When schools closed for the pandemic, the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation pivoted to address the food security, well-being, and academic progress of students in our community. Thanks to your generous donations, in the past five months we allocated nearly $200,000 to COVID-19 relief and summer interventions. Each of you has been an integral part of our ability to meet pressing needs, and we are grateful for your partnership.
We feel proud of our accomplishments, and we hope you do too. Your contributions made multiple summer programs possible, including a program called Care and Connect. This grant enabled a team of educators to contact students who faced barriers to distance learning in the spring. Staff connected with nearly 433 students, assessed their needs, and provided referrals for additional support. As one educator expressed, “Just knowing that we genuinely… care and understand will help families engage in school at a higher level.”
Your donations paid for the delivery of 500 boxes of fresh, local produce from Riverland Family Farms to families’ doorsteps, and fulfilled 788 requests for food, 198 requests for laundry cards, 598 requests for grocery gift cards, and 676 requests for cleaning supplies, hygiene products, and school supplies. Last but not least, your contributions provided $43,000 in rent and utilities assistance to families facing economic hardship.
We are grateful to numerous community partners for their collaboration. There are far too many to list, but we wish to highlight Dial-A-Bus of Benton County, Assistance League of Corvallis, Community Services Consortium, Jackson Street Youth Services, and COI. Thank you!
What’s next? With September in full swing, we are working closely with school leaders to pinpoint opportunities to further assist with educational delivery under COVID-19. We are currently assessing emergency needs, including tutoring, internet connectivity for families navigating poverty, and expanded racial equity work in our schools. We know that our most vulnerable student groups suffer disproportionately from pandemic disruptions. That is why we are striving to keep students at the center of all we do, to empower families, and to promote culturally responsive teaching and learning. Stay tuned!