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Verizon awards ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ $15K for literacy effort

Story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ today received $15,000 from the Verizon Foundation to establish a technology-based literacy program at El Centro Cultural in Cornelius. The program, called ELATE (English Language Acquisition Enriched Delivery) will enable Hispanics in western Washington County to use technology to improve their English language skills and to acquire computer skills necessary for employment. ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ received the largest grant of 14 groups who received a total of $115,000.Verizon’s Vickie Curry, director of operations for Pacific Cascade division, and Bob Wayt, Verizon’s external affairs manager, presented the grant to ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ at the Oct. 8 Westside Economic Alliance business forum in Beaverton. State Treasurer Randall Edwards was the featured speaker. The one-year grants were presented to educational institutions and community-based non-profit organizations in Coos Bay, the Portland area and Wallowa County. This is the second year that Verizon has supported ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ in its literacy effort. "This grant will allow ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ to expand technology instruction to individuals with limited access to computers, thus giving them greater employment opportunities,"said Mike Drake, director of the ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ Foundation. "We are pleased that Verizon recognizes the important role ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ plays in educating a diverse and competitive workforce."Other recipients include the Business Education Compact of Beaverton, Concordia University in Portland, Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon Children’s Theatre in Portland, Oregon Independent College Foundation in Portland, Oregon Korean Community Center in Beaverton, the Oregon Native American Entrepreneurial Network in Tigard, Portland State University Foundation of Portland, the Salvation Army in Coos Bay, the Sherwood Family YMCA, the United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley in Salem, the United Way of Yamhill County, the Wallowa County Business Facilitation in Joseph. ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon, serving approximately 100,000 full- and part-time students each year at three campuses, four workforce training centers and 200 community locations. The college provides a complete university transfer program, as well as associate degrees in more than 60 career fields, one- and two-year training certificates, customized, short-term training for business and industry, literacy classes and life-long learning. Photo Caption:From left to right, Vickie Curry (director of operations for Pacific Cascade division at Verizon), Bob Wayt (Verizon external affairs manager), Karen Sanderson (ELATE director), Jerry Berger (¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ Interim District President) and Mike Drake (¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ Foundation director).