Oregon Community Foundation North Coast Leadership Council Encourages Students to Apply
With costs for college tuition on the rise, last spring The Oregon Community Foundation’s North Coast Leadership Council created Education Stimulus Scholarships at local community colleges. Funding is still available for residents of Columbia, Clatsop, Tillamook and Lincoln counties at Portland Community College and Tillamook Bay Community College. Oregon Coast Community College and Clatsop Community College have already committed their Education Stimulus Scholarships.
The $25,000 grants to the community colleges and their foundations are part of the OCF Regional Action Initiative (RAI). The RAI is a statewide initiative to involve citizens in developing solutions to address regional problems. Council members are pleased that the scholarships were helpful to so many students already.
The OCF North Coast Education Stimulus Scholarships are intended to improve literacy, which is the focus of the North Coast Leadership Council’s RAI. Over the past year, the Council, consisting of volunteers representing the four-county region, has been meeting with citizens to determine local needs and identify strategies that will have a long-term impact.
The Leadership Council has adopted the Oregon Department of Education’s definition of literacy because it emphasizes the importance of building workplace skills as well as life skills. The council is investing in scholarships to help build a literate workforce.
“Through the local leadership council for Lincoln, Tillamook, Clatsop and Columbia counties, OCF is recognizing the value of higher education and the difficulty in accessing that education. The community colleges provide an opportunity for all in the community to learn beyond high school. Our community members need to be prepared to take advantage of new opportunities that emerge as our economy rebounds and the world changes. Funding scholarships is one means of encouraging all to participate,” said Janet Webster, OCF North Coast Leadership Council member and former OCF Board Director.
To learn more and apply for scholarships at Portland Community College, go to www.pcc.edu/foundation and click on scholarships. The deadline for applications to PCC Foundation is Friday, November 6, 2009 at 5 p.m. For more information on scholarships at Tillamook Bay Community College, visit www.tbcc.cc.or.us.
Launched in May 2008, OCF’s Regional Action Initiative is a three-year initiative. Over 100 volunteers on eight OCF Leadership Councils around the state are listening to their communities, reviewing research and deciding how to spend up to $1 million in each region to address a need such as literacy, mentoring, and children’s dental health. The North Coast Leadership Council is sharing $1 million with the South Coast Leadership Council.