In honor of our 20th Anniversary, my grandmother made a generous gift to our family foundation during our annual meeting in July. 20 years ago, she had a vision of philanthropy as a teaching tool and also as a way to ensure her family gets together once a year (all 38 of us!) I’m thrilled to say we all showed up this past July to celebrate together and go about the business of running our foundation.
One piece of business was that the gift meant that we needed to make additional grants before the end of the year – what a terrific problem! Our Adjunct Board (fourth generation) and our Grant Committee reviewed our grant applications and selected additional projects to support. Below is a rundown – thanks to all of these amazing organizations for building and sustaining vibrant communities!
Compass Family Services (San Francisco, CA)
With a grant from PFF, Compass Family Services will make courtyard repairs to the building at Compass Clara House to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for families transitioning from homelessness to self-sufficiency and independence. Compass Clara House is an intensive two-year transitional housing program in San Francisco that provides supportive services to thirteen families at a time, as they live in private, furnished apartments and parents pursue their education, employment and housing goals. Compass Clara House is unique in San Francisco in that it is the only program of its kind that offers full-time licensed childcare for children 0-5, making it all the more convenient for parents to attend school, work, or vocational training.
Eugene Education Foundation (Eugene, OR)
The Kids In Transition to School (KITS) Program is an evidence-based school readiness program developed at the Oregon Social Learning Center, that offers a unique two generational approach designed to boost to children’s literacy, self-regulation, and social skills just prior to kindergarten entry and provide support to families as their children transition into kindergarten. PFF joins other community partners to support this program.
Marist High School (Eugene, OR)
The Papé Family Foundation will assist Marist with a project to keep students and staff safe in the event of an active shooter on campus. The grant will enable the school to upgrade campus security with a system server to remotely lock down the school. This new system, of which the server is an integral part, will give Marist’s principal, president, facilities director or other key personnel the ability to remotely lock down every outside door in all seven buildings by phone or computer. Once installed, the school will more quickly attain complete lockdown, improving the safety and security of our campus and making progress toward the next goals of a surveillance system and strategic fencing.
Positive Community Kitchen (Eugene, OR)
Our Adjunct Board selected Positive Community Kitchen to receive their discretionary grant in 2017. Positive Community Kitchen’s mission is to inspire community wellness through food. PCK provides local teens with the opportunities and skills to develop an abiding trust in their own abilities to shape a healthier tomorrow.
Science Factory (Eugene, OR)
This grant will expand and enhance Science Factory’s Early Childhood Education Space (Tot Spot). Tot Spot will serve the youngest visitors with space and exhibits designed specifically for their early cognitive development stages. By selecting age-appropriate educational activities while offering them in a friendly and welcoming environment just for preschoolers, Science Factory aims to instill a love of learning about science and technology that will continue throughout their childhood and stay with them for life. The new exhibit plans include an interactive water table, interactive pneumatic tubes, engineering with geometry zones, and a fossil excavation pit. These new experiences will foster creativity, curiosity, and collaboration in an open exploration format. The exhibit will also feature a padded infant play zone surrounded by a circular bench for protection and parent seating.
Doernbecher Children’s Hospital at OHSU (Portland, OR)
We make an annual grant to the Papé Pediatric Research Institute to support their work. The institute is dedicated to building a state-of-the-art research facility with a focus on studying numerous childhood diseases, such as diabetes, neurological disorders, hemophilia, pediatric cancer and metabolic disorders.
Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (Dallas, TX)
Our Adjunct Board grant to TSRHC will be used to purchase one infusion pump to upgrade care for 50 children each year. The hospital’s Inpatient Nursing Unit provides round-the-clock care for children who are admitted for surgery or a medical procedure. One of the crucial responsibilities of the nursing staff is to provide patients with supportive care, including monitoring of respiratory status, blood oxygenation levels, hydration and secretion levels both before surgery and during the post-operative, recovery period. An IV infusion pump is a vital piece of equipment that allows nurses to infuse IV fluids at a precise rate to ensure that the patient receives an appropriate amount of fluid replenishment, nutrition, and pharmaceutical support before and after surgery. Keeping hydration levels in check, nutritional needs met, and pain and infection managed helps the patient recover more quickly, thereby decreasing the overall length of the hospital stay.
iLeap (Seattle, WA)
PFF’s grant will provide capital support for a significant update of iLeap’s 5,000 square foot community and teaching space located in the historic Good Shepherd Center in Seattle, Washington. Their public training space in Seattle is known for its beauty, warmth, and versatility. Each year iLeap gifts about $10,000 in discounted rental fees to local community organizations who use the space and this brings close to 2,000 people annually into the training facility. Capital improvements to the space will enable iLEAP to grow their programming and expand community partnerships.
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