SPRD fundraising off to strong start

The Sisters community is once again reaching out to make sure kids have opportunities to participate in programs in the Sisters Country.

The Sisters Park & Recreation District's (SPRD) fundraising campaign is raising funds for scholarships so everyone can participate in their programs.

Currently the donor campaign has raised $10,500. The campaign kicked off on November 10. In just about two months, they are more than one-third of the way to their goal of $30,000. 

"We would like to achieve our fundraising goal by the conclusion of the current fiscal year, which is June of 2011," said SPRD board member Andrew Gorayeb.

Scholarships are the highest priority for the district. SPRD grants approximately $7,500 per quarter in scholarships for both sports and enrichment programs.

"We want to make sure SPRD activities are available for everyone; we don't want to see anyone left out because of a financial hardship," said Gorayeb.

The SPRD board voted to direct all the money raised in the campaign to the Bonnie Malone Scholarship Fund. Honoring Malone's contribution to the district since its creation, Richard Lariviere, president of the University of Oregon, and his wife Janice established the Malone Scholarship last September.

Qualification is based on the SSD, USDA Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Families who qualify receive up to 50 percent of their registration fee as a scholarship.

In special circumstances, full scholarships may be awarded.

"The need for scholarships is at an all-time high," said district business manager Anne Heath. "Not a day goes by that we do not have a family in need come through our door. Our challenge as a district is to meet those needs and to forecast future needs so as to ensure the continuation of our policy that no family will be turned away due to their inability to pay for a program. If the need continues to increase at the present level, our scholarship needs will reach $10,000 per quarter before the end of our fiscal year in June, 2011. We are committed to making scholarship dollars our first priority in our fundraising."

Staff and board members have worked hard to ensure that SPRD programs are both fiscally sound and of the highest quality possible.

"Anne Heath gets most  of the credit," said Gorayeb. "She's patient and thinks strategically before making important decisions."

Every program SPRD runs is designed to be sustainable.

"We try to work with families to make sure programs are available to them and challenge them to make a commitment to the program so that important scholarship dollars are not wasted. We find that when a family makes a monetary commitment to the program such as 50-percent payment, then their participation is more successful," said Heath.

The role SPRD can play in the community is expanding as they partner with community partners, athletic programs like the lacrosse team and Outlaw Volleyball Club. The programs have benefited from SPRD's infrastructure and are doing well. SPRD is looking for other ways to partner with senior, adult, sports or enrichment programs.

"Given economic times, it becomes even more important for this community to support our families in every way possible," said Heath. "Ensuring the opportunity for participation in important programs such as early childhood education, afterschool homework help and enrichment, sports and camps not only creates happy and healthy kids, it builds strong families in the Sisters community."

For more information contact Anne Heath at SPRD, 541-549-2091 or e-mail [email protected]