4 APRIL 1,2011
Smoke Signals
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Quarterly event on
March 16 pushes Tribal
giving to $53.4 million
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Helping military veterans with
post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Supporting employment for peo
ple with mental health issues.
Providing housing for at-risk
seniors.
Funding law enforcement cover
age in the Grand Ronde area.
Those are just some of the worth
while efforts the Tribe supported
through its philanthropic arm,
Spirit Mountain Community Fund,
with 28 grants totaling $992,125
that were awarded on March 16 in
the Tribal gymnasium during the
fund's quarterly check presenta
tion. Spirit Mountain Community
Fund now has distributed $53.4
million in charitable grants since
it was formed in 1997, said Tribal
member and Community Fund
Director Shelley Hanson.
The fund distributes 6 percent of
Spirit Mountain Casino profits an
nually to charitable organizations
in an 11-county area.
"We are very, very, very proud of
that," Tribal Council member Chris
Mercier said about the burgeoning
charitable total before representa
tives who attended the event to pick
up their grants. "We're not just part
of the West Valley, we're part of the
community in Oregon."
The largest single grant distrib
uted on March 16 was for $450,000
to the Polk County Sheriffs Office to
help fund dedicated law enforcement
coverage in the Grand Ronde area.
However, the 27 other grants will
do a world of good.
"I couldn't miss the opportunity to
tell the people who work to make the
world a better place that they are
important," Tribal Council member
Steve Bobb Sr. said. "We are grate
ful that we can assist you."
Bobb serves on the Community
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Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal member and Spirit Mountain Community Fund Director SholUy Hanson, right, takes a photo, at the request
of Merrill Weyerhaeuser, left, SMCF Program Coordinator Louis King, middle, and Brenda Carpenter, right, during
the Fund's quarterly check presentation in the Tribal gymnasium on Wednesday, March 1 6. Carpenter is the deputy
director of Northwest Pilot Project Inc. and Weyerhaeuser is on the non-profit's Board of Directors. The organization
provides housing for at-risk seniors and received a $25,000 grant from the Fund.
Fund Board of Trustees along with
fellow Tribal Council members
Reyn Leno, who is Vice Chair, and
Wink Soderberg.
After recipients watched the
Tribe's 25th Restoration video to
learn about Tribal history, Com
munity Fund Programs Officer
Louis King read through the list of
donation recipients. Those receiv
ing Community Fund grants in ad
dition to the Polk County Sheriffs
Office were:
Canyon Gleaners, to purchase
food products and pay utility
bills, $7,500;
Children's Cancer Associa
tion, Arms of Comfort program,
$35,500;
Children's Center for Clackamas
County, center program expan
sion, $45,000;
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Crowns and sashes mast be completed and delivered by
June 30, 2011
Please submit your bid to Public Affairs,
'? 9615 Grand Ronde Road Grand Ronde, OR 97347
The deadline for bids April 30 x
(Deadline b firm rl no bids will be accepted after 5 P. f. t".t da..
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Christians As Family Advocates,
neuro-feedback for veterans with
PTSD, $10,000;
Civil Liberties Defense Center,
capacity building, $5,000;
Comprehensive Options for Drug
Abusers Inc., housing to reunite
mothers with children, $50,000;
Exceed Enterprises Inc., improv
ing the quality of life for adults
with disabilities, $30,000;
Florence Area Coordinating
Council, child care and learning
center, $25,000 challenge grant;
FOOD for Lane County, gardens
program, $15,000;
Hand 2 Mouth Theatre, "Un
canny Valley," $5,000;
' Lane Arts Council, in-school art
ist residencies, $5,000;
Los Ninos Cuentan Inc., The
Club, $5,000;
NAMI Multnomah, supportive
employment community for peo
ple with mental illness, $30,000;
Nature Conservancy of Oregon,
Willamette Valley Synthesis
Project, $25,000;
Nonprofit Association of Oregon,
Mid-Valley Evaluation Cohort,
$26,215;
Northwest Down Syndrome As
sociation, supporting parents of
newborns with the syndrome,
$5,000;
Northwest Pilot Project Inc.,
housing stabilization for at-risk
seniors, $25,000;
Oregon Envirothon, Traveling
Trunk program, $5,000;
Oregon Foundation for Reproduc
tive Health, improving women's
health, $40,000;
Oregon Mental Health Consumer
and Psychiatric Survivor Coali
tion,., mental health leadership
development project, $5,000;
Oregon Shores Conservation
Coalition, coastal climate change
adaptation, $25,000 matching
grant;
Portland Reading Foundation,
sustainable growth initiative,
$18,000;
SalemKeizer Coalition for Equal
ity Inc., parent organizing proj
ect, $25,000;
Tualatin Riverkeepers, environ
mental stewardship, $25,000;
United Way of the Columbia-Willamette,
dental health for low
income children, $30,000;
Willamette Falls Hospital
Foundation, Founders Clinic,
$15,000;
Willamette Farm and Food Co
alition, Farm to School in Lane
County, $5,000.
Tribal Council members Toby Mc
Clary, Wink Soderberg and Valerie
Sheker also attended the presen
tation, as did Tribal member and
Spirit Mountain Casino Human
Resources Director Camille Mer
cier, who served on the Community
Fund's Board of Trustees.
Grant recipients had their photos
taken with Bobb and Soderberg
by Tribal photographer Michelle
Alaimo and the photos were posted
on the Community Fund's Face
book page.
Ad created by George Valdez
K-12 Parent Committee meets
The monthly K-12 Parent Committee meetings are held the last
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