PORTLAND, Ore. – Standing next to a small hill of donated backpacks full of school supplies, Pacific Power’s Vice President Pam Treece, and Tonkin Auto Dealership’s Ed and Brad Tonkin, announced major school-funding initiatives in front of Applegate Elementary School in North Portland today.

“Through the PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning, we’re donating more than $200,000 to help Oregon schools fulfill their mission,” Treece announced. “With donations and volunteers, we’re embarking on another successful year of Project Optimize, a literacy program for kindergarten-age children, and we are lending significant support to Self-Enhancement Inc. and the SMART reading program.”

Pacific Power’s Project Optimize is receiving the bulk of the donations ($100,000 each year) to help improve school readiness, often in lower-income areas. The program helps kindergartners at risk of reading failure – an estimated 20 percent of entering kindergartners in low socio-economic schools – to close the achievement gap and become more successful readers in first grade. The program currently is being conducted with outstanding success at Boise-Eliot Elementary and Vestal Elementary in Portland.

Pacific Power representatives also presented backpacks full of a year’s worth of school supplies for each student at Applegate as part of the Tools for Schools program. Pacific Power’s service area includes 11 of the highest-poverty elementary schools in the Portland Public School District. For example, at Applegate Elementary more than 75 percent of the students live below the poverty level.

“As business leaders this is just an example of the resources and human effort Pacific Power puts into making this community a better place to learn and live,” Treece said.

Tonkin Auto Dealership’s Ed and Brad Tonkin announced that every auto sale between now and Thanksgiving will generate a donation to one of 32 Oregon school foundations of the customer’s choosing. Ed Tonkin said that the donations should easily top $100,000 by the campaign’s end.

“We also hope this will be a stop to help other businesses get involved in supporting schools,” Brad Tonkin said.

Also attending the event was Diane Linn, Multnomah County Chair, and Cynthia Guyer, Executive Director, Portland Schools Foundation.

“Ultimately we all need to work together to get a more stable level of funding for schools,” Linn said. “I want to congratulate Pacific Power and the Tonkins for stepping up with their support.”

Pacific Power distributed the backpacks under the Tools for Schools program, which is run by Schoolhouse Supplies. This year, Tools for Schools contributed 5,000 backpacks full of supplies to 10 Portland schools.

About The PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning

The PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning works with local school districts through a number of different initiatives, totaling more than $200,000 in donations. These include Project Optimize, a literacy program for kindergarten-age children, and support of Self-Enhancement Inc. and the SMART reading program. The Foundation is one of the largest utility-endowed foundations in the United States. It is an independent foundation advancing individual and community aspirations through learning. Since the Foundation was established in 1988, it has awarded nearly 6,000 grants totaling more than $35 million to communities served by Utah Power, Pacific Power and PacifiCorp. The Foundation has also established a permanent endowment, recently valued at more than $30 million. In general, grants from the Foundation are limited to charitable nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations. The Foundation awards grants for requests in four categories: civic and community betterment, arts and culture, health and human services, and education The PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning is headed by Isaac Regenstreif, executive director.

About Tonkin Auto Group

The Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships was formed by Ron Tonkin in Portland in 1960, and has grown to 16 dealerships in Portland, Gresham and Gladstone Oregon. The company, which employees 800 people, is a family-owned and family-run business.

About Schoolhouse Supplies

Schoolhouse Supplies supports the educational and creative needs of students in Portland Public Schools by transferring, at no cost, the community's surplus products into the hands of teachers and children in need. Schoolhouse Supplies, a sponsored project of the Portland Schools Foundation, is a nonprofit free store filled with a huge assortment of classroom supplies for public school teachers in Portland, Ore. It opened in January of 2000 and have grown from servicing 11 schools to all 98 Portland Public Schools and have distributed supplies with an estimated retail value of almost $2 million. Its shelves are stocked with a tremendous variety of surplus items donated by hundreds of businesses in our community. Schoolhouse Supplies, 2735 NE 82nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97220, (503) 249-9933,info@schoolhousesupplies.org

Media inquiries:newsdesk@pacificorp.com