PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers today announced the awarding of $45,000 in grants to eight educational, environmental and community-focused nonprofit organizations in the greater-Portland area through the Portland Timbers Community Fund (PTCF). The recipients were selected by the Portland Timbers Community Fund Advisory Board, consisting of partners adidas, Alaska Airlines and Providence Health & Services.
Since the club’s inaugural MLS season in 2011, the Timbers have given more than $3.5 million in cash and in-kind donations, including their philanthropic work through the PTCF, the club’s field-grants program and various charitable activities.
The Portland Timbers Community Fund presented grants to Adaptive Sports Northwest, Black Parent Initiative (BPI), Clackamas Women’s Services, Columbia Springs Education Center, Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors, Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, Northwest Outward Bound School and The Shadow Project.
Each of the eight organizations will be recognized at Providence Park during halftime of the Timbers match against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, June 2.
Adaptive Sports Northwest, an organization that provides and promotes recreational fitness and competitive opportunities for people with physical disabilities, will apply its grant to expand its Power Wheelchair Soccer group from eight youth and adults to 19. For more information on Adaptive Sports NW, visit http://www.adaptivesportsnw.org/.
The grant awarded to Black Parent Initiative, an organization dedicated to educating and mobilizing the parents and caregivers of black and multi-ethnic children to ensure they achieve success, will be used to expand the free Cultivating Culture Project by paying the salary of a specialist to implement culturally specific gardening programs in North Portland, Northeast Portland and Gresham. For more information, visit http://www.thebpi.org/.
The grant awarded to Clackamas Women’s Services will cover camp lodging, facility fees, as well as food and supply costs for its Camp HOPE Oregon project, a two-week camp with a year-long mentoring program to foster hope and healing for 64 youth that have experienced domestic and sexual violence. For more information, visit http://www.cwsor.org/.
Columbia Springs Education Center, an organization that offers a unique setting where educational experiences foster a greater awareness of the natural world to inspire stewardship, will utilize its grant to purchase materials and provide educational contractors for the K-12 Next Generation Science field-trip program. For more information, visit https://www.columbiasprings.org/.
Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors will apply its grant to hire a coordinator to develop market-ready curriculum kits and teacher training components to expand its programming. For more information, visit http://www.ecologyoutdoors.org/.
Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, an organization dedicated to improving the lower Columbia River, will use its grant to cover preparation of classroom lessons, field activities, student evaluations, project supplies and bus transportation for its Outdoor Science, Planting and Recreation for Every Youth (OSPREY) program. For more information, visit http://www.estuarypartnership.org/.
The grant awarded to Northwest Outward Bound School, which focuses on changing lives through challenge and discovery, will use its grant to expand Portland Schools’ outdoor education program serving low-income middle and high school students. For more information, visit https://www.nwobs.org/.
An organization that focuses on making school more accessible and engaging for children with learning challenges,TheShadow Project will apply its grant to equip three high-need K-8 Title 1 schools in North Portland and Southeast Portland with SuperSensory Literacy Spaces. For more information, visit http://www.shadow-project.org/.
The PTCF, an advised fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, supports charitable, nonprofit organizations that are registered as a 501(c)(3), with a tax-exempt status from the IRS and are located within one of the four surrounding counties of the Portland metro area: Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas and Clark County in Southwest Washington. Grant-seeking organizations must fall under one of the following areas of focus: youth education; youth activity and wellness; and environmental awareness for youth and their families.
Through the club’s community outreach platform, Stand Together, the team is committed to furthering its community mission to harness the power of sport to improve the lives of children and families in the region through targeted programs, deep partnerships and philanthropic giving. For more on the Timbers community outreach programs and partners, visit www.timbers.com/stand-together.
