Regional Grants Will Help Community Members Thrive  

 United Way of Central Oregon (UWCO) announces $225,000 in Community Impact investments to twenty-two nonprofits serving Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson Counties, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Each year, UWCO makes investments in a network of non-profit partners working to advance a set of shared priorities. This year, UWCO identified positive mental health and well-being, culturally specific services, and housing stability as the 2022 Community Impact priorities in response to current community needs.  

UWCO works, in part, through a network of non-profit and community-based programs called Community Impact Partners. In partnership with this network, UWCO is able to positively impact the lives of nearly 1 in 4 Central Oregonians across the tri-county region and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.  

This year’s UWCO Community Impact Partners and investments are:  

Big Brothers Big Sisters Central Oregon ($5,000)  
Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend ($10,000)  
Clear Alliance-Crook County ($5,500) 
DAWNS House ($10,000) 
Diversability, Inc ($5,000) 
Every Child Central Oregon ($14,000) 
Family Access Network ($18,500) 
Friends of the Children – Central Oregon ($12,000)  
Furnish Hope ($5,000)  
Habitat for Humanity of La Pine Sunriver ($7,500)  
Heart of Oregon Corps ($18,500)  
J Bar J Youth Services ($12,000)  
Jefferson County Faith Based Network – LINC Program ($6,000) 
The Latino Community Association ($15,000) 
NeighborImpact Housing & Homeless Services ($10,000) 
Papalaxsimisha ($18,000) 
Prineville Senior Center ($5,000) 
Redemption House Ministries ($5,000)  
The 1017 Project-Crook County ($4,500)  
Thrive Central Oregon ($10,000) 
Volunteers in Medicine – Clinic of the Cascades ($8,000)  
Warm Springs Community Action Team ($20,000) 

 

The work of UWCO is funded by community philanthropy.  Investments in Community Impact Partners are made possible by the generosity of UWCO’s individual donors, workplace campaigns, and business and corporate sponsorships. We always welcome new donors, businesses, and foundations to join our mission of bringing people together to improve lives for better, more resilient, and equitable communities.    

Lisa Hurley, Board Member and Chair of UWCO’s Community Impact Committee shared: “Central Oregon is fortunate to have so many incredible nonprofits supporting our community. I’m honored that United Way of Central Oregon and our donors get to be a part of investing in these nonprofits and the impact they make in advancing positive mental health and wellbeing, culturally specific services, and housing stability for the people who benefit from their work. I’m proud of United Way’s continued focus on fairness and opportunity in our grantmaking and am excited to see how it impacts the lives of our friends and neighbors in Central Oregon.”        

We are proud to expand our partnership to five first-time recipients of United Way Community Impact Partner funds:  

• Clear Alliance promotes community health and safety by providing substance abuse and impaired driving education. UWCO’s investment is supporting their work in Crook County. 

• Furnish Hope partners to transform empty houses into furnished homes for families in need across the region. 
• Papalaxsimisha is a multigenerational program that creates community among Indigenous youth and families from cradle to grave using culturally based teaching.  
• Prineville Senior Center provides quality meals, recreation, and social services to foster independence and positive lifestyles for older residents and those with a disability in Crook County.    
• The 1017 Project provides sustainable, high-quality beef to Crook County food banks.  

Happy Lunar New Year to all that celebrate this date which is intended to usher in a year of good fortune and prosperity.  Approximately 2 billion people across the world celebrate this holiday.  Lunar New Year is sometime referred to as Chinese New Year because it’s origins are in China, influenced by the Chinese lunisolar calendar.  From there it spread throughout east and southeast Asia.  Feb 1, 2022 marks the end of the year of the ox and ushers in the year of the tiger.

The Green Path Ahead: Indigenous Teachings for the Next Economy

About Winona LaDuke
Winona LaDuke is a rural development economist and author working on issues of sustainable development, renewable energy, and food systems. She lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, and is a two-time vice-presidential candidate with Ralph Nader for the Green Party.

As Executive Director of Honor the Earth, she works nationally and internationally on the issues of climate change, renewable energy, and environmental justice alongside Indigenous communities. In her own community, she is the founder of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, one of the largest reservation-based non-profit organizations in the country. She is also the co-founder (along with the Indigo Girls) of Honor the Earth, a grassroots environmental organization focused on Indigenous issues and environmental justice.

COCC Season of Nonviolence

Inspired by the work of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., César Chávez, and Chief Wilma Mankiller, the annual Season for Nonviolence honors these leaders’ visions for an empowered, nonviolent world. Colleges and universities throughout the country celebrate the Season of Nonviolence by bringing together community partners to educate and empower communities on how to use non-violent methods to create a more peaceful world.  

Central Oregon Community College has been hosting programming to honor the Season of Nonviolence since 2008. The programming is co-presented by The Nancy R. Chandler Lecture Series and the College’s Multicultural Office.