August 15, 2016—Applications Now Open for SELCO Community Credit Union's Mini-Grants for Educators
Annual program awards $500 grants to K-12 educators in SELCO communities; 53 grants totaling $26,500 awarded to schools in 2015
(EUGENE, Ore.) — From funding grow lights for in-class plant experiments to helping purchase books for a program for struggling readers, SELCO Community Credit Union’s Mini-Grants for Educators help teachers spark passion in the classroom. The annual program, open this year from Aug. 17–Sept. 30, awards $500 grants to K-12 educators across the 26 Oregon counties that SELCO serves.
SELCO Mini-Grants support educators with creative classroom ideas and a need to purchase materials to get those projects off the ground. Award recipients have used the funds for an almost unending variety of purposes, from purchasing dozens of copies of a book so a whole school can read it together to adopting a bearded dragon named Rex to inspire learning in kindergartners.
“The grant has changed my writing program and the class’ enthusiasm for writing,” said Lisa Garrett, a first-grade teacher at Scotts Mills Elementary School. Garrett, a 2015 Mini-Grant recipient, used the award to purchase additional pieces for her Lego Story Visualizer program. “When I say we are going to ‘Lego write,’ the class goes wild. (Students adopt) 100 percent on-task behavior, as they are absorbed in writing and creating stories.”
With the Mini-Grants, SELCO hopes to encourage similar innovative projects that will have the largest possible impact on students and leave a lasting impression.
“SELCO’s Mini-Grant program is based on our belief that a lack of funding should not get in the way of a wonderful classroom idea or learning experience,” said Laura Illig, SELCO’s vice president of marketing. “Given enough support, educators can fuel a lifelong passion for learning in students, changing lives forever.”
About SELCO Community Credit Union
Founded 80 years ago by a group of fiscally minded teachers, Eugene-based SELCO Community Credit Union today serves more than 120,000 members as the third largest Oregon-based credit union. A not-for-profit, federally insured, member-driven financial cooperative with more than $1.2 billion in assets, SELCO is able to provide its member-owners with exceptional rates and low fees on a full range of financial products and services including banking, mortgages, personal and business loans, investments, and insurance. Membership is available to anyone who lives or works in 26 Oregon counties. For more information or to become a member today, stop by one of SELCO’s 15 branches, call 800-445-4483, or visit selco.org.