can."
"My late parents established this program 24 years ago. The idea was to help high school students become grantmakers and encourage them to learn about nonprofits and the needs in their community," said Jordan D. Schnitzer, Director of The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation. "Giving back to the community is a critical part of life. We care about each other in our community. When you reach out and help others it makes the community a bigger and stronger place."
CommuniCare will host a virtual grant awards ceremony on KGW Channel 8 on Thursday, June 17 from 8:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. with special guest appearances from Astoria High School, Grant High School, David Douglas High School, and Pendleton High School students and local nonprofits, including Latino Network, Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors (ECO), and Project Pooch.
"We are so proud that every school rose to the challenge and was able to successfully complete the program remotely," said Kristen Engfors-Boess, CommuniCare's Program Manager. "The news over this past year has been headline after headline of national and global crises, and it can be easy to feel small compared to the challenges at hand. But CommuniCare is something concrete that students can do to affect change in their own neighborhoods – to make the world the kind of place they want to see."
About CommuniCare and The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation
Started by Harold and Arlene Schnitzer in 1997, the CommuniCare program channels The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation's commitment to small, community giving into a school-based youth philanthropy program. Stewardship and education are of primary importance to Harold and Arlene's son, Jordan Schnitzer, who is honoring his parents' legacy and commitment by expanding the CommuniCare program. The program challenges students to learn about the needs of their communities through grantmaking and emphasizes the importance of empathy, teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership. By challenging students to engage in community service that is both rewarding and educational, we hope to encourage them to become active adult citizens with a lifelong ethic of philanthropy.
In its 24-year history, 3709 students have participated in the CommuniCare program, granting over $2,384,000 to 377 nonprofits and school programs. In addition to the Portland area school participants, CommuniCare programs are implemented in schools on Oregon's North Coast and in Eastern Oregon. For more information visit CommuniCare at www.communicareor.org and The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation at www.schnitzercare.org.
Additional Information:
IMAGES: 2020-2021 CommuniCare Students Meeting
VIDEO: Commercial for the 2020-2021 Virtual Grant Awards Ceremony on KGW
STUDENT MISSION STATEMENTS: https://www.communicareor.org/mission-statements/
PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS, GRANTS AMOUNTS, AND NONPROFIT RECIPIENTS:
Participating High Schools |
Amounts granted |
Nonprofit Recipients |
Alliance High School @ Meek, Portland, OR |
$15,000 |
Brown Hope, Om Thrive, Stone Soup |
Astoria High School, Astoria, OR |
$15,000 |
NAMI Oregon – Beacon Clubhouse, Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers, The Harbor |
Benson Polytechnic High School, Portland, OR |
$25,000 (2 groups) |
Bradley Angle, Bridge Meadows, Call to Safety, CARES Northwest, Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers, Janus Youth Program, Portland Homeless Family Solutions, Portland Street Medicine |
Catlin Gabel School, Portland, OR |
$15,000 |
New Avenues for Youth, p:ear, Portland Homeless Family Solutions, Portland Street Medicine, Rose Haven |
Central Catholic High School, Portland, OR |
$33,217 (2 groups) |
Basic Rights Education Fund, Capaces Leadership Institute, Lines for Life, p:ear, The Dougy Center, The Shadow Project, Trillium Family Services |
Cleveland High School, Portland OR |
$15,000 |
Cascade AIDS Project, Our House of Portland, Trillium Family Services |
Corbett High School, Corbett, OR |
$30,000 (2 groups) |
Bienestar, Clackamas Women's Services, East County Rising Community Projects, Friends of Noise, Human Solutions, Northwest Housing Alternatives, The Blueprint Foundation |
Creekside Community High School, Tigard, OR |
$10,000 |
Kinship House, Raphael House of Portland |
David Douglas High School, Portland, OR |
$15,000 |
Bradley Angle, Call to Safety, Janus Youth Programs, Raphael House of Portland, YWCA of Greater Portland |
Franklin High School, Portland, OR |
$30,000 (2 groups) |
Basic Rights Education Fund, Crag Law Center, Forest Park Conservancy, Friends of Trees, Human Solutions, North by Northeast Community Health Center, Portland Audubon |
Glencoe High School, Hillsboro, OR |
$32,500 (4 groups) |
Basic Rights Education Fund, Bradley Angle, Cascade AIDS Project, Clackamas Women's Services, Friendly House (SAGE Metro), Friends of the Children, Janus Youth Programs, Kinship House, p:ear, Raphael House of Portland |
Grant High School, Portland, OR |
$15,000 |
Working Theory Farm, Youth, Rights & Justice, YWCA of Greater Portland |
La Salle Catholic College Preparatory, Milwaukie, OR |
$15,000 |
Clackamas Women's Services, Mother & Child Education Center, Rose Haven, True Housing |
Lake Oswego High School, Lake Oswego, OR |
$20,462 (2 groups) |
American Red Cross – Cascades Region, NAMI of Clackamas County, Outside In, p:ear, Rose Haven |
Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego, OR |
$16,911 |
Bridge Meadows, Lines for Life, Made to Thrive |
Lincoln High School, Portland, OR |
$35,000 (8 groups) |
350PDX, Blanchet House, Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors, Forest Park Conservancy, Friends of Trees, Human Solutions, Lift Urban Portland, Northwest Children's Theater, Portland Homeless Family Solutions, Rebuilding Together Portland, Rose Haven, True Housing |
McDaniel High School, Portland, OR |
$15,000 |
Growing Gardens, Oregon Justice Resource Center, Youth, Rights & Justice, YWCA of Greater Portland |
Nixyáawii Community School, Pendleton, OR |
$15,000 |
Basic Rights Education Fund, College Possible, Friends of the Children, SMART Reading |
Northwest Academy, Portland, OR |
$15,000 (2 groups) |
Friends of the Children, Kinship House, p:ear, Portland Audubon |
Open School East, Portland, OR |
$15,000 |
Growing Gardens, Janus Youth Programs, Morrison Child & Family Services, Raphael House of Portland |
Pendleton High School, Pendleton, OR |
$15,000 |
Immigration Counseling Services, Lines for Life, Morrison Child & Family Services |
Roosevelt High School, Portland, OR |
$10,000 |
Friends of Noise, Hand2Mouth, Literary Arts, Portland Playhouse |
St. Mary's Academy, Portland, OR |
$32,780 (2 groups) |
Bienestar, Hacienda CDC, Human Solutions, New Avenues for Youth, p:ear, Portland Homeless Family Solutions, Portland Refugee Support Group, Wallace |
Tigard High School, Tigard, OR |
$20,000 (2 groups) |
Angels in the Outfield, Latino Network, Packed with Pride, Rose Haven, YWCA of Greater Portland |
Tualatin High School, Tualatin, OR |
$25,000 (2 groups) |
Compassion Connect, Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors, Northwest Housing Alternatives, Portland Homeless Family Solutions, Portland Rescue Mission, True Housing, Wallace |
Warrenton High School, Warrenton, OR |
$30,000 (2 groups) |
Astoria Warming Center, Camp Kiwanilong, Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers, Fort Stevens VFW Post 10580 & Auxiliary, Riverfolk, Sunset Park & Recreation Foundation, Warrenton Kids Inc., Warrenton-Hammond Healthy Kids Inc. |
Wells High School, Portland, OR |
$15,000 |
Oregon Innocence Project, Project Pooch, The Pathfinder Network, Youth, Rights & Justice |
Contacts:
Caitlin Pihl, Director of Marketing
The Harold & Arlene CARE Foundation
Tel.503.450.0845 | Cel.503.460.7279 | [email protected]
Kristen Engfors-Boess, Program Manager
The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation
Tel. 503.973.0241 | [email protected]
SOURCE The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation
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