Yamhill Community Care Awards $600K to Local Organizations
Grants support 15 organizations addressing social determinants of health
McMinnville, Ore. – Yamhill Community Care (YCCO) recently awarded more than $600K to 15 local community-based organizations for community health initiatives.
YCCO invests in social determinants of health and equity through several funding streams:
- Community Prevention and Wellness (CPW) Fund
- Supporting Health for All Through REinvestment (SHARE)
- Investments supporting our Early Learning Hub (ELH), Traditional Health Workers (THW), and Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)
“Strong communities don’t happen by accident—they’re built when people come together to care for one another,” said Seamus McCarthy, President & CEO. “These projects reflect the creativity and commitment of our neighbors, and we’re proud to play a role in helping them thrive.”
Awardees:
Churches United for West Valley: The Good Food Bags project aims to support families with limited access to food by providing weekly food bags, produce bags, and food boxes on non-school days.
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde: The Tribal Traditional Health Worker (THW) Education & Training Project will send Tribal THWs to culturally-specific training.
FAMILIAR Foods, LLC: The Food As Medicine for Independence & Longevity in Aging & Retirement (FAMILIAR) project is a 10-week nutrition skills course targeting community-dwelling older adults at high risk for malnutrition in Yamhill, Polk, and Washington Counties.
Friends of the McMinnville Public Library: The Plaza Comunitaria project aims to support Spanish-speaking adults in completing their primary and middle school education and obtaining their GED by offering bilingual education and wraparound services, such as transportation and childcare.
Grand Sheramina Community Services: The Supplementary Food Project aims to provide food distribution in Sheridan, Willamina, and surrounding areas, as well as support drive-up and home delivery food services, to meet the increased needs in the region.
Library Foundation of McMinnville: The Read and Play project aims to address low reading scores in Oregon by providing library services and formal STEAM programming to children in rural communities.
Lutheran Community Services Northwest: Supporting families with young children by offering free, low-barrier access to culturally responsive parenting classes in English and Spanish.
McMinnville School District: The Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) promotes Emotional Wellness, and Resilience. The Suicide Prevention project aims to standardize Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) across all buildings, expand peer programs in middle schools, and enhance student safety and connection.
McMinnville Playschool: This program aims to improve early childhood education by enhancing student behavioral management, supporting students with developmental needs, and creating a permanent assistant teacher position.
Newberg School District: Newberg Dundee Public Schools Student Wellness & Readiness project focuses on increasing attendance, literacy, and math performance through Social Emotional Learning (SEL) implementations, and preschool early intervention.
Soroptimist International of the Americas, McMinnville, Oregon: The Dream It, Be It and Soro Boutique projects aim to offer outreach and workshops to women and girls for career development and educational support and training.
Yamhill County Health & Human Services: The Older Adult Peer Outreach for Depression and Substance Use (OPODS) project aims to increase service utilization by connecting older adults with resources and providing free mental health screenings.
Yamhill Enrichment Society, Inc.: The Imagine the Possibilities When We Empower Kids project aims to increase average enrollments, support early literacy, and music education for rural children through the provision of books and free music instruction.
Yamhill Valley Community Doulas, Inc.: The Perinatal Wellness Program aims to reduce isolation, improve maternal and infant well-being, and increase peer-led perinatal group participation through trauma-informed, culturally matched support by providing free postpartum support groups.
Yamhill Valley Treatment DBA Provoking Hope: The Hopeful Meals and Hope Houses project aims to improve housing stability among participants in substance use recovery programs.
The selection process was highly competitive, with $5.3 million in requests submitted for $600,000 in available funding. Proposals were scored using detailed rubric, and the results were thoroughly reviewed by several committees, including the Early Learning Council, CPW Committee, and the Community Advisory Council. These groups, composed of representatives from local community benefit organizations and community members, brought both expertise and local perspectives to the evaluation process. Final approval was provided by the YCCO Board, ensuring transparency, oversight, and adherence to organizational bylaws.
