Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2005)
DECEMBER 1, 2005 Tribe Reaches $30 Million In Giving COMMUNITY FUND continued from front page enables them to make their dreams come true." And to that end, the Community Fund recently passed the $30 mil lion mark in giv ing to the community. Since 1997, the first year of giv ing, 127 grants have gone to Arts and Culture ($4.2 million), 309 grants have gone to Educa tion ($11.7 mil lion), 66 grants have gone to Environmental Preservation ($2.7 million), 163 grants to Health ($5.8 million), 14 grants to Historic Preservation ($837,000), 6 grants to Problem Gambling ($216,000) and 77 grants to Public Safety ($6 million). Together, 762 grants have provided $31.5 million to communities that the Community Fund serves. "Who would have thought that in so short a time, we could have accomplished so much?" said Community Fund Board Director Kris Olson. Olson is a former U.S. Attorney for Oregon. "Lives have been transformed. Hope has been restored," she said. In New York, she added, the' Grand Rondes are known as "the little Tribe that could." The evening, starting with a so cial hour and video loops of Com munity Fund recipients and projects, included a steak and salmon dinner, the presentation of 10 more or less surprise $5,000 checks to groups chosen by each of the board members, and then the real fun began: dancing to the swinglng'sounds of Pepe" and the . Bottle Blonds. Like everything the Community Fund does, the $50,000 worth of surprise checks tasted like icing on the cake to Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Coast Watch, the Pearl Buck Center, Children's Cancer Association, Henderson House, Oregon Zoo Foundation, Basic Rights Oregon, Clackamas Women's Services, Oregon Foster Parent Association and the Oregon Historical Society. "When we can help charities like this," said Tribal Council member Reyn Leno, "I take it as a real honor." "Let's be sure that women are safe in their own homes," said Board member and State Senator Kate Brown of her recipient choice, Clackamas Women's Services. "You humble us with your gen erosity," said Salem City Councilor and Polk County Fair Board mem ber Dan Clem. The Fair Board is a recipient of Community Fund grants. "It's a form of giving that comes from the heart," said Board Chair Kris Olson. "Our experience mirrors our clientele's experiences," said Hanson. "We have built a health clinic. We have exponentially ex panded our education programs. We have provided social services to our members." Hanson quoted former Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller, now the r X it k 4 i'w"'rry VVV77 A 11 I ! ! II Jl i J V u VrLy ll 1 1 o& l j A Mr W " I fficial j :'' - J i r Invitation . ? . "!, A "-yrmJ J Photos by Vv-i-., 1 If TobyMcCIary j ' VIP Regional Director of the Bureau I of Indian Affairs Stanley M. Speaks was a guest of honor at the Tribe's $30 ' million celebration of giving. J.J f V' h' " nil 'ii'.i'mti-"-- r4 -nm i -11111 1 'tddtikiii-i 'i'i' iir 1 off 0 ".;.::.r.:::.7 fllll Tribal Council Secretary Chris Mercier Wayne Morse Chair at the Univer sity of Oregon. "'It's all a process of trying to reclaim our sense of self and understand ourselves, and re spect who we are as a people.' Isn't that the values we want to hold dear when working with others? Nurturing their unique personal ity and style. "'Everything I'd ever believed in my life about my own people was banking on people showing up and volunteering to rebuild their com munity,'" Hanson said, continuing to quote Mankiller. "'It wasn't just the physical rebuilding, it was the fact that people would take charge of their own lives and their own future and rebuild ourselves as a people...'" The Community Fund is among the top 10 charities in Oregon. r v ''im 200S .AMOUNT pivc 7w4aid too 5, 000 Surprise Gift Spirit Mountain Casino's Human Resources Director and Tribal member Camille Mercier presents a check for $5,000 to the Henderson House, a place where victims of domestic and sexual violence in Yamhill County can seek safe and confidential services including shelter. The Community Fund donated a total of $50,000 that evening.
