MLS Portland Timbers

Timbers Award $67,500 in Community Fund Grants

August 14, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Portland Timbers News Release


PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Timbers today announced the awarding of $67,500 in grants to eight family, youth and environment-focused nonprofit organizations throughout the greater-Portland area through the Portland Timbers Community Fund (PTCF). The recipients were selected by the Portland Timbers Community Fund Advisory Board. The PTCF Advisory Board consists of partners adidas, Alaska Airlines, Providence Health & Services, Burgerville and PGE.

The Portland Timbers Community Fund presented grants to 4 Worlds United Soccer Alliance, Grow Portland, Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, Oregon Mentors, Start Making a Reader Today (SMART), TOPSoccer, Trillium Family Service and Willamette River Keeper.

With this round of community grants, the PTCF has reached its goal of awarding $120,000 in grants to local nonprofits in 2014. A first round of spring grants totaling $52,500 were issued earlier this year. Since 2011, the PTCF has issued more than $450,000 in grants to more than 60 local nonprofit organizations.

The funding 4 Worlds United Soccer Alliance receives will support the expansion of its summer soccer and scholarship programs for 15 players. For more information on 4 Worlds United Soccer Alliance, which seeks to bridge communities and cultures by using the game of soccer, visit www.4worldsunited.org .

Grow Portland, which focuses on empowering the community to grow healthy food, will apply its grant toward building the Garden School Educators program by working with two schools in east Portland to teach students about eating and growing healthy food. For more information, visit www.growportland.org .

The grant awarded to the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership will go to support their Outdoor Education Partnership, which provides science-based classroom lessons, active outdoor experiences and stewardship activities at field trips during the 2014-15 school year, reaching an estimated 3,000 students. For more information, visit www.estuarypartnership.org .

Oregon Mentors, which seeks to lead and innovate youth organizations to improve outcomes and reduce social costs for youth, will apply its grant to help create workshops to train adults on how to mentor youth, especially focusing in science, technology and engineering. Visit www.oregonmentors.org to learn more.

The funding that Start Marking a Reader Today (SMART) receives will help provide program support at three SMART schools (Astor, Cesar Chavez and James John Elementary). SMART engages community volunteers to read one-on-one with pre-Kindergarten through third grade children who need reading support. For more information, visit www.getsmartoregon.org .

The funding given to TOPSoccer will be used to support their TOPSoccer program which allows children with disabilities to play soccer and promotes the physical, mental and emotional development of youth through the game of soccer. For more information, visit www.oregonyouthsoccer.org .

The grant awarded to Trillium Family Service will provide funding for recreation equipment for Trillium clients, who are suffering from mental and behavior disabilities, in residential treatment and to provide classes and recreational opportunities for children in community-based treatment. Visit www.trilliumfamily.org to learn more.

The grant awarded to Willamette River Keeper, which strives to keep the Willamette River Watershed healthy for fish and wildlife, will help the River Discovery Program provide 2,500 Portland youth with the opportunity to engage and educate with the Willamette River through field trips, clean-up events and restoration projects. For more information, visit www.willametteriverkeeper.org .

The PTCF, an advised fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, supports charitable, nonprofit organizations that are registered as a 501(c)(3), with a tax-exempt status from the IRS and are located within one of the four surrounding counties of the Portland metro area: Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, and Clark County in Southwest Washington. Grant-seeking organizations must fall under one of the following areas of focus: youth education; youth sports; youth health and fitness; environmental awareness and activism with youth and families.

Through the club's community outreach platform, Stand Together, the team is committed to furthering its community mission to harness the power of sport to improve the lives of children and families in the region through targeted programs, deep partnerships and philanthropic giving. For more on the Timbers community outreach programs and partners, visit www.timbers.com/stand-together .

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