Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation Grants $300,000
For New Facility for Portland's Homeless Kids
"Our School. Our Future" Community Transitional School
Capital Campaign Raises One-Third of $3 Million Goal
Portland OR - October 25, 2006 – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has
granted $300,000 to the capital campaign of the 16-year-old Community
Transitional School (CTS) to help build its first permanent school for Portland's homeless
children.
CTS is an independent, not-for-profit school that educates Kindergarten through
8th-grade children whose families are homeless or living in transition. It is the only
program of its kind in Oregon. CTS has been in six different locations since it
began at the Portland YWCA in 1990, and the school's frequent moves have been
disruptive for staff and students.
Earlier this year, the CTS board of directors launched a $3 million capital
campaign called "Our School. Our Future" to fund construction of a permanent
school. CTS is temporarily housed at Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church in Southeast
Portland, where it moved at the end of July after its eviction from St. Stephen's
Catholic Church in the Hawthorne neighborhood.
"In my 16 years with the school, I've become well aware of the impact of moving
the school from year to year," says Cheryl Bickle, principal and lead teacher at
the school. "We are often the only stable force in these kids' lives. Moving the
school every year is incredibly stressful both to the students and the staff."
Pre-construction work for the 9,000 square-foot, one-story building in Portland's
Cully neighborhood is nearly complete. Construction is scheduled to begin in
spring at the 2.35-acre site.
CTS has reached a third of its fund-raising goal, thanks in part to the Gates
foundation grant. The capital campaign's first major commitment was a $300,000
grant from the J.C. Kellogg Foundation of New Jersey. San Francisco-based
Jamba Juice has committed $100,000 to build a track and playground on the
grounds of the new school, as part of its Jamba Jump 2 It™ national program to
promote and support physical fitness for youth nationwide.
A private donor made a $100,000 challenge grant to the CTS board of directors,
whose members responded with 100 percent participation. The CTS board is
also hosting a series of Peanut Butter and Jelly fund-raising lunches, where
members of the Portland community can learn more about the school and meet
the kids.
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation works to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world. In
developing countries, it focuses on improving health, reducing extreme poverty,
and increasing access to technology in public libraries. In the United States, the
foundation seeks to ensure that all people have access to a great education and
to technology in public libraries. In its local region, it focuses on improving the lives
of low-income families. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Patty
Stonesifer and Co-chairs William H. Gates Sr., Bill Gates, and Melinda French
Gates. On the Internet: www.gatesfoundation.org.
For more information about The Community Transitional School, please visit
www.transitionalschool.org.
For New Facility for Portland's Homeless Kids
"Our School. Our Future" Community Transitional School
Capital Campaign Raises One-Third of $3 Million Goal
Portland OR - October 25, 2006 – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has
granted $300,000 to the capital campaign of the 16-year-old Community
Transitional School (CTS) to help build its first permanent school for Portland's homeless
children.
CTS is an independent, not-for-profit school that educates Kindergarten through
8th-grade children whose families are homeless or living in transition. It is the only
program of its kind in Oregon. CTS has been in six different locations since it
began at the Portland YWCA in 1990, and the school's frequent moves have been
disruptive for staff and students.
Earlier this year, the CTS board of directors launched a $3 million capital
campaign called "Our School. Our Future" to fund construction of a permanent
school. CTS is temporarily housed at Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church in Southeast
Portland, where it moved at the end of July after its eviction from St. Stephen's
Catholic Church in the Hawthorne neighborhood.
"In my 16 years with the school, I've become well aware of the impact of moving
the school from year to year," says Cheryl Bickle, principal and lead teacher at
the school. "We are often the only stable force in these kids' lives. Moving the
school every year is incredibly stressful both to the students and the staff."
Pre-construction work for the 9,000 square-foot, one-story building in Portland's
Cully neighborhood is nearly complete. Construction is scheduled to begin in
spring at the 2.35-acre site.
CTS has reached a third of its fund-raising goal, thanks in part to the Gates
foundation grant. The capital campaign's first major commitment was a $300,000
grant from the J.C. Kellogg Foundation of New Jersey. San Francisco-based
Jamba Juice has committed $100,000 to build a track and playground on the
grounds of the new school, as part of its Jamba Jump 2 It™ national program to
promote and support physical fitness for youth nationwide.
A private donor made a $100,000 challenge grant to the CTS board of directors,
whose members responded with 100 percent participation. The CTS board is
also hosting a series of Peanut Butter and Jelly fund-raising lunches, where
members of the Portland community can learn more about the school and meet
the kids.
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation works to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world. In
developing countries, it focuses on improving health, reducing extreme poverty,
and increasing access to technology in public libraries. In the United States, the
foundation seeks to ensure that all people have access to a great education and
to technology in public libraries. In its local region, it focuses on improving the lives
of low-income families. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Patty
Stonesifer and Co-chairs William H. Gates Sr., Bill Gates, and Melinda French
Gates. On the Internet: www.gatesfoundation.org.
For more information about The Community Transitional School, please visit
www.transitionalschool.org.