$5,500 Donation from the BottleDrop Fund to EOU
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, February 6th, 2025 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Release from the Oregon Community Foundation) The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), which operates the BottleDrop network, announced that it has donated $5,500 through its BottleDrop Fund to Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. This donation will support the university’s Teach Rural Oregon project, a partnership that aims to recruit diverse student teachers to complete their student teaching in rural and isolated rural school districts across Oregon.
“We go out into the field, we collect samples, and then do a fair bit of data analysis,” said Dr. Joe Corsi, Cottonwood Canyon Teacher Institute instructor. “At the end, the teachers prepare a presentation. The idea here is to provide a model for the K-12 teacher that they can take back to the classroom and do with their own students.”
The hands-on approach has a significant impact on teachers attending the program. “This is the best professional development I have ever attended as a teacher,” said Brooke Armstrong, CCTI attendee. “I had the opportunity to learn real skills.”
Donation funds will be used by the university to defray transportation costs to Cottonwood Canyon State Park for students and teachers attending their Cottonwood Crossing Student Institute and Cottonwood Canyon Teacher Institute in June.
“Supporting initiatives like these reflect OBRC’s commitment to promoting environmental education, particularly in rural communities, throughout the state,” said Devon Morales, vice president of external affairs at OBRC. “We are thrilled to support Eastern Oregon University’s Teach Rural Oregon project.”
The BottleDrop Fund, created in partnership with Oregon Community Foundation, supports nonprofit organizations in Oregon that are operating in the spirit of the Bottle Bill through annual grantmaking. The Fund’s priorities include litter and waste reduction, environmental conservation, environmental education, recycling, public-private partnerships that work to solve a community problem in Oregon, and skill-building and job training for low-income residents.
For more information on the Teach Rural Oregon project, visit https://www.eou.edu/teach-rural-oregon/.
