COW CREEK FOUNDATION GIVES OVER $537,000 TO CHARITIES

June 18, 2021 10:30 a.m.

The Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation has given out over $537,000 to 57 charities around southwestern Oregon, in its most recent round of giving.

Non-profits receiving awards are located in Douglas and six other counties in the region. Grants are awarded in January and June.

Foundation Executive Director Carma Mornarich said, “All of us have lived through challenging times this past year and a half. For those of us in Oregon, the realities of serious illness and the possibility of death with COVID-19, as well as the destruction that can be caused by wildfire, have demanded our attention”.

A foundation release said the existence of a pandemic and widespread wildfire didn’t mean the problems faced day after day – hunger relief, unhoused people, the need for warm clothing – went away. In fact, they became more pronounced. The release said the foundation continued to support agencies that fed people, provided people with shelter, clothed people, gave extra teaching assistance for those attending school, and more.

On Thursday, Mornarich presented a check for $12,000 to the board of the Roseburg Senior Center. Funds will be used to provide funding for a full-time chef position to offer healthy inexpensive meals for seniors and the community. This is first grant that the Senior Center has received from the foundation.

A total of eight Douglas County nonprofits received grants totaling $63,600. Those included Douglas CARES, Ronald McDonald House Charities Heartfelt House, St. Vincent DePaul Society of Myrtle Creek, St. Francis Community Kitchen, Oregon Trail Council of the Boy Scouts of America, SMART Reading program of Douglas County, and the YMCA of Douglas County. Grant amounts ranged from $12,000 to $46,000.

To date the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation has awarded over $20 million to non-profit organizations. Its philanthropic efforts began in 1998.