During an awards ceremony held at the Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino Resort Center in Canyonville, Oregon on Jan. 9, the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation (CCUIF) awarded $474,300 to 68 nonprofit organizations in seven southeastern Oregon counties.
Creswell at Home Inc (CAH), which received a one-year grant of $2,000 to provide low-cost transportation to seniors and disabled residents through the membership-based Creswell at Home Transportation Service, was among the 21 grantees in Lane County who received a total of $137,000.
Since 1997, CCUIF has awarded $16,925,227 in grants to nonprofit organizations. Awards are made semiannually, in January and June. Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation awards are separate from and in addition to regular philanthropic decisions made by the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribal Board.
CCUIF’s mission is to offer assistance to youth education, strengthen youth and family, provide positive youth development, make sure the hungry are fed and add to the quality of life for people in southwestern Oregon.
”Meeting the goals of the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation means we work to strengthen families, further education and feed hungry people,” said Foundation Executive Director Carma Mornarich. ”These are seemingly simple goals, but with the partnership of excellent nonprofit organizations, the results can be empowering and inspiring.”
CAH was also a CCUIF grant recipient in January 2017 when the organization initiated its Transportation Service. CAH’s Board of Directors had reapplied for a second grant to expand the service, with the goal of increasing the likelihood that Creswell community residents will be able to safely remain in their own homes as long as possible, independently and with dignity.
By the end of 2017, nine CAH Transportation Service volunteer drivers had provided 89 rides for 10 Creswell at Home members, eight of whom (80 percent) reside within the Creswell city limits. More than half the rides were for medical appointments (58), about a fourth (26) involved shopping for food and other necessities, seven were to take a rider to a pharmacy or to pick up and deliver prescriptions for homebound members, and five were for miscellaneous purposes.
During this time period, volunteers recorded more than 2,800 miles driving members.
Creswell at Home’s Board of Directors, volunteers and members are grateful for Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation’s continuing generosity and support.
In addition to Creswell at Home, other Lane County nonprofits receiving CCUIF grants during the Fall 2017 grant cycle were: Assistance League of Eugene; Bridgeway House; Daisy C.H.A.I.N.; Eugene Ballet; Eugene Symphony Association; Family Relief Nursery; Florence Food Share; Food for Lane County; HIV Alliance; Mapleton Food Share; Oregon Law Center – Eugene Regional Office; Pearl Buck Center, Inc.; School Garden Project; ShelterCare; Siuslaw Outreach Services; SquareOne Villages; The Arc Lane County; The Science Factory, Inc.; and Willamette Family, Inc.