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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2024)
February 21, 2024 Page 5 BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2024 Ride TriMet for a Month, for Less Than the Cost of a Tank of Gas See If You Qualify and Start Saving Today! By Tia York Are you living on a low in- come? Serving in the U.S. military or a veteran in good standing? Are you 65 or older, on Medicare or experiencing a disability? If you answered yes to any of these ques- tions, you could be riding TriMet for less — much less. That’s be- cause you qualify for our Honored Citizen reduced fare. For years, we’ve made this cost-saving ben- efit available to adults over 65, people on Medicare and those experiencing disabilities. Now we’re bringing even more people on board, with new options to help you sign up and save. Since 2018, we’ve invited people with low in- comes to qualify to ride for less. Late last year, we expanded this benefit to another group of people: those with military service. We’ve also made it easier to sign up for reduced fare, with a quick and easy process that you can complete in the privacy of your home. We believe everyone has a right to access transporta- tion to connect with opportunities like work, school, healthcare and services. Why not give yourself a break and save big on your trans- portation costs? With TriMet’s Honored Citizen reduced fare, you can ride our buses and trains as much as you want, at a fraction of the cost. With Honored Citizen fare, 2 ½ Hour tickets are $1.40 and Day Passes are $2.80. That’s half the cost of Adult fare, a signif- icant savings, but you’ll save even more with Hop Fastpass. With Hop, you will never pay more than $28 per month for un- limited access to our transit ser- vices. That’s 72% less than Adult fare, or $72 off the cost of an Adult Month Pass, which is cur- rently limited to $100 per month. Here’s another way of looking at it: With Honored Citizen fare Riders inside a Trimet bus. Photo courtesy of trimet.com and Hop, you can ride TriMet anywhere in our service area for an entire month, for less than the cost of a single tank of gas. Since 2018, more than 60,000 people have signed up to receive TriMet’s reduced fare for riders who qualify based on income. You also qualify, if you earn less than 200% of the federal poverty rate. For an individual in 2024, that’s more than $30,000 per year. You are also eligible for re- duced fare if you participate in a program such as Oregon Health Plan (OHP) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Find a complete list of qualifying programs at trimet. org/income. While you’re there, go ahead and complete the short, online ap- plication for a reduced fare Hop card based on your income. Near the end of the application, you will see easy-to-follow guidelines for submitting a photo for your per- sonalized Honored Citizen Hop card. TriMet will process the ap- plication and put your card in the mail. As soon as you have your card and load fare to your Hop ac- count, you can start tapping, rid- ing and saving. If you’re over the age of 65 or on Medicare, you automatically qualify for Honored Citizen fare. Older adults and Medicare re- cipients should have their I.D. or Medicare card with them when they ride. People who are expe- riencing a verifiable mental or physical disability may also use TriMet’s Honored Citizen reduced fare. However, you must apply for and receive a personalized photo I.D. Hop card. Learn more about the process at trimet.org/disability. Find additional details about our fares and our Hop Fastpass electron- ic fare system at trimet.org/fares. OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education Back Again Nominate a Local Educator and Recognize Inspiring Educators OnPoint Community Credit Union is calling for the public’s help to honor the re- gion’s most inspiring and innovative teach- ers. Starting today, anyone can nominate a local educator for the 2024 OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education. The OnPoint Prize will award $193,000 to the winning educators and schools in May of this year. Four winning educators will have their mortgage or rent paid by OnPoint for one year. Four runners-up will each receive a $5,000 cash prize. The OnPoint Prize also includes the Community Builder award for innovative school projects. Four schools will receive $2,000, and a fifth school se- lected by community votes will receive $5,000. A new category added in 2023 is the Gold Star award—a fourth category to honor pre-kindergarten teachers, counsel- ors, librarians and school administrators. “Educators do so much more than teach lessons – they shape the future leaders of our communities,” said Rob Stuart, Presi- dent and Chief Executive Officer, OnPoint Community Credit Union. “As we open nominations for this year’s OnPoint Prize, we invite the public to join us in honoring those educators who go above and beyond to inspire, create and foster inclusivity.” 2023 OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education Educator of the Year winners. From left to right: Caryn Anderson, K-5 Educator of the Year winner; Lucas Dix, 6-8 Educator of the Year winner; Rob Stuart, President & CEO, OnPoint Community Credit Union; Willie Williams, 9-12 Educator of the Year winner; Samuel Platt, Gold Star Educator of the Year winner. Anyone can nominate an outstanding educator or apply for a Community Build- er award starting today at www.onpoint- prize.com. The nomination period closes at 11:59 p.m. PST on Tuesday, April 8. OnPoint will announce the Educator of the Year finalists and Community Builder win- ners on May 8. Since 2010, the OnPoint Prize has awarded more than $843,000 in prizes to 326 local educators and schools. This year’s awards include,Educators of the Year: Four educators will have their mort- gage or rent paid for one year and receive a $2,500 donation to their schools for re- sources and supplies. Runners-up: Four educators, one from each of the categories, will receive a $5,000 cash award and a $1,500 donation to each of their schools for resources and supplies. Community Builder Awards: One school, selected by community votes, will receive $5,000 for a project that will meaningfully improve that school or community. Four additional schools will each receive $2,000 for special projects. In 2023, OnPoint awarded five Com- munity Builder grants to schools to fund innovative projects that inspire students, foster community, demonstrate a com- mitment to diversity, equity and inclu- sion and reach a broad segment of the school community. The $5,000 grand prize, selected by community votes, went to Gaffney Lane Elementary School in Oregon City, a Title 1 school that was still working to transi- tion back from the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the funding, the school pur- chased furniture that fosters a collaborative learning environment, allowing the stu- dents to stand and work, move their desks into groups, sit with a partner or alone on more updated furniture. The school also utilized the funds to support students who require additional or alternative supplies to be successful, so they don’t feel so differ- ent from their classmates. Information about the OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education and how to sub- mit a nomination is now available at www. onpointprize.com. Anyone can nominate an educator, and educators may also nomi- nate themselves. Applicants must be a full- time or job-share classroom teacher, coun- selor, school administrator, or librarian for grades Pre-K-12 in an accredited public, private or charter school, located within any county that OnPoint serves. OnPoint also accepts applications for the Commu- nity Builder awards within those same counties. For information about the cam- paign, additional qualifications and contest rules, please visit www.onpointprize.com.
