Last Updated on November 29, 2023 by Kaley Cope
PENDELTON, OR – Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC) has announced that it has been awarded a total of $50,000 from the Oregon Community Foundation and its donors to support the expansion of BMCC’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) Program Kickstart event.
The ECE Kickstart event is a three-day program to promote and recruit individuals into the field of Early Childhood Education in an effort to increase childcare availability in rural Oregon. The event is free to participants and completing the three-day program will earn them three free credits to BMCC.
“According to the Administration for Children & Families, early childcare is down more than 10 percent of pre-pandemic levels,” says Tammy Short, Director of Early Childhood Education. “A strong, stable, highly qualified Early Childhood Workforce is essential to child learning and development.”
Three separate funds of the Oregon Community Foundation contributed toward the $50,000 awarded to BMCC, including the Betty Gray Endowment, Latino Partnership Program, and the Byron and Cynthia Grant through the WRG Foundation Fund.
Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) was founded in 1973 with a big mission: to improve the lives of all Oregonians through the power of philanthropy. In partnership with donors and volunteers, OCF works to strengthen communities in every county in Oregon through research, grantmaking and scholarships. In 2022, OCF distributed more than $180 million, supporting 3,500 grantees and awarding more than 3,000 scholarships. With OCF, individuals, families, businesses, and organizations create charitable funds that meet the needs of diverse communities statewide. 2023 marks OCF’s 50th anniversary. Since its founding, OCF has distributed more than $2.2 billion in community investments, including grants to 10,850 nonprofits and 53,375 scholarships to students. Individuals, families, businesses, and organizations can work with OCF to create charitable funds to support causes important to them. To learn more, please visit: oregoncf.org.