Three Rivers School received $5,100 to send kindergarten through 5th grade students to at least two LessonPLAN programs at the Tower Theater and to bring in two performances for all grade 3 through grade 8 students, thus providing an enriching arts opportunity that many students would not otherwise experience.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon  received $5,000 and immediately opened a program at the La Pine Senior Center! Bigs spend 6-12 hours per month with their Little engaging in activities they both enjoy. This pilot program will begin with 5 matched mentor pairs. This mentorship program will impact Little’s attendance in school, strengthen their mental health and make them much more likely to graduate from high school.

The Central Oregon Youth Compass Program, run by the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council and East Cascades Works, was awarded $5,000 to fund intern wages for students identified at risk of dropping out of La Pine High School. The students’ jobs are linked to completing GED or alternative high school diploma programs.

Smart Reading was granted $3,000 to purchase and deliver 14 books for every kindergartener in Three Rivers, Rosland Elementary and La Pine Elementary. Research shows that access to books in the home will support those children in meeting the third-grade reading benchmarks in Oregon.

The Habitat for Humanity of La Pine - Sunriver received $4,000 for the Critical Home Repairs program that makes unsafe homes livable, providing health and safety repairs for families ensuring that low-income residents in south Deschutes are able to stay in the home they already own. The program made over 80 repairs in 2021.  This grant will fund three to four repairs in 2022.