Statewide coverage

Established in 1973, The Oregon Community Foundation is a statewide nonprofit working with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds, OCF awards more than $60 million annually in grants and scholarships. Through its Community Grants Program, it has invested in older adults and supported the work of Retired Senior Volunteer Programs (RSVP) and Foster Grandparent programs, among others, throughout the state.

Accessing assets

Being on the Pacific Rim represents one of Oregon’s greatest assets, since most of its international trade is with Asia. Like other states, another important asset is its residents. In Oregon, persons 65 years and over numbered 478,180 in 2006. At the other end of the age spectrum, there were approximately 230,660 persons under five years old. Both age groups represent untapped potential that intergenerational civic engagement could unleash. Read the report.

For more information

The Oregon Community Foundation
Mary Louise McClintock, Early Childhood Program Director
503-227-6846

Involving seniors to boost early childhood development

Building on its statewide initiative Oregon Ready to Learn, The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) is piloting efforts to link the talents of baby boomer-age adults with programs and services directed at supporting the education and nurturance of children birth through age five through its Boomers and Babies project. The project is part of the Foundation’s involvement in Community Experience Partnership (CEP).

Through pilot projects OCF is learning about recruiting, training, and supporting boomers to work with young children and their parents, as well as the orientation and training needs of early childhood care and education (ECE) program staff who are being asked to incorporate boomers into their working environments and curriculum.